GamblerCelebrating 20 Years Serving Colorado’s Gaming Communitywww.coloradogambler.com coloradogambler cogambler

yr

Volume 20 • Number 38

PROMOTIONS ABOUNDBlack Hawk, Central City casinos

ready for some fun Pages 4 & 7

A LADY LOVED BY MANYAfter 76 years, Louisa Bunch

gets her gravestonePage 8

THANKSGIVINGHow a minor New England potluck

became a National Holiday Page 20

TRAIL’S ENDViva Guadalupe: Local churches celebrating feast day Dec. 12

Page 21

C O U P O N S • C O L O R A D O H I S T O R Y • C A S I N O G U I D E • G A M I N G • M A P • E N T E R T A I N M E N T

November 22 - December 12, 2011

See ValuableCoupons on page 6

SEE HOLIDAYDINING OPTIONS

ON PAGES 12-14

Economic stimulus 101 in Alaska

This holiday season, I’m urging lo-cal residents to shop at home and sup-port the stores in your neighborhood where you live. The sales tax goes to the local city governments to pay for services such as fire and police pro-tection. Sales tax has become the glue that holds cities together these days.

Shopping at home also keeps local jobs, and allows merchants to have good inventories and provide excel-lent service. You may like to shop on-line or out of a catalog but that just sends the money to far away places. By supporting our local merchants, the dollars spent stay in our communities, which then allows for some people to head up and “win” money at Colorado casinos.

The following tale comes from the Internet with no source of where or who wrote the original copy but it re-ally hits the nail on the head helping our struggling economy.

It is a slow day in the small Sas-katchewan town of Pumphandle and streets are deserted.

Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on cred-it.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butch-er.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-Op.

The guy at the Co-Op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local lady of the evening, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her services on credit. (Must be Alaska.)

The lovely lady rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places

the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.

No one produced anything…No one earned anything…However, the whole town is now

out of debt and now looks to the fu-ture with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a “stimulus package” works.

PAGE 2 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

www.coloradogambler.com coloradogambler cogambler

Gambler

Publisher’s ColumnBy Robert Sweeney

Small Town Business

http://www.canyoncasino.com

PAGE 4 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

www.canyoncasino.com

NOVEMBER

Lucky PluckPlay your favorite slots

every Saturday for a chance to play Lucky Pluck and win up to $2,500. Draw-ings Start every Saturday at 6 p.m., pluck a feather off Lucky the turkey and win up to 5 free spins for cash.

4X Points on Fridays and 2X Points on Sundays

Earn 4X Points every Friday and 2X Points every Sunday November all slots and video poker, all day.

Game on GiveawayPlay table games daily to

earn entries to win a Play-Station 3 Move Bundle and Pro Hockey tickets. Draw-ings take place every Satur-day night in November. See table games for complete details.

Up to 100X Odds$1 Craps at Canyon Ca-

sino, visit the table games at Canyon Casino for the

November special, $1 Craps. Place multiple bets for only $1. Promotion runs throughout November, see Table Games for details.

$5.99 Prime Rib DinnerIn December the Canyon

Grille will feature a Prime Rib Dinner for $5.99 with your Canyon Club card. Served all day every day.

Stocking StuffersPlay at the Canyon Ca-

sino every Saturday in De-cember to win up to $1,000 instantly. Nine lucky winners will be chosen to select a stocking stuffed with cash. Drawings will be held be-tween 6 – 10 p.m. with an early drawing time on Dec. 24, 3 – 7 p.m.

Player Appreciation DayOn Sunday, Dec. 11,

Canyon Casino wants to show their appreciation. Play your favorite Slots and Video Poker and be entered to win $100 every 15 min-utes. Drawings will be held between 2 – 6 p.m.

Pit AppreciationPlay your favorite table

games daily in December and earn entries to win a 55” 3D LED TV, 3D Blu-ray player and four pairs of 3D

glasses. Plus we will also be giving away 4 pairs of pro hockey tickets. Prize draw-ing will be held on Dec. 30, 9 – 11 p.m.

www.black-hawk.isleof capricasinos.com

$80K Mountains of Cash Be at the Isle ever Friday

and Saturday in November for the $80K Mountains of Cash Progressive drawings. Drawings will take place hourly from 6 – 10 p.m., with each increasing the cash amount from $500 to $5,000. Any hourly unclaimed cash prize will roll into the next drawing. If the 10 p.m. draw-ing winners are not present, the cash prizes will roll into the Grand Finale drawing on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 10 p.m. Isle guests will receive one free entry daily and can earn additional entries for every 15 unadjusted points on drawing days. Remember to activate all of your drawings on draw-ing days beginning at 4 p.m.

Wheel of Winners

Tuesdays and Wednesdays in No-vember, guests will have the chance to spin the Wheel of Winners. All IsleOne mem-bers will receive one free swipe each promotional day and one in three will win. Then from 4 – 8 p.m., lucky members will have a chance to spin the Wheel of Winners.

Holiday Gifts GaloreEvery Wednesday in

December, from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., you will receive a holiday themed gift of the week once you earn 30 un-adjusted points. Plan your Wednesday’s now, because each week is a different gift – collect all four for the com-plete set. Gifts are limited to one per guest per promotion day and are available while supplies last.

Holiday Hot SeatWin up to $1,000 on

Tuesday, Dec. 13 and 27 in the Holiday Hot Seat Draw-ings. Two winners per hour will be selected to pick a present between 4 and 9 p.m. Winning is easy, just be playing your favorite game to be eligible to win.

Paradise 50 Plus All guests age 50 or bet-

ter can join the NEW Para-dise 50 Plus club Sundays

and Mondays. You will re-ceive 3X points on all slots, a free soft serve ice cream and a Free Calypso’s Buffet after earning five unadjusted points. For complete details, visit the IsleOne club. Point multiplier is not valid on vid-eo poker games.

Calypso’s Buffet crab legs Calypso’s dinner buffet

serves up the biggest and best crab legs in all of Black Hawk, seven days a week. Enjoy the succulent buffet Sundays through Thursdays from 3:30 – 9:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 3:30 – 10 p.m.

Thanksgiving Day MenuLeave the cook-

ing Thanksgiving Day to the Chef’s at Calypso’s Buffet. A special holi-day menu will be served, includ-ing your favorite Thanksgiving Day favorites from 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. for just $24.99. From 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., the buffet will also include brunch items.

Fantastic 40 Plus on Thursdays

All guests age 40 or better can participate in the Fantas-tic 40 Plus club. Guests will receive 4X points on their fa-vorite slots, a free buffet after earning five unadjusted points or earn 50 unadjusted points and receive $40 to Farrad-days’. Point multiplier is not valid on video poker games.

Newest Poker Room in Black Hawk

Pull up a seat to experi-ence the comfort and all-in excitement at Black Hawk’s newest poker room. Win your share of $600 every Monday with the $600 Mon-day Night Football Blitz. Starting at noon, earn a square for every hour of play. Prizes will be awarded at the end of each quarter during the game. Visit the poker room to check out all of the tournaments in November and December, as there will be three each weekday and

two on Saturdays and Sun-days Follow our poker room manager Matthew Dodd on Twitter @BlackHawkPoker.

Play $30 - $60 for Hi-Roller tournament

$30 - $60 players can get a discounted buy-in or play for free in the $25,000 Hi-Roller Poker Tournament on Jan. 8 by playing at the Isle in December. Play 30 hours of $30-$60 and receive a voucher for $270 toward the tournament buy-in. Play 60 hours of $30-$60 and get a free $540 buy-in to the tour-nament. In addition, $30-$60 players earn a free hotel room Sunday through Thurs-day or a $59 Friday-Saturday rate for just 3 hours of play.

New IsleOne get free buffetBeginning Dec. 1, all new

members of the IsleOne club will receive a Free Calypso’s Buffet after playing just 30 minutes on their new IsleOne card. Once you have played the 30 minutes, present new card to the hostess in Calyp-so’s to receive.

Play and stay Play 30 unadjusted points

on your IsleOne club card on Sundays through Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. and stay the night on us. Check with Guest Services or the IsleOne club once you have earned your points to receive your hotel offer. This offer is valid only on the day the points are earned.

Holiday special for bus riders

Do you ride the bus to Black Hawk? The Isle will re-fund your bus fare up to $20. Beginning Dec. 1, the holiday special for bus riders is to simply earn 20 unadjusted points on IsleOne card and present your return bus ticket to the guest service center or the IsleOne club. Table games players will receive their bus fare back with four hours of consecutive play. This offer is available daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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kin’ 321 Gregory St., Central City • 303.582.0800

Fortune Valley Hotel Black Hawk

www.fortunevalleycasino.com

Nov. 25: Stinson Brothers (Brooks & Dunn Tribute)Nov. 26: Stinson Brothers (Jimmy Buffett Tribute)The Lava Room entertainment – all concerts are free, from 9 – 11 p.m. doors open at 8:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted).

Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk401 Main Street, Black Hawk, CO 80422 1-800-THE-ISLE

www.black-hawk.isleofcapricasinos.com

Nov. 25 – 26: Wide Open (Variety)Dec. 2 – 3: Vivid Black (Rock)Dec. 9 – 10: Back in the Day (Soul & Funk)Dec. 16 – 17: Walker Williams (Country)Dec. 23 – 24: Soul X (Rock & Top 40)Dec. 30-31: Chase N the Dream (R & B, Dance & Blues)

YOUR ENTERTAINMENT HEREAdvertise your entertainment in this space

the second and fourth issue of every month. Call Sharon at 303-503-1388 for pricing .

Stinson Brothers

Relax to live entertainment on the Caribbean Cove bar stage Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. & Sunday from 5 – 9 p.m.

Wide Open

401 Main Street, PO Box 777 • Black Hawk, CO 80422 • 1-800-THE-ISLE • www.theisleblackhawk.com

© 2011 Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Must be 21. Management reserves all rights. For complete details, please see the poker podium. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. www.theisleblackhawk.com

19 TournamenTs WeeklyMonday through Friday at 10:00am, 3:00pm and 7:00pm

Saturday and Sunday at noon and 7:00pm

Play $30 – $60 aT The Isle and geT reWardedSunday through Thursday, earn a free hotel room after just three hours of play in $30 - $60.

Friday and Saturday, earn a $59 room rate after just three hours play in $30 - $60.

Get $2 per hour comps.

$25,000 hI-roller TournamenT*Sunday, January 8, 2012 at noon

Entries for $30 – $60 Players

Play 30 hours of $30 - $60 in December and receive a $270 tournament discount.

Play 60 hours and earn a FREE entry.

*Prize pool based on 50 entrants.

december evenTs

PAGE 6 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

A historic Thanksgiving reunion in LeadvilleBy Rosemary Fetter

A cup, a tin plate and a spoon were all that former Union and Confederate soldiers

needed to join in one of the liveliest Thanksgiving celebrations in Leadville history. The year was 1881 and the city boasted a booming population of nearly 20,000, many of whom were Civil War veterans. Naturally, the following announcement in the Leadville Democrat got everyone’s attention:

“A camp fire will be held in the New Turner Hall at 7:30 sharp on Wednesday evening, Nov. 23. All soldiers both the ‘blue’ and the ‘grey’ are welcome to attend…per order of the Joint Committee of Yanks and Johnnies.”

It was the first time, to anyone’s knowledge, that an event like this had been attempted. The purpose, according to one reporter, was “to taste the same old rations of the camp, to shake one another’s hand and to look into each other’s faces and feel that two decades of peace had wiped away the animosity of four years of bitter war.”

Nearly 400 men turned out for the evening, sporting old uniforms that fit some better than others. They congregated at the New Turner Hall at 4th and Pine, which had earlier been the site of Leadville’s popular masquerade ball.

The stage was set to resemble a campfire in the woods, with a wall-tent surmounted by a slightly

battered national flag. A stack of brightly polished muskets rested in each corner.

The party began with a Grand March. At the sound of the fife and drum, the entire assembly fell into columns of two, blue and grey parading arm and arm around the hall. Entertainment, short speeches by former Union and Confederate officers, a medley of Northern and Southern tunes and a poetry reading of Picket’s Last Watch rounded out the program. The group then passed a resolution urging Congress to “sell all the Confederate cotton that was still in Europe and use the funds to help disabled Southern veterans.”

When the dinner call sounded, everyone lined up in front of a long, rough-hewn wooden table heaped with hard tack, steaming pork and beans in huge vats. Tobacco and clay pipes sat at one end of the table, while a tank of black coffee bubbled on the stove. Whiskey in black bottles circulated freely around the room.

The evening ended with a rousing chorus of Home, Sweet Home, and the old soldiers spilled out into the night parting with a final handshake.

With a parting shot at Eastern intolerance and prejudice, the Leadville Chronicle boasted, “The reunion of the Yanks and Johnnies was of national significance. It could have happened nowhere else than in Leadville.”

Thanksgiving

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Coupon can be redeemed at the Cashier’s Cage or Player’s Club. Valid until date above. Limit one per person. Must be 21 years

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Former Union and Confederate soldiers convened in Leadville for a Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 23, 1881.Photo courtesy of the Denver Public Library, Western History Department

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November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 7

Casino Employees Only (CEO)Dec. 1 – 31, CEOs (Casino

Employees Only) get a players card and qualify for every Satur-day, Monday and Wednesday in December. Earn 20 base points and earn a coupon for a free cocktail and one free food item.

BirthdaysDec. 1 – 31, earn 10 base points on your birthday and receive a free mug or T-shirt. Must be member of player’s club to qualify.

Colorado Avalanche drawingsDuring every game in December and at the end of each period drawings will be held to spin the wheel for cash and food prizes and T-shirts and/or mugs. Must be a player’s club member to qualify and receive a free entry.

Broncos football madnessDuring every Broncos game in De-

cember, receive tickets for draw-ings at the end of each quarter and win cash prizes and Bron-cos merchandise by spinning the wheel, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Must be a player’s club member.

Tuesday Senior DayEvery Tuesday is Seniors day. Club members 50 years or older earn 2X points and qualify for 50 percent off a single food item.

www.famousbonanza.com

2X MondaysEarn 2X points all day on all ma-chines, including video poker. $1 = 1 Point

TuesdaysEarn 3X points on penny and nick-el machines.

40 & Getting BetterFor those guests 40 and older, earn 2X points all day on all ma-

chines every Wednesday. $1 = 1 Point. Earn 200 base points and receive half off one menu item at Millie’s Restaurant. Play bingo from 1 – 9 p.m., 25 points earns a bingo card. Played at the top of the hour.

ThursdaysEarn 3X points on quarter and dol-lar machines.

Join us on your BirthdayCome celebrate your birthday with the Famous Bonanza and Easy Street Casinos and receive 500 free points. Players older than 55 years of age will receive 800 free points.

New PlayersPoints earned on your first visit will lead to great benefits on your next visit:• 125 Points Earned = $5 Cash Back• 250 Points Earned = $10 Cash

Back• 500 Points Earned = $15 Cash

Back• 1000 Points Earned = $20 Cash

Back

The ParlourLocated on the second floor of the Famous Bonanza Casino, we offer 2 deck pitch blackjack, roulette and 3-card poker. $5 minimum to $50 maximum on 2 deck pitch Black-jack and $3 minimum and all shoe games. The Parlour also offers pool and darts!

2X MondaysEarn 2X points all day on all machines, in-cluding video poker.

$1 = 1 Point

Tuesdays:Earn 3X points on penny and nick-el machines.

40 & Getting BetterFor those guests 40 and older, earn 2X points all day on all ma-chines every Wednesday. $1 = 1 Point. Earn 200 base points and receive half off one menu item at Millie’s Restaurant. Play bingo from 1 – 9 p.m. Play bingo from 1 – 9 p.m., 25 points earns a bingo card. Played at the top of the hour.

ThursdaysEarn 3X points on quarter and dol-lar machines.

Join us on your BirthdayCome celebrate your birthday with the Famous Bonanza and Easy Street Casinos and receive 500 free points. Players older than 55 years of age will receive 800 free points.

New PlayersPoints earned on your first visit will lead to great benefits on your next visit:• 125 Points Earned = $5 Cash

Back• 250 Points Earned = $10 Cash

Back• 500 Points Earned = $15 Cash

Back• 1000 Points Earned = $20 Cash

Back

Fun for KidsBring your children to the lower level of the casino to enjoy a wide variety of arcade games for our younger than 21 guests.

Central City Nuggets

Continued on page 9

A Chance to win $100,000 on December 1st at the Famous Bonanza CasinoEarn entries daily at the Famous Bonanza and Easy Street Casinos with just 50 points up to 5 entries a day or Play online at KDVR.com once a day for an entry.

PAGE 8 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

After 76 years, Louisa Bunch gets her gravestone

By Linda Jones

The irony of the epitaph on Lou Bunch’s grave-stone will be lost to those who aren’t acquainted

with her legacy. The “lady loved by many” was the last madam to depart Central City in 1916. The bed races held annually during Lou Bunch Day in June on Main Street in Central City have been honored as one of the top 10 most unusual events in America.

On Nov. 12, the Gilpin County Historical Society, Fortune Val-ley Casino and the Sportin’ House Girls, official Ambassadors of Cen-tral City, teamed up to honor Lou by dedicating a gravestone for her final resting place.

Although she was buried in 1935 in Fairmount Cemetery, her grave had never been marked. Dave Forsyth, director of the GCHS, had

unearthed her grave location when he was researching the story of her life. Talking with Dean Dilullo, general manager of Fortune Valley Hotel & Casino, at the annual Lou Bunch Day last June, Forsyth men-tioned Lou’s unmarked grave and Dilullo offered to pay for a grave-stone.

The unveiling of the stone was well-attended; about two dozen “friends of Lou,” most in Victorian costume, came to pay their final respects. Diana Kandt, an advance planning counselor for Fairmount Cemetery, also attended what was surely her first “madam” memorial.

Forsyth gave a brief biography of Lou’s life and how he discovered her resting place in death, and Dil-ullo and Sandra Hines, organizer of the Sportin’ House Girls of Central City, pulled off the cover to reveal the dignified stone. The Sportin’ House Girls wore elegant black Victorian mourning dresses and the Dandy Dans favored gambler attire. Panini’s furnished a tableful of ba-gels, pastries and juice.

Dilullo said, “We’re very excit-ed at the turnout today for the dedi-cation of Lou Bunch’s headstone and we’re just excited to be a part of this historic day.”

Lou was born in Sweden in 1857 and lived there 11 years before com-ing to America. By the mid 1870s she was in Denver where she began working in the world’s oldest pro-fession for Mattie Silks, the madam of the most elite parlor house. She was already working for Mattie when she married George Bunch, a notorious gambler, in 1878 and she continued working as a prostitute or madam throughout their marriage. George lived in a rooming house on Arapahoe Street. He was convicted of assault and battery against Lou at least once and also of stealing from her. No wonder he eventually isn’t mentioned in her life and she lists herself as single or widowed; how-ever, there is no record of a divorce.

Lou managed an unheard-of-feat – she moved from a parlor house girl to become a madam in 1885. Her first brothels were located in

the heart of the red-light district on Holladay Street, now Market. Lou was a good madam; she maintained peace and order among her girls, contributed to charities, cared for the sick and poor, maintained good credit, mothered her girls and oc-casionally bailed them out. Lou always located near Mattie’s par-lor houses; their friendship lasted throughout their lives.

In 1899, Lou moved to Central City’s red light district on Pine Street – called the ‘Hill’ – where she bought one of the town’s two remaining parlor houses. By the late 1890s only two madams, May Martin and Lizzie Thomas, still operated in Central City. In 1897, Martin had seven girls and Thom-as, six. Also that year, at the age of 45, Martin married long-time resident and miner Fred Warwick. Her operation is the one Lou took over. When Martin died, Warwick married Lizzie Thomas. All three are buried near Lou in Fairmount Cemetery.

In the 1910, census Lou’s assets were impressive; her furniture was worth more than the actual house, her jewelry ditto and she owned a piano, a requisite for a top-end brothel. The residents of the Hill were careful to send married men away. One time a married man fol-

lowed the girls from the Shoo Fly to the house; they sent him home to his wife, telling him their ser-vices were “for the needy, not the greedy.” The girls rarely left the houses, but Lou made an exception of baseball games. They regularly rode in her carriage to the baseball diamond where the Big T park-ing lot is now to watch the Central teams wallop the other teams in the state. Central City residents toler-ated the residents of the Hill as long as the madams kept their girls quiet and out of the middle of town.

The beginning of Prohibition on a national scale on Jan. 1, 1916, was a deathblow to open prostitu-tion because selling beer at inflated prices was a common, and lucra-tive, practice in the parlor houses. By the end of 1916, brothels and parlor houses all over Colorado had closed and Lou moved back to Den-ver that year. She operated a legiti-mate boarding house until her old friend, Mattie Silks, needed con-stant care, and in 1926 Lou moved in with Mattie and her husband and cared for Mattie until her death in 1929. Next Lou cared briefly for an elderly man. After his death she lived the rest of her life at 1333 Fox St. until her death on Jan. 19, 1935, at the age of 77.

A

Dean Dilullo, Joe Ford with Lou Bunch’s life size and Sandra Hines unveil Madam Lou Bunch’s tombstone at Fairmount Cemetery, Nov. 12. Photos by Linda Jones

by Many

Central CityLady Loved

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 9

W ant to a d d s o m e

new zing to your Thanks-giving table? Try serving c r a n b e r r y mimosas for

starters and a spiced rum cranberry sauce with your meal. Both go equally well with ham or the traditional baked turkey. Cran-berries also add bright color and a rich tart taste to sauces, breads, cookies and pud-dings. I like to substitute dried cranberries for raisins in my favorite recipes.

The popular cranberry is an American

original and favorite for Thanksgiving be-cause the Pilgrims brought these bright red wild berries as gifts to the Pilgrims at their first fall feast in 1621. Cranberries became popular in the Pilgrim settlements, and each fall entire families would gather to pick the wild berries to preserve for the winter. In 1703, officials at Harvard University includ-ed cranberries in their commencement din-ner. In 1773, one Cape Cod community de-creed a dollar fine for anyone found picking more than a quart of cranberries before Sept. 20. In addition to losing a dollar, those who “jumped the gun” also lost their cranberries.

Pilgrims first named this fruit, “crane-berry,” so called because its small, pink blos-soms resemble the head and bill of a sandhill

crane. Later it became condensed to cranber-ry. Long before the Pilgrims arrived at Plym-outh Rock, Native Americans used cranber-ries for poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds. They also mixed crushed cranber-ries with dried deer meat and melted fat to make a long-lasting food much like our mod-ern freeze-dried snack foods.

Native American women used the bright red cranberry juice as a dye for rugs, cloths, straw and other artistic works including rock paintings. The Delaware Indians in New Jer-

sey regarded the cranberry as a peace symbol and ate them at their tribal peace feasts.

Cranberries in Colonial America were considered a health food or tonic, and even used for barter. American whalers and mariners carried cranberries in barrels on their voyages to prevent scurvy–much like the British “limeys” carried limes aboard their ships. Cranberries, which contain Vitamin C, have a waxy coating, which is a natural preservative. No Thanksgiv-ing table would be complete without cran-berry sauce as a side dish. Here’s an easy recipe with an added kick.

Add new zing to your Thanksgiving table with cranberries

118 Main St. • 720-253-1669

Grand OpeninG!Nov.17- 30

Cash prizesLive entertainment daily drawingsFree Food

grand happenings

By Margaret Malsam

Rum Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium-high for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced – stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the cranberries popping – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do. Remove from heat and serve or refrigerate.

12 oz bag fresh cranberries 3/4 cup orange juice1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons rum

Cranberry Mimosas for 21 ounce orange liqueur4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice1 8.4-ounce can Ocean Spray Sparkling Juice Drink, any flavor, chilled1 small strawberry, halved, garnish

Divide liqueur and lemon juice equally between 2 champagne flutes. Fill glasses with sparkling juice drink. Garnish with a strawberry half.

www.fortunevalleycasino.com

Wheel of Fortune Valley is backWin up to $4,000 in cash each weekend in No-vember.• Earn entries now until the end of the month • Drawings are every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.• Spin the wheel between 8 and 9 p.m.• 21 winners each night will spin the wheel• Spin the wheel for your chance to win cash!• Win up to $4,000 in cash every weekend• Find complete details and rules in the Players’

Club

Fortune Valley’s Triple 7 TournamentNow through Dec. 4. Win all three events and

receive a 2012 Dodge Durango. Please see Play-er’s Club for complete details and rules.

Slots • $7,000 in cash prizes will be awarded• Free qualifying every Tuesday, Thursday and Sat-

urday from 2-8 p.m.• Final slot tournament will be on Friday, Dec. 2Blackjack • $7,000 in cash prizes will be awarded• Free qualifying every Tuesday, Thursday and Fri-

day from 2-8 p.m.

• Final blackjack tournament will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3

Video Poker • $7,000 in cash prizes will be awarded• Free qualifying Monday, Wednesday and Friday

from 2-8 p.m.• Final video poker tournament will be held on

Sunday, Dec. 4

Free BingoFree Bingo in the Lava Room every Monday

and Wednesday in November at 2 p.m.

Free PieGet a free pie on Wednesday, Nov. 23, from

noon – 8 p.m. when you earn 100 points with your Players’ Card! Supplies are limited.

EntertainmentThe Lava Room entertainment – all concerts are

free, from 9 – 11 p.m., doors open at 8:30 p.m. (un-less otherwise noted).

Nov. 25: Stinson Brothers (Brooks & Dunn Tribute)Nov. 26: Stinson Brothers (Jimmy Buffett Tribute)

Market Street now openWe are now home to Java Express, Chef’s

Kitchen and Pizza Pub, where you can get “The Big Slice” – a slice of pizza and ice cold beer for $2.99 with a players card.

Continued from Page 7

Gaming

PAGE 10 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

WESTERN FOOTPRINTS

By Anna Lee Frohlich When I mention the Pacific

Railroad to railroad history enthusiasts and get a blank stare, I am always surprised because the Pacific Railroad was the first railroad west of the Mississippi.

Asa Whitney was perhaps the most persistent of the early proponents of a railway to the Pacific, dreaming of a route to the Orient. His plan was surpris-ingly similar to that used later in the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 that helped to build the Union Pacific. His efforts in the 1840s did not succeed in getting Congress to take up the project, but he lived to see it happen. He added to the growing inter-est in the subject, and there was a clamor about from where a railway should start and to where it should go.

U.S. Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, the fa-ther-in-law of explorer John Fremont, in-troduced a railroad bill, and on March 12, 1849, the Pacific Railroad Company was chartered by the General Assembly. The Pacific Railroad Co. had the authority “to construct a railroad from St. Louis to the city of Jefferson, and thence to some point on the western line of Van Buren (Cass) County, in this state, with the view that the same may be continued hereafter west-wardly to the Pacific Ocean.”

Among the chief incorporators of the Pacific Railroad was my great-great grand-father, Thomas Allen. He came from strong stock. His grandfather was the famed fight-ing parson Thomas Allen (1743-1810) of Massachusetts who fired the first shot at

the Battle of Ben-nington in 1777 and was chap-lain to the A m e r i c a n Army un-der Wash-i n g t o n at White

Plains and Ticonderoga. His father, Jonathan Al-len (1773-1845), was a pastor and a politician, had a mercantile business, raised Merino sheep, was a founder of the Berkshire Ag-ricultural Society (a model for most of the agricultural societies in this coun-try), and was praised by Thomas Jefferson. He was considered a “gentleman of no little vigor of thought,” but he had no talent for amassing wealth. All he left to his son Thomas was a silver cup that he had won for raising the best Merino lamb.

Thomas Allen was a self-starter. He graduated in 1832 from Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.) and went to work as a clerk in a NYC law firm; he helped to pre-pare a digest of NY State court decisions. From 1834-1835, he was the editor of Family Magazine, which he recommend-ed for its “unparalleled cheapness. In 1835, he was admitted to the bar and received an MA degree from Union College. In 1837, he established and produced the Madisonian newspaper. In 1837, he was elected Public Printer to the U.S. House of Representa-tives and printer to the U.S. Senate in 1839. This office gave him great political power and influence. He felt that wider op-portunities and his future lay in the West, so in the spring of 1842 he moved to St. Louis.

When Thomas Allen married his love Anne Clem-entine Russell in St. Louis in July 1842, he received the backing of great wealth with his bride. He used the money that originated with his father-in-law William Russell in ways that were a positive influ-ence for the city of St. Louis. His

greatest interest lay in the area of railroad development and

promotion. At a convention held in St. Louis in 1850 to promote the growth of railroads, Thomas Allen wrote a request asking Congress to build a “na-tional railroad, electric telegraph, and a line of military posts across the central part of the conti-nent, from the Mississippi

to the Pacific Ocean ...”In 1850, he became the

first president of the Pacific Railroad. In that capacity he road

on horseback across the state of Missouri talking to farmers and landowners to convince them of the value of having a rail-

road. Meeting these people helped him get elected to the state Senate later in 1850. He was getting himself into a position to benefit the railroad.

Immediately upon starting his four years in the Senate of Mis-souri, he was made chairman of the Committee of Inter-nal Improvements. There he worked to improve the in-dustrial interests of Missouri. His work added to the “growth in wealth and power of the

state.” In Washington, he presented a con-vincing case with regard to the resources to be opened by the railroad. This led in June 1852 to an act “granting alternate sections of land - the first encouragement given by Congress to a Pacific railroad.”

Formal groundbreaking ceremonies for the Pacific Railroad, the first railroad west of the Mississippi, took place on July 4, 1851. It was “a daylong celebration involv-ing 25,000 people, scores of bands and smart military units, and many flowery speeches. The affair began at dawn with a 100-gun salute...and ended at dusk after each of five distinguished men had person-ally loaded a wheel-barrow with dirt and dumped it onto the virgin trackbed.”

Thomas Allen predicted that by its sec-ond year the Pacific Railroad would be moving more passengers and freight than the Missouri River coming and going from St. Louis.

Construction progressed. “...the first train was run for a short distance Nov. 13,

1852, Mr. Allen personally driving the lo-comotive.” It would be three years

until the first official train left for Jefferson City, the first

major stop on the railroad’s route.

The horrifying climax of the story was yet to come.

In St. Louis, Thomas Allen brings forth The Pacific Railroad

Breaking ground for the construction of Pacific Railroad at St. Louis, July 4, 1851. One of a series of historical paintings by Frank Nuderscher on display in the Missouri Pacific Lines Museum at St. Louis.

Photos courtesy of Anna Lee Frohlich

Rev. Thomas Allen (1743-1810) was the famed fighter parson who fired

the first shot at the Battle of Ben-nington in 1777 and was a chap-

lain in the Army.

Hon. Thomas Allen (1813-1882) was among the chief incorporators of the Pacific Railroad.

Hon. Jonathan Allen (1773-1845), pastor and politician, was a founder of the Berkshire Agricul-tural Society.

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 11

Karen won $2,500 playing a Triple Diamond machine at Canyon Casino.

Larry won big at Fortune Valley. The casino paid out morethan 480 jackpots totaling more than $797,000 in October.

Orlando won $2,000 on a $2 Triple Double Diamond machine at Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk.

Guilford won $5,560 playing a Magic Money machine at Canyon Casino in Black Hawk.

Kathy was a Mega Winner at Fortune Valley Hotel & Casino in Central City.

James won $9,658 playing a $5 Fortune 4 Times machine at Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk.

PAGE 12 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

BLACK HAWK GRUB

AMERISTAR CASINO111 Richman St., 720-946-4000, www.ameristar.com/Black_Hawk.aspx

The Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk offers a wide va-riety of dining options. Patrons can “tour the world” and dine from Italy to China at the Centennial Buffet, grab a quick bite at the Waypost Deli, enjoy a comfy mountain feel and diverse menu in the Fireside Kitchen or experience fine dining at the Timberline Grill.

On Nov. 24, The Centennial Buf-fet - with its relaxed atmosphere featuring hand-hewn timbers, wrought iron fixtures and stone col-umns - features a $19.99 Thanks-giving Day Buffet from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. It offers roasted turkey, carved ham, sautéed green beans, carved roasted salmon, wild rice blend, roasted acorn squash, cornbread and Andouille stuffing, whipped potatoes, candied yams, fresh cran-berry sauce, holiday dessert display and other buffet favorites.

The Fireside Kitchen, which fea-tures a comfy mountain feel, will not have a special Thanksgiving menu but offers breakfast dishes including crepes, pancakes and skillets along with lunch and dinner specials featuring signature burg-ers, specialty shakes and malts and authentic Asian cuisine. It’s open from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Thanksgiv-ing.

The Timberline Grill also fea-tures its regular menu on Thanks-giving. The restaurant has signature dishes, such as cedar plank salmon and roasted prime rib, in front of a roaring fire.

Patrons can also receive a free

buffet with 25 base points on slots or table games on Thanksgiving Day.

BULLWHACKERS101 Gregory St., 800-GAM-BULL, www.bullwhackers casino.com

Bullwhackers Casino features the Casino Café for dining options. Casino Café offers Italian favor-ites along with a variety of fast op-tions like chicken quesadilla, chili cheese dog, nachos, chicken fingers and subs. The restaurant always has something new including daily $4.99 specials.

The restaurant is offering a spe-cial “Thanksgiving Day Feast” with traditional entrées and sides from noon - 8 p.m. Patrons can enjoy the special holiday dinner with all the trimmings for free with 200 base points earned. Call the casino for specific menu items. Also, the ca-sino’s popular “Dinner and a Movie” promotion takes place on Thanks-giving, noon-5 p.m. Win two free movie tickets and a $25 dinner gift certificate by playing with a Lucky Bull Club card.

CANYON CASINO131 Main St., 303-777-1111, www.canyoncasino.com

The Canyon Grille is the only res-taurant at the Canyon Casino. It’s menu offers breakfast, soup and sal-ads, sandwiches and burgers. It also features Mexican items like chile relleños, tacos and burritos and well as chicken fried steak, salmon and a New York strip steak. On Thanks-giving Day, Nov. 24, Connoisseur’s Club members receive half off menu items, but there are no plans to offer a different menu.

RIVIERA CASINO444 Main St., 303-582-1000, www.rivierablackhawk.com

The Riviera Casino operates one of the larger and more popular buffets in Black Hawk. It offers a wide variety of items for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and fea-tures an award-winning chef along with nightly hand carved prime rib and fresh seafood favorites.

On Thanksgiving, breakfast is available from 8 – 11 a.m., lunch is 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and dinner is from 4 – 10 p.m. Traditional Thanksgiv-ing food, including turkey, stuffing, potatoes and other favorites, and all the trimmings will be available dur-ing the day.

The casino also offers its Creek-side Deli, which serves pizza, salad and a great selection of sandwiches, if a Thanksgiving feast is simply too much.

FITZGERALDS CASINO BLACK HAWK101 Main St., 303-582-6100, www.fitzgeralds.com

Fitzgeralds offers two restau-rants, the Shamrock Café for casual walk-in dining and Don B’s Steak-house for a casual but elegant din-ing experience.

The Shamrock Café is a popular restaurant and offers excellent ser-vice and a variety of food with an Irish flair. The Shamrock is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will be offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu. Call the restaurant for more details on the menu.

The Shamrock Café To-Go also offers a quick and easy menu at the casino’s Blarney Stone Pub for customers who may want to enjoy some of the Shamrock’s great food at home. To-go orders can be conve-niently placed and easily picked up at the Pub.

Don B’s Steakhouse offers fresh seafood, dry-aged beef, and fine wine. Don B’s is open Thursday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call Don B’s in advance as reservations are requested.

THE GILPIN CASINO111 Main St., 303-582-1133, www.thegilpincasino.com

Lucille Malone’s offers delicious freshly prepared and made-to-order American style food. A sumptu-ous salad bar includes homemade dressings and soups, and two spe-cialty salads.

Each month the restaurant of-fers dining specials and this month the specials are: a steak tortilla wrap for $7.99; a Cajun chicken sand-wich for $7.49; and a hot pastrami on rye for $7.99. Other current din-ing specials are the Diner’s Delight featuring a colossal shrimp platter for $7.77 and steak and lobster for $9.99. The salad bar may be added to either dish for $3.99.

Lucille Malone’s will feature a Thanksgiving Day Dinner of roasted turkey with gravy, red skin mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, can-died yams, vegetables du jour, and pumpkin pie with whipped cinna-mon cream or warm bread pudding with pecan caramel sauce for $9.99.

The restaurant offers lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with late night dining available on Friday and Saturday until midnight. Check with Lucille Malone’s regard-ing other available dining offers and if a Winner’s Club card is required for these offers.

GOLDEN MARDI GRAS300 Main Street, 303-582-5600, www.goldencasinogroup.com

Lucky’s restaurant offers ca-sual American dining with new Asian specialties. Lucky’s features a Moonlight Special breakfast bowl for $2.99, Sunday through Thurs-day, 10 p.m. to close, and Friday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. and on Friday and Saturday for 24 hours.

Café on 3 is a full-service restau-rant offering a breakfast buffet from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for $4.49. Lunch and dinner are served from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. A special Prime Rib din-ner is available for $5.99. The Café’s hours are Sunday through Thurs-day 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Café on 3 will feature a unique Thanksgiving weekend. Thursday will feature a Thanksgiving Day buf-fet with turkey breast, honey baked ham, gravy, stuffing, mashed pota-toes, vegetables, and other delec-table dishes, from noon to 9 p.m. for $7.99. Friday through Sunday will feature stuffed turkey breast with traditional dishes of sweet po-tatoes, green beans and cranberry fruit salad from 3 p.m. to close. On Thursday the special $5.99 Prime Rib dinner may be substituted for the buffet.

ISLE CASINO HOTEL BLACK HAWK401 Main Street, 303-998-7777, www.black-hawk-ladyluck.isleofcapricasinos.com

The Isle offers four dining

Dining

Casinos offer tradional Thanksgiving fare, regular menusNot in the mood to cook, want to get away and do something a little different this Thanksgiving? Then head on up to Black Hawk and Central City for some fabulous food, fun celebrations and great company. Look for

the casinos with a turkey beside its name for those serving up Thanksgiving Day traditional food. This symbol by casino signifies a special Thanksgiving menu is offered

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 13

areas for your enjoyment with the Tradewinds Marketplace offering a refreshing quick bite to eat with snacks, sandwiches and desserts available 24 hours, seven days a week.

The Orchid Garden is Isle’s newest restaurant featuring au-thentic Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine and is located in the sky-walk between Isle and Lady Luck. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday, 5 – 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Calypso’s Buffet offers an all-you-can-eat wide variety of suc-culent cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served daily from 7 – 10 a.m. for $7.99 and lunch is served Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $16.99. Dinner is avail-able Monday through Thursday from 3:30 – 9:30 p.m.; on Friday and Saturday from 3:30 – 11 p.m.; and on Sunday from 3:30 – 9:30 p.m. for $19.99. Brunch is avail-able Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $15.99.

Calypso’s will be offering spe-cial Thanksgiving Day fare in ad-dition to its Asian, Italian, Mexi-can, salads, soups, desserts and regular buffet cuisine—including its famous crab legs. Traditional Thanksgiving fare offered will be: turkey breast with cranberry sauce, traditional stuffing, green bean casserole, roasted sweet po-tatoes with marshmallows, scal-loped potatoes and corn bread. Smoked New York Strip steak and apricot glazed ham will also be featured, along with fried frog legs for an adventurous twist on Thanksgiving cuisine delights. The Thanksgiving Day buffet will be served from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. for $24.99. Brunch items will be served until 2 p.m. on that day.

Isle’s fine dining restaurant, Farradays’, features fresh, locally produced food in an elegant and relaxed setting. Enjoy an appetizer of Flash Fried Asian Calamari with Thai chili glaze and Japanese may-onnaise for $8, or a fine entree of Colorado lamb Loin with Rocky Mountain ratatouille and mint jus for $28. Herb crusted Colorado plains antelope tenderloin for $33 and Colorado buffalo rib eye 14 ounces for $28 are two other dishes of unique local fare. Far-raddys’ is open Sunday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Please call in advance as reservations are recommended.

LADY LUCK CASINO340 Main St., 303-998-7777, www.black-hawk-ladyluck.isleofcapricasinos.com

The Otis and Henry’s Bar and Grill (O&H) restaurant offers break-fast, lunch and dinner featuring de-licious homemade favorites.

Breakfast is available all day and features specials such as s’mores french toast for $3.95, country fried steak for $6.95, and a de-lectable build-your-own-omelet served with potatoes and toast and for $5.95. Lunch and dinner feature a fresh soup and salad bar for $4.95 which may be added to any entrée for $2.50. Entrees include classic dishes like chicken fried chicken for $9.95 and Black Hawk surf and turf, a grilled rib eye steak with chili-spice rubbed skewers of shrimp for $17.95.

O&H will be offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu in addi-tion to their regular menu. Call the restaurant for details on Thanksgiv-ing Day menu. O&H is open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The Lodge Casino240 Main St., 303-582-1771, www.thelodgecasino.com

The Lodge features five restau-rants for your enjoyment: Jake’s Deli, Java-n-Crème, Pho Noodle Bar, Seasons Buffet and White Buf-falo Grill.

Jake’s Deli offers a delicious quick bite to eat, including salads, sandwiches and pizza. Jake’s is open Sunday through Thursday 10:30 a.m. to midnight and on Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. The popular Java-n-Crème offers premium coffee and tasty sweet treats, including Bon-nie Brae ice cream, for everyone from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily. Pho Noodle Bar offers specialty Asian cuisine, such as chicken pho with meatballs and Vietnamese spring

rolls, and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 3 – 11 p.m.

Seasons Buffet features a wide variety of cuisine and is open daily for a $6.99 breakfast from 7:30 – 10:30 a.m. Brunch is offered on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $13.99. Lunch is available Mon-day through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $10.49. Dinner is available for $16.99 Monday through Thursday from 4:30 – 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 4:30 –11 p.m. for $18.99; and on Sunday from 5 – 9:30 p.m. for $16.99. Late night dining is available from 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. from a menu selection.

The White Buffalo Grille offers delicious fine dining with wine suggestions for dishes like Colo-rado Rack of Lamb for $27.95 and Buffalo Tenderloin for $31.95. The Grille is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Please call in advance as reservations are re-quested.

The Lodge will be offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu. Call the casino for details on its special offering.

ReD DOLLY CASINO530 Gregory Street, 303-582-1100, www.red dollycasino.net

The family-friendly Red Dolly restaurant on the second floor of the casino offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with a daily delicious deluxe prime rib dinner for $5.99. The famous Big Dolly burger of ½ pound of ground Angus chuck beef is available for $5.49.

Other lunch and dinner en-trees range from smothered bur-ritos of bean, beef, bean and beef, or chicken starting at $5.99 to Tom’s Signature Entrees, includ-ing Buckhead USDA Choice aged beef of hand cut steaks for $23.99. Special selections of homemade soups are available every day. Desserts include an assortment of ice creams for $1.50 with cakes, pies and truly tempting cheese-cakes starting at $3.50.

Red Dolly will be offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu. Call the restaurant for more de-tails about their Thanksgiving fare. The restaurant is open on the weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on the weekends from 8 a.m. to midnight.

CENTRAL CITY CHOW

CeNTURY CASINO102 Main St., 303-582-5050, www.central-city.cnty.com

The Mid City Grill is Century Casino’s central dining spot and known for its variety of options and generous portions. The ca-sual, family-friendly restaurant, located on the casino’s lower level, offers a selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts for breakfast, lunch and dinner including a spe-cial menu with children’s favor-ites.

On Thanksgiving, the restau-rant is open from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. and offers a special holiday menu featuring turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes and other tradi-tional fare. Regular menu items will be available as well. Contact the casino for details on its special dining offerings.

The Retro Deli, next to the Mid City Grill, offers quick-order menu items including fresh pizza, sandwiches and daily specials. On Thanksgiving, the casino’s restau-rant manager expects to offer one of the deli’s more popular specials like pot roast.

Thanksgiving Day is also Senior Day at Century Casino. Guests 50+ receive half off breakfast or lunch in the Mid City Grill, and 2X points on all machines from 8 a.m. – 4 a.m.

CRYSTAL PALACe CASINO118 Main St., 720-253-1669, www.crystalpalacecasino colorado.com

The Crystal Palace Casino will be in the middle of its “Grand Opening Celebration” on Thanksgiving Day. It’s grand opening is being fêted all week, through Nov. 30, and features progressive cash drawings 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 6 – 10 p.m. as well as 3X

points on penny machines. There are no special food offerings on Thanksgiving Day itself, but casino employees are cooking and baking a variety of goodies for patrons to enjoy during the day. Live music is offered, Nov. 25-26

DOC HOLLIDAY CASINO131 Main Street, 303-582-1400, www.dochollidaycasino.net

Doc Holliday Casino offers sig-nature deli sandwiches and “great food at great prices” at Doc’s Deli and Snack Bar. Its menu features items $5 or less. It will not be do-ing anything out of the ordinary for Thanksgiving.

DOSTAL ALLeY116 Main St., 303-582-1610, www.dostalalley.net

Dostal Al-ley is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to award-winning micro-brews, the casino and brewery offers cooked to order pizza, calzones, and sandwiches at all times. The casino, however, is not doing any food specials for the Thanksgiving holiday.

FORTUNe VALLeY321 Gregory St., 303-582-0800, www.fortunevalleycasino.com

Fortune Valley’s gourmet Ardore steakhouse will not be open on Thanksgiving, but the brand new Market Street Café next door will be operating. Mar-ket Street is a quick and casual dining experience set up for pa-trons to grab a quick meal or drink. Inside Market Street is a coffee bistro called Java Express; The Chef’s Kitchen, a “we serve you” food line with chef’s favorite specialty dishes; and a pizza and beer hang out, called the Pizza Pub, where patrons can get a slice of pizza and beer for $2.99.

Thanksgiving

Continued on page 14

Johnny Z’s132 Lawrence St., 303-582-5623, www.johnnyzs casino.com

Johnny Z’s full-service CR’s Res-taurant promises “outstanding food at outstanding prices.” Its menu features the popular Z’s famous baby back ribs and the Z-Cut 16 oz. prime rib dinner. Other items in-clude jumbo shrimp, fish and chips, roasted chicken, salmon crab legs and pasta.

The restaurant, located on its second floor, is offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu includ-ing turkey and gravy, green bean casserole, yams, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls and a variety of pies including pump-kin, Bourbon pecan and apple. En-trées from the restaurant’s new, full menu will also be available.

Quick food items, including a popular shrimp cocktail, are also available on the first floor at the casino’s ZBar while the Z Bucks Café upstairs offers sandwiches, ice cream, smoothies, desserts, coffee and more.

Famous BonanZa/ Easy strEEt/120 Main Street & 107 Main Street, 303-582-5914, www.famousbonanza.com

Millie’s Restaurant, upstairs in the Easy Street Casino, is a lo-cal favorite. The restaurant is all about comfort food and is known as a place to relax. It serves snacks and appetizers, soups and salads, burgers and sandwiches, entrees, as well as a late breakfast.

On Nov. 24, Millie’s is offer-ing a special “Thanksgiving Day Feast” from noon to 9 p.m. The menu features turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, potato, rolls, cranberries and a variety of pie. Reservations can be made by calling the casino.

Stella’s Restaurant at Famous Bonanza is not open on Thanks-giving, but will be serving its nor-mal menu items – sandwiches, burgers, salads and wraps – Fri-day from 6 p.m. – midnight, Sat-urday noon – midnight and Sun-day, noon – 10 p.m.

Dining

Continued from Page 13

PAGE 14 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

By Stu WrightNissan Motors likes to call

their Murano, which is named after a region in Italy, the “Pre-mium Crafted Crossover.” Last week I had the pleasure of driv-ing one both in Greeley and around Denver, and would tend to agree with their characteriza-tion of this car. My first drive was to the LePeep Grill on York Street in Denver, across the street from City Park. I cruised down US 85 and was impressed by the big-car feel of the Merlot red SV, AWD, V-6 powered ma-chine. Nissan Murano’s feature a 3.5 liter, DOHC, 260hp pow-erplant mated to what’s called a continuously variable transmis-

sion. Officially, Nissan calls it In-telligent Xtronic CVT, but it’s ba-sically a single-speed automatic like GM’s Turboglide of the 50s. I’m sure there is technically quite a difference between these two transmissions, but driving them is the same. And I like driving them, but find nothing offensive about the shifts associated with a more conventional automatic.

The Murano in my posses-sion had black fabric interior (I sure liked that), with super-comfy buckets and a fold-flip three-person back seat arrange-ment. As mentioned earlier, this model was an SV, one model up from the basic S, and third below Murano’s flagship LE. MSRP for my Murano was a somewhat rea-sonable $34,495, including op-tions and freight. The SV has a dual panel moonroof with power shades, power front seats (8-way driver), rear view camera, IPod connector, XM satellite radio,

leather wrapped steering wheels with controls, pushbutton “intel-ligent key” ignition, and Blue-tooth phone setup. Naturally power windows/locks, tilt/tele-scope, and dual-zone climate control are on tap. Between me and the ground were 18” alloys and P235/65R18 all-season ra-dials.

I zipped over to my daugh-ter’s house nearby and found little difficulty parallel park-ing the Murano. It seems to be about the perfect sized crossover SUV, and the 260hp engine pro-vides plenty of takeoff when you leave town. The Murano, which was introduced in 2002, is cur-rently in its second-generation iteration, and the styling was substantially improved in 2008. The early ones had somewhat of a “Coke bottle” look. Look for yourself, this SV Murano was handsome.

I returned to Greeley by the

same US 85 route, and noticed a lot of eyeballs focused on my ride. They liked the color, I’m sure, and also surely noticed the big dual exhausts under the back bumper. Stopping at the Plat-teville stoplight was made easy with the 4-wheel vented ABS disc braking system. I jacked the driver seat up and was accord-ed over 38” of headroom, de-

spite the moonroof. Some stuff I hauled for my daughter was swallowed up with almost 32 cu-bic feet of cargo space with the back seat upright. The tailgate does not power down on the SV, but is easy to handle for a male or a female.

I was sad to have the big Mu-rano picked up this past Monday, and would be a good prospect for one if I was in the market for a premium crossover.

Nissan Murano – a superb premium crossover

The 2011 Nissan Murano SV four-door SUV has all-wheel drive and is a premium crossover prcied around $35,000.Photo courtesy of Stu Wright

Continental Hardscapes employees Jorge, Omar, Mauricio and Jimmy work hard laying one brick at a time on Main Street, Central City in hopes of completing the Streetscape project early December.

Photo by Sharon Sweeney

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 15

Astafan to be new administrator of Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program

Central City Opera’s General/Artistic Director Pelham (Pat) G. Pearce announced that following more than 30 years of service, John Moriarty is re-tiring as the administrator of the company’s nation-ally recognized Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program. The organization is also pleased to announce that it has named Marc Astafan to succeed Moriarty as the new administrator of the program.

“The past 33 summers I have spent in Central City have been among the most productive and sat-isfying for me. From the time of my arrival in 1978, I felt very much at home in the town and as part of the Opera Festival. Now, after having gradually shed administrative and conducting duties, I feel it is time to bring an end to what has been a most gratifying association,” said Moriarty. “Although it is with great sadness that I close this chapter, I can do so knowing that the Association and the Festival are in good hands. I shall always cherish the memories of my years with Central City Opera, as well as the many friendships I have made in Colorado.”

 John Moriarty - 30+ Years of Inspiration

In 1978, John Moriarty founded the company’s Bon-fils-Stanton Founda-tion Artists Training Program, a rigorous 10-week program that has become a national model for the professional de-velopment of young singers. It integrates

daily training in diction and movement, individual coaching, and sessions in career management with rehearsals and per-formance opportunities in the summer’s main stage and sur-rounding productions.

Moriarty served as Central City Opera’s artistic director from 1982-1998 before becoming artistic director emeritus.

“In 1982, when then chairman of the Association At Gil-man then Vice-President Jeannie Fuller asked me to assume the post of artistic director, I felt honored to be asked to take a leadership position with such a historic and storied organiza-tion. At that time, the Opera Festival was in shaky condition. But with superb cooperation and backing from the Board of Directors, it was possible to restore the Festival to its prominent place in Colorado and in the opera world,” Moriarty said.

In 2008, Moriarty celebrated 30 years with Central City Op-

era. The 2008 Festival included Opera Pops- A Tribute to John Moriarty, commemorating the artistic director emeritus’ 30th anniversary with the company, as well as that of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program. Mr. Moriarty had the great honor of replacing the street sign for “A” Street with one for “Moriarty Lane” following the ceremonies. Ten years prior, on June 17, 1998, then Colorado Governor Roy Romer declared June 17, 1998, as John Moriarty Day “for his uncom-promising dedication to artistic excellence.”

A lauded conductor of many Central City Opera produc-tions during his tenure, Moriarty led the world premiere of Henry Mollicone’s Gabriel’s Daughter in 2003, as well as the CCO digital recording of Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe in 1996 and the 50th anniversary production of the

opera in 2006. The John Moriarty Award is named in his honor and an-nually presented to an exemplary Ap-prentice Artist at the final performance of the festival.  

Marc Astafan - Veteran stage director takes on new role at CCO

As the new ad-ministrator of the Bon-

fils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, Astafan will continue with the format established by Moriarty, with an added acting class and stage technique class taught by Astafan. He will also be adding one-on-one acting, mono-logue coaching and role study. The Apprentice Artists will have opera scene study with the CCO directing staff in preparation for the Short Works scenes offerings that will be overseen by Astafan. They will continue to perform fea-tured roles in the main stage productions, as well as cover-ing roles that will be performed by CCO’s guest artists. CCO will also carry forward its mission for the program to make sure that the Apprentice Artists receive information and coaching in regards to the business aspects of the art form and its ever-evolving trends.

“I’m thrilled to return to Central City Opera in this new position, and to play such a vital role in the training of young and exceptionally talented opera artists. This is not only a new beginning but a continuation of the legacy that my mentor, champion and friend, John Moriarty, began. He is responsible for my early career as an opera educator and stage director and to him I’ll always be grateful,” Astafan said.  

The two first met in late 1992 when Moriarty inter-viewed Astafan to assistant direct at CCO. Astafan wasn’t hired and took a position with The Santa Fe Opera that summer. Soon after, Astafan was hired as a stage manager for The Barber of Seville, a production that was directed and conducted by Moriarty. This marked the first time the two worked together.

Astafan is a respected director, educator, mentor and coach who has dedicated most of his career to the develop-ment of young opera singers in the United States.

Moriarty retiring from Central City Opera post

Firm offers free half-hour consultation on divorce

Van Der Jagt Law Firm is in the busi-ness of helping families get through divorce with as little drama as possible, and do that by making sure their clients bases are cov-ered legally, before the judge signs an order that the family have to live with. Van Der Jagt’s attorneys are experienced in Family Law and with eight lawyers in the practice, the firm generally has at least one attorney available who has a knack for fixing any particular problem.

There are many facets to a divorce. Colo-rado, like many states, is a no fault state, which allows couples to better spend their time settling the practical aspects of the split, rather than arguing who’s responsi-ble. Dividing assets and debts is often fairly straight forward, as Colorado will almost always apportion these burdens equally. However, with children involved, child cus-tody and child support often overtake prop-erty divisions in importance to the client and getting advice from an attorney at the earliest possible stage of a divorce or im-minent divorce is critical to defending your

rights as a parent.Keeping expenses down is a top priority

for Van Der Jagt Law Firm. The firm pre-fers to work within a collaborative family law framework in the initial phase of any divorce, because it lends itself to a more peaceful outcome in most instances. The lawyers have good relationships in the com-munity and strive to get clients and their families to “the light at the end of the tun-nel” as quickly and painlessly as possible. However, when a case does go to trial, Van Der Jagt Law Firm fights hard for their cli-ents and their rights. The firm has a strong litigation reputation that commands re-spect for the positions that it takes before trial.

Van Der Jagt Law Firm is sensitive to a host of other divorce related issues. The firm’s lawyers are strong advocates for chil-dren with disabilities in the courtroom, as they are often neglected in what can be an especially trying situation for them. Addi-tionally, if an ex-spouse has deprived some-one of contact with a child by taking them out of the state or country, Van Der Jagt Law Firm is skilled in child abduction recovery and kidnapping prevention. They will work tirelessly to get your child back to you.

The firm offers a free half hour consul-tation for Family Law matters and looks forward to assisting everyone in their legal

needs. For more information, call 303-345-3508, email culverv@hotmail.com or visit www.cololawyer.com.

Central CityJohn Moriarty

Marc Astafan

Van Der Jagt Law Firm in business for families Business Profile

Kimberly Danielson, Alden Schiller, Culver Van Der Jagt, Brock Wood, Patricia Bowl-ing, Megan Rae Kahn

CRIPPLE CREEK

Casino•Guide

CENTRAL CITY

BLACK HAWK

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OK, I’m going to beat everyone to the punch by camouflaging New Years’ “Resolutions” by calling them a “Goal Setting” exercise. And I’m going to start introducing the concept now due to the fact it takes a while to fully accomplish that which I’m about to address with all of you. Most people set goals as a general concept [“I’d like to lose weight this com-ing year” or “I will be a better parent/spouse/partner/etc. this year”]. While a general concept of what one would like to do, or perform, or change, or whatever, is a generally good idea. The general ap-proach to goal setting achieves only gen-eral results – if any.

What a truly goal-oriented person must do is a number of specific tasks that focus the generalities of what is desired into exact plans of action. As an aviation examiner, I would no more go to where I had to evaluate someone’s piloting skills without a specific plan of action than any-thing. “By guess or by-golly” flight exams would surely miss something important and there goes someone into the sky with an incomplete evaluation and thereby setting the stage for a number of haz-ards both in the air and on the ground. So by setting up an evaluation scenario and developing a plan of action for the activities to be addressed and completed, I have a thorough and complete idea of what needs to be done for the activity be-ing done.

Relating that to poker: How many of us have said to ourselves, “I’ve got to play better.” Or, “I’ve got to learn when to lay a hand down when I know I’m beat.” All of us, I wager. Each of us who think about poker knows where our weak points are; know where the chinks in the armor are. Or we should. And we want, or wish, or hope, to become better poker players…someday. So let us start with some spe-cifics regarding goal setting. The formu-lae I’m passing on deal with this task, not necessarily about poker specifically, but about goal setting anywhere in life.

Goals should be specific: Don’t use nebulous phrases like “someday” or “soon” or even “this year.” Give yourself an exact timeframe in which to accom-plish what you want. In thinking about what you want, divide it up into seg-ments; smaller stepping stones if you will, that you can fully wrap your thought patterns and processes around. Saying to yourself, “I want to be the best player

I can possibly be” is a general concept. How will you achieve this goal? In what timeframe do you wish to achieve it? The more specifically you can describe your goals the better the chances in achieving them.

Goals should be measurable: If you cannot measure a goal, how will you know when you have achieved your goal? In poker, the best way to keep score is by the number of chips in your stack that you can walk away with at the end of the session. But monetary goals in poker are not realistic for a number of reasons. First, you have limited power in achieving monetary goals; there are just too many variables for this to be a viable goal. A better goal might be: I want to make the best decision(s) I can make as frequently as possible. So, how does one measure a goal stated thusly? Sometimes you will know for sure when you lay down a good hand and yet see the showdown at the river, realizing that de-spite having a good hand you still would have lost. [How many chips out of the pot does second-place get? Third place?] You can then mentally pat yourself on the back and be proud of your good deci-sion. It’s at that point you must in your head go over the action again to reinforce the clues, tells and factors which led you to making that decision. Now, you are reinforcing good decision-making and not the negative feelings and input from a bad one.

Lastly, goals should be achievable: Arnold Toynbee, a great student of his-tory, once remarked that “…mankind, collectively and individually, progress by meeting a challenge, exerting the effort to overcome that challenge, then mov-ing on to the next challenge. If challenges are too great, no progress is possible; if challenges are too easy, progress will be minimal at best. Only when the challeng-es are achievable is when societies, and individuals, progress on to the utmost of their potential.”

So, in poker, make your goals achiev-able by dividing the major goals into handy, bite-sized morsels. Make them specific enough so you have a good idea of what it is you’re trying to achieve. And have a way to measure how far you’ve come; whether or not you have indeed, achieved your goal(s).

One last piece of advice: Aim high. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who once said, “The problem with goals is not the lofty one unachieved, but the low one attained without effort.” To set lofty goals one has to step out of the comfort zone and grow. Growth always has grow-ing pains and they are to be expected. But with growth comes greater achieve-ment than any attained by taking it easy. These concepts are good for living a life, growing and changing to overcome the myriad challenges of life…and it comes because we began thinking about poker.

PAGE 18 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

Gaming

FULLHOUSEBy Drew Chitiea

Thinking About Poker: Setting goals

By Dorothy RosbyJust in time for Thanksgiving, I’m releas-

ing my Almost Annual List of Things I’m NOT Thankful For. Of course, I have much to be thankful for too. I have a family who loves me – on most days. I have a wonderful son who has never gone for those really bag-gy jeans I don’t like. I have a husband who will dance with me and go to chick flicks without complaining. I have plenty of food to eat, though you can’t always tell by look-ing in my refrigerator.

But when I’m counting my blessings, I can’t help but notice a few things I’m NOT thankful for, like clerks who lick their fin-gers before they count back my change. Or the fringe on my afghan that tickles my nose when I’m napping.

And I’m really NOT thankful for the multi-tude of chargers and power cords that are tak-ing over my house like grapevines – though I am thankful I can find the one I need. We have cords and chargers for every cell phone we own and have ever owned, plus our lap-top, our GPS, our Kindle and the ancient elec-tronic calendar I don’t use anymore. I mean “ancient” in the way electronic devices become obsolete in two to three years – another thing I’m not thankful for. I can’t part with the cal-endar, because I don’t have all the information it’s storing transferred to my smartphone. If

my phone is so doggone smart, why can’t it do that itself?

I’m NOT thankful for baseball caps ei-ther. Whenever a man complains about how many shoes his wife has, I ask to see his cap collection. If she has more shoes than he has caps, it’s only because she has two feet.

Our coat closet is filled with caps. There are caps on the dresser, the coffee table and the kitchen counter. There have been four caps sitting on the banister in our liv-ing room for so long that if you lift them up, you see head-shaped circles in the dust. I›m leaving them there until I›m ready to dust again, and who knows when that will be.

And I’m NOT thankful for batteries. Ac-tually I am thankful for batteries, just not loose batteries, wandering batteries, bat-teries running free. I find them scattered around my house, and I don›t know who left them there or why. I also don›t know if they have any charge left in them. If I put them in a flashlight and the flashlight doesn›t work, it could mean that one battery is dead. Or it could mean that both batteries are dead. Or it could mean that the flashlight is bro-ken. The only way to be sure is to match loose batteries with new batteries and test them in a working flashlight. But then I run the risk of mixing them up and having even more batteries whose charge I›m unsure of. The thought overwhelms me, so I leave them where they are and curse the person who left them there in the first place, all the while realizing that it might have been me.

(Contact drosby@rushmore.com or see www.dorothyrosby.com)

Now that the Breeders’ Cup World Thorough-bred Champion-ship fever is in full bloom, there’s no better time to con-

centrate on a genre of gambling which takes a back seat to casino gambling.

Many experts believe the interest in horse racing has declined because 17 to 25 percent wagering “take-out” horse players must pay, compared to about 5 percent for sports betting.

The take out has to be higher in horse race betting because in pari-mutuel wagering a percentage of the money that’s wagered is re-turned to horsemen in the form of purses. In sports betting, the house takes its percentage and returns the rest that’s wagered to bettors.

Even though Las Vegas handles millions of dollars on sports betting every year, the teams themselves do not share a cent. Can you imagine what would happen if the bar-ons of the NFL, MLB and NBA ever decided that their sports were entitled to a percentage of that money? You’d see the ‘vig’ on sports betting go up in a hurry.

Of course, professional sports must dis-tance itself from any connection to betting

to maintain integrity. But the fact everybody knows there’s probably more money bet il-legally on professional sports in this country than is wagered legally on horse racing makes that position increasingly hypocritical.

The Breeders’ Cup World Championship Races is a difficult “sell” for the major televi-sion networks. The series had a long run on NBC, but the five-hour duration of the show and the fact it was production intense makes it rather unwieldy TV fare. Each race only lasts a couple of minutes and there is lots of time between races.

Restructuring the Breeders’ Cup format to stretch the races out over a number of weeks would destroy the spectacle. If horse racing’s leaders market the races efficiently, my guess is it’ll still serve the purpose for which it was created, to give the sport a fall showcase to complement the spring Triple Crown.

Horse racing took its fan base for granted way too long. It was only after the casino industry proliferated that the tracks were forced to compete for bettors, but in many respects it was too late. The casinos placed a high priority on customer service, which was a foreign concept to racetracks.

Horse racing has in some ways been its own worst enemy. The introduction of simul-cast wagering from tracks around the coun-try and networks of off track betting outlets where fans do not have to be at the track to place wagers altered the economics of the sport dramatically and it’s still trying to re-cover and adjust.

Horse racing to shine

Things I’m NOT thankful forHumor

Blackjack is a game of cause and ef-fect. It’s also about what you need.

That is, there are a finite number of each type of card and your options and fortunes vary with the dealing of each card.

I’ve given players who are devoted to learning every state-of-the-art in-novation I’ve developed (to win to the max) all the means of doing so in Cut-ting Edge Blackjack.

But even beginners with a desire to learn the game properly can play a good game with the entry-level tech-niques I’ve provided in Blackjack The

SMART Way.For instance, take a look at the card

situation I’ve provided here. You’re sit-ting in third base, with the 9 and 2 . With an 11 point hand, the Old School-ers tell you always to double down against the dealer’s 5, which you’re taught is a weak up card for the dealer. But is it really here?

I can think of two techniques in Blackjack The SMART Way off the top of my head that would instantly tell you what to do. The Likes & Dislikes

Method and the concept of “Outs.”Quickly analyze the cards and de-

cide what you see.I said earlier blackjack is a game of

cause and effect. With the Likes & Dis-likes method, you’d instantly see that a “Dislikes” situation is represented. The player cards are primarily high cards. The dealer’s card is low. I taught you that we dislike this sort of situation be-cause it means the dealer is highly like-ly to achieve a good score and highly unlikely to bust.

So any smart player holding an 11-point hand in this situation would realize that he or she would have to draw to a good score to hope to com-pete with the dealer. (In Cutting Edge Blackjack I also taught you that the dealer’s 5 draws to a high score when not busting.)

So what are our “Outs” - how many of the cards we need, with 11 points, would be likely to come our way if we doubled down here?

Remember that in doubling we get just one extra card.

What are the cards we’d most want? We’d want one of the 10s especially, but a 9 would do (a 20-point hand would be a likely winner) and an 8 would give us at least a good chance of pushing.

Yet these are precisely the cards that are overrepresented on the table and therefore the cards not overrepresented are the ones we’d most likely get. (Low cards and Aces - not good!)

So what should we do here? Sim-ply hit. Doubling - putting twice your initial bet in play and getting just one more card in order to hope to make more money - would be gambling here. In hitting you gain the advantage of taking as many cards as you need and here you’d need to pull to a good score.

Richard Harvey is the acclaimed blackjack strategies innovator, ex-pert player, blackjack coach and bestselling author of Blackjack The SMART Way (the NEW Gold Edi-tion), Cutting Edge Blackjack (the NEW Third Edition), NEW Ways To Win MORE at Blackjack and the audio book Richard Harvey’s Blackjack PowerPrep Session. Have blackjack questions? Send them to rharvey2121@netscape.net. For more info see http://www.black jacktoday.com.

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 19

Gaming

E x -ceptional instances or runs of good or bad luck can make or break a casino vis-it for any-body. Few p l a y e r s

ever encounter either. Most tend to bet the same amount or press or regress wagers over a modest range from round to round. Their fortunes therefore typically rise and fall gradually, albeit at rates depending on the chances and amounts they win or lose in any coup.

Experience with particular games and propositions, bet sizes, and bankrolls may give solid citi-zens reliable intuition about how far and fast to expect profits or losses to mount under normal cir-cumstances. But these instincts don’t necessarily transfer among gambles. Trial by fire to ascertain the ebbs and flows of unfamiliar situations can be costly, and small samples don’t dependably portend what would hold over the long term.

A better approach involves the bankroll and individual bets a per-son might risk and the edge and volatility of the action at issue. Single- and double-zero roulette can illustrate how these factors

mesh. For uniformity, alternate bets totaling $12 with bankrolls of $120, $240, $360, $480, and $600 will be compared. The $12 will be wagered as $12 on one spot (pays $420), $6 on each of two spots (pays $204), $4 on each of three spots (pays $132), $3 on each of four spots (pays $96), $2 on each of six spots (pays $60), and $1 on each of 12 spots (pays $24). Edge is the same for all choices within the games: 5.26 percent for double-ze-ro and 2.70 percent for single-zero. Volatility tracks the payoffs – high-est for $12 on one spot and lowest for $1 on each of 12. And, to gener-alize, think of bankroll and bet size as a ratio going from 10/1 at $120 to 50/1 at $600.

The nearby tables provide prob-abilities of doubling a bankroll be-fore busting out (I and II) and of not depleting a bankroll within 180 spins – three to four hours of play – (III and IV) for the two versions of the game. The data show that for either success criterion, cutting edge improves chances, but not by much. Higher bankroll-to-bet ra-tio has a large favorable impact on ability to survive downswings. It’s effect on likelihood of earning larg-er multiples of bankroll is adverse, with the influence stronger at lower volatilities. In and of itself, higher volatility raises the likelihood of reaching a win goal but lowers that of surviving a session of desired duration. And, in any case, raising

chances of higher earnings lowers those of longer sessions, and vice versa.

Edge or house advantage is usu-ally well-publicized for table and video poker games. This is gener-ally not true for non-poker slots; however, it’s reason-able to assume edge will be between 6 and 10 percent (94 and 90 percent player return, respectively). Vola-tility is another matter. Ac-cepted measures of volatil-ity can be calculated when the chance of and payoff for a win are known, but figures for this parameter are not widely circulated. For present purposes, it’s enough to assume that the lower the probability of a win and bigger the payoff, the higher the volatility.

Gamblers have some control over punting per-formance. At blackjack and video poker, players’ choices during a round influence edge. At craps, picking propositions on which to bet bears on edge and volatility. At roulette, spreading or concentrating bets affects volatility. And, in any situation, selecting bankroll-to-bet ratio im-pacts likelihood of meet-ing profit or survival goals. The uncertainty is in the

randomness of individual events. Those who believe they exert con-trol at this level missed what the bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, had Hamlet tell Horatio:

There’s a divinity that shapes

our ends/Rough-hew them how we will

and to which the bard of bettors, Sumner A Ingmark, added:

So the casinos’ profit often tends/to come from plans unfilled.

Anticipating bankroll swings in games you haven’t tried yet

Even beginners can make state-of-the-art moves

By Richard Harvey

PAGE 20 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

Trail’s End

How a minor New England potluck became a National Holiday

On Nov. 24, most of us will sit down

to a “traditional” Thanksgiving menu – roast turkey, stuff-ing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and the ubiquitous green bean casserole. Our typical Thanks-

giving fare, however, actually bears little re-semblance to the original feast consumed by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Ameri-cans in 1621.

Only two accounts remain of that original celebration, which included 56 settlers and 91 Native Americans. The first, a diary kept by colonist Edward Winslow, states that the four men Gov. William Bradford went “fowl-ing” and returned with “a great store of wild turkies.” Although wild turkeys did abound in the Northeast, the colonists may have brought back seasonal waterfowl such as ducks and geese. Since the Pilgrims called any fowl with a featherless head and a round body a turkey, it’s hard to say what they really ate. Chief Mas-sasoit provided five deer for the spread, which was added to an ample supply of lobsters, eels, cod, bass and mussels.

That first “turkie” may have been stuffed, since the English occasionally filled cavities in meat with oats and/or onions. Dried herbs could also have added to the flavor, such as marjoram, parsley and thyme. Abundant fruit in the area included white and red grapes, strawberries, gooseberries and plums.

A second description of the event, written about 20 years after the fact, hints that vege-tables (called “herbs”) were part of the menu, both fresh and dried. They likely included parsnips, collards, carrots, turnips, spinach and

cabbage. Walnuts, acorns and chestnuts, water-cress and leeks were on the table, but there was no milk or butter since no cattle had booked passage on the Mayflower (They actually made their appearance two years later with the arrival of the ship Queen Anne). Although pumpkins grew in the area, “pie” was unavailable, since stores of flour from the ship were long gone. The creative cooks sometimes made a type of bread made of boiled corn, kneaded into round cakes and fried in venison fat.

Although the Wampanoag normally ate sitting on furs on the ground, they joined Pil-grims at the table for this occasion. Everyone ate with spoons and knives but no forks, and plates were made of wood. Although the Na-tive American men and women ate together, the six women (who had just prepared a meal for 150) had to stand behind the men and wait until they were finished. This may have set an unfortunate precedent

For entertainment, Capt. Myles Standish provided a parade of soldiers blasting their

muskets and trumpeting bugles. The braves competed against the settlers in foot races and jumping matches, the Native American men demon-strated their prowess with a bow and arrow, and the Pilgrims exhibited their skills with a musket.

The six women cleaned up the tables and probably collapsed from exhaustion. This may be why the Pilgrims never celebrated another Thanksgiving. In 1777, the 13 colonies ob-served a common holiday, but conflicts among the newly formed United States prevented George Washington’s Thanksgiving Procla-mation of 1789 from being enacted. Subse-quent presidents, many of them from Virginia, were not particularly supportive, and Thomas Jefferson went on record in opposition, citing political implications that dwarfed the signifi-cance of the original concept.

Eventually, the crusade to turn Thanksgiv-ing into a four-day weekend became one of the many causes taken up by a magazine editor who wrote hundreds of letters to officials, min-isters, each incumbent president and anyone else who might pay attention.

The editor, Sarah Josefa Hale, was a widow with five children who embarked on a career in journalism at age 40. She began publication of the Boston Ladies Magazine in 1828, when the idea of a magazine dedicated solely to women bordered on the absurd. She eventually became editor of Godey’s Ladies Book, an early ver-sion of Good Housekeeping. With a circulation of 150,000, the publication became the most widely distributed magazine of its kind.

Although contemporary feminists consid-

ered Hale too low-key, she advocated increased wages, property rights and formal education for women. Her magazine stimulated the creativity of inventors, and her open-ended invitation to develop a better way of washing clothes led to the first washing machine. The Ladies’ Book also printed the first advertisement for the type-writer, which opened up a new career path for women.

During the Civil War, Hale remained a staunch supporter of the Union cause. As the result of a particularly stirring article she wrote in September 1863, following the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln rewarded her 35-year struggle by proclaiming the fourth Thursday in November a day of Thanksgiving. Since most of the opposition had come from the Southern states, which no longer had a vote, the proclamation was met with resounding en-thusiasm. (After the War, some Southerners still refused to accept the imposed holiday, holding their own observances for years when-ever they pleased.)

Hale’s magazine also played an important part in making Christmas more festive, with decorating hints, recipes, instructions for mak-ing tree ornaments and happy people (many of them merchants) on every page.

Thanksgiving celebrants got a jolt in 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday back a week to allow more time for Christmas shopping. Many states, Colorado in-cluded, simply ignored him and continued par-tying on the fourth Thursday. Since Roosevelt had to deal with Pearl Harbor just a couple of weeks later, he backed off, wisely deciding to “pick his battles.”

A Denver family celebrates Thanksgiving in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Department

By Rosemary Fettercallieanne_9@msn.com

Thanksgiving, revisited

November 22 - December 12, 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 21

Trail’s End

Local churches celebrate feast day Dec. 12

Early December marks a religious holi-day beloved in southern Colorado, a region that was for centuries a far-flung outpost of

colonial Spain, then for decades the northern edge of frontier Mexico. Dec. 12 is the feast day honoring Our Lady of Guada-lupe, the cher-ished Catholic icon of the Vir-gin Mary in her Mexican mani-festation. The distinctive im-

age of the praying Madonna is prominent wherever Hispanic populations thrive, in-cluding several southern Colorado towns and cities, as well as Denver and Colorado Springs neighborhoods.

The glowing Madonna poses prayerfully in a demure three-quarter profile. Embel-lished with a queenly crown, glowing body aura, russet robe and star-studded blue cloak, she is surrounded by red roses and stands upon a crescent-moon pedestal held aloft by a peasant lad. Nostra Señora de Guadalupe is revered for peace, compas-sion and feminine power. As thus, she is the namesake for several Catholic churches in Colorado and hundreds in the U.S.

Traditional folk art crafted by peasants’ hands have installed her image in modest rural churches and chapels: retables – altar images painted or carved onto simple slabs of wood – and bultos – statues-in-the-round carved from cottonwood or pine. Her image also appears abundantly out-side the church – from motorcycle jackets and T-shirts to billboards and tattoos.

Nostra Señora de Guadalupe is hon-ored by folk artists in countless forms and places – roadside shrines, chapilla (back-yard chapels), front yard shrines, life-size murals, votive candles, hand-hammered tin decorations, fabric paintings called pa-ños, embroidery, quilts, banners, jewelry, trinkets, souvenirs, tattooed in ink and painted all over low-rider vehicles that be-come miniature moving chapels.

The folkloric legend of Our Lady of Gua-dalupe has its roots on the slopes of the Hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City. There, a youthful sheepherder named Juan Diego

was visited by a vision of a young woman on Dec. 9, 1531, 10 years after the region’s conquest by Cortés on behalf of the Span-ish Empire. The female apparition revealed herself as the Virgin Mary, and urged him that a church should be built on this site.

Young Juan went to the Archbishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, and told him about the fantastic occurrence. The Arch-bishop insisted that the young shepherd return with a sign of this mystical vision. The Madonna appeared to Juan again, on the same site. As a gesture of her authentic-

ity, she bade him to pick a bouquet of roses from the nearby bush blooming fragrantly in the snowy winter setting. Juan wrapped these flowers in his cloak, and when he pre-sented them to the doubting archbishop they both saw that the unwrapped cloak bore the image of the Virgin Madonna painted upon it.

The image-bearing tilma – Juan’s peas-ant cloak woven out of cactus fibers – is at the basis of this legend. The tilma is pre-served and displayed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Mexico City, where tests to disprove its validity have failed. The image of the colorful Virgin Mary be-came an emblem for Catholic worshippers throughout Latin America.

Our Lady of Guadalupe’s request for a church eventually was granted. The first New World chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was erected near Tepeyac. The cha-pel became enlarged through the centuries and now stands in the shadow of the adja-cent Basilica. It is the world’s most visited Catholic pilgrimage site, attracting six mil-lion faithful each year.

Then, as today, Our Lady of Guadalupe was invoked to comfort, defend and pro-tect. Called The Brown Virgin, Madonna of the Barrios and other affectionate names, she gave spiritual strength and hope to the peasant population struggling under Span-ish conquest. In 1754, with more than a dozen miracles to her name, Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared by Pope Bene-dict XIV as Patroness of the Americas and Queen of Mexico. Several military battles were fought under her banner.

Today, the ubiquitous image and be-loved icon still represents a powerful source of healing, blessings and inspiration. She is the People’s Madonna – feminine, sacred, accessible.

Día de Guadalupe, the Dec. 12 Feast of Guadalupe, is celebrated typically with a Mariachi mass and often a procession of the faithful bearing banners, playing gui-tars, singing alabados (sacred songs) and carrying her statue or painting through neighborhood streets. Our Lady of Guada-lupe images continue to sparkle through-out the Christmas season as ornaments, small statues and votive candles.

She is honored again in the month of May via pilgrimages in Latin American regions such as New Mexico and rural southern Colorado. Chama, just south of

the Colorado border, is a focal point for the faithful who walk miles to visit sacred sites. It is not a parade but a quest where Gua-dalupenas (women) and Peregrinos (men) make a promessa (promise or a vow), re-cite prayers and chant “Viva Guadalupe.” They carry decorated crosses and paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Tradition may include wearing accessories adorned with her tilma image – jewelry, caps, belt buck-les, jackets.

Sheepherder Juan Diego achieved saint-hood himself in 1990, beatified by Pope John Paul II who also designated a chapel for Our Lady of Guadalupe at Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. Dec. 9 is Saint Juan’s feast day, celebrated by special masses at the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe at Mexico City.

Our Lady of Guadalupe churches serve urban congregations in Colorado. In west Denver, the church at 1209 W. 36th Ave. serves a mission of outreach to Spanish-speaking immigrants. Dec. 11-12, Fiesta Patronal, will feature a Saturday mid-day procession and a dozen masses and ser-vices – in Spanish or bilingual – revering Our Lady. In Colorado Springs, the church at 2715 E. Pikes Peak Ave. offers a “refuge of faith, hope, and love to a mosaic commu-nity.” Sacraments are offered in Spanish or English and a number of missions serve multi-cultural and multi-lingual popula-tions. Pueblo, La Junta and Lamar each also have Our Lady of Guadalupe churches.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the little village of Conejos is the oldest house of worship in Colorado. At the base of the San Luis Valley 18 miles north of the New Mexico border, the small chapel was built in 1858 by farmers and ranchers, paisanos on the northern edge of the Spanish-speak-ing frontier. Conejos was the original Cath-olic parish in the San Luis Valley: all other churches, including those in San Luis and Alamosa, began as missions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in tiny Conejos. It was partially destroyed by fire on Ash Wednesday, 1926, and subsequently repaired and enlarged.

Viva Guadalupe!

By Cathleen Normanprespub@earthlink.net

Nostra Señora de Guadalupe appears in many places in many forms, here a mural outdoors at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

PAGE 22 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years November 22 - December 12, 2011

Horoscope

Contact Mary Nightstar at marynightstar@yahoo.com and type “horoscope” in the subject line.

SAGITTARIUS - (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21)One of the great things about you is you are flexible, and open to different opinions or options. You need to cooperate and bend a little more with the recent changes you›ve experienced in your social life. You›re not in sync about things concerning family fun. Vote or take turns on what to do. Let independence be your keyword.  Lucky Numbers: 3, 12, 26, 42, 60, 71 CAPRICORN - (Dec. 22 - Jan. 20)Don’t let yourself get caught up in a family spat. Responding with irritation is a sure way to escalate the conflict. Listen to what is truly being said. You may miss something really funny that›ll happen. Plan to stick around the house and share with your loved ones – you don’t want to miss. Renew your bonding. Lucky Numbers: 7, 16, 27, 39, 50, 66

AQUARIUS - (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19)Are you stuck around the house when you don’t want to be? Negotiate with your family on something fun to do. If you do hang around, tackle that home repair project that has been annoying you. Remember, if you are not happy, your partner isn’t going to be happy either. It›s time to do something fun again. Lucky Numbers: 12, 23, 35, 43, 58, 74 PISCES (Feb 20 - March 20)You know the «Reason for the Season» but can let other›s attitudes get to you. Extra time will be needed if you›re planning to travel. It›ll be the difference between heaven and hell. Use the internet or special catalogs to send your packages this season. Make it easy on yourself.  Ignore the bad moods of people at work. Lucky Numbers: 10, 24, 36, 40, 59, 77

ARIES - (March 21 - April 20)A time of triumph when your soul will rise above the pettiness of those that thrive upon the meanness and glory of demeaning and unkind words. You may find yourself preparing for a trip and may forge ahead of those that slack off at work. Money and a gift may come early. A pet may surprise a young one. Lucky Numbers: 5, 20, 29, 44, 54, 73 TAURUS - (April 21 - May 21)As usual, you›ll take advantage of this time to begin new friendships and earn the extra money that will pay the expenses of the time. Start early in finding your gifts or you›ll be able to make the most of the selections at hand. Electronic and useful gifts are part of the picture. New romances gain the most. Lucky Numbers: 6, 22, 31, 46, 55, 79

GEMINI - (May 22 - June 21)You may look disheveled as you rush around meeting the needs of others. Late nights and early mornings seem to never end as you work and try to get things done to make a perfect holiday. Save time and keep your car maintenance up and return the messages from others. It›s a time to pull names for gift giving. Lucky Numbers: 2, 19, 34, 47, 49, 69 CANCER - (June 22 - July 22)Mutual «Honey do Lists» will ease the burden of this season. You›ll be the one everyone wants to have Thanksgiving dinner with. Ask others to help and everything will be perfect. You may also be way ahead on any holiday shopping before most. Keep gossip to yourself at work. Lucky Numbers: 1, 25, 32, 41, 53, 80

 LEO - (July 23 - Aug 22)You›ll be busier than you think and making lists will be the key to your efficiency. Don›t let time slip away or you›ll racing around in circles. You may find obstacles in your path but your will to make things pleasant will have others look forward to your presence. Compare your «I›ve done it list» with reality to judge your current success. Lucky Numbers: 13, 18, 33, 38, 52, 63 VIRGO - (Aug. 23 - Sept. 23)Short notice guests stop by to share some quality time with you. Don’t worry so much about the dust bunnies and papers piling up; they›re there to see you. Besides, you›ll get things done. Get ready for a social and fun time. Are you away from your sweetheart too long? Make plans for a special get together when they return. Lucky Numbers: 8, 14, 24, 49, 61, 62

LIBRA - (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23)A casual word or gentle touch helps to give your partner the courage to keep going. With a little effort you’ll amaze even yourself! You may want to put that long to-do-list away for another day. One thing may lead to another and you›ll regain the spontaneity for that day. Show your smile and remember to show your sense of humor. Lucky Numbers: 4, 21, 28, 48, 59, 78 SCORPIO - (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)You could luck out and find a fabulous sale today. Something you’ve had your eye on is about to be yours by a gift or your action. Treat yourself to something really fun and special. Be willing to share the spotlight with your partner when the time arises; Its fun and to your advantage to share. Ask for help or directions when needed. Lucky Numbers: 9, 17, 30, 45, 57, 64

in the

Send usyour recipes!

To be featured in Rollin’ in the Dough: Send us a recipe, your name, a little about yourself, why you chose that recipe, a little about your cooking style, and of course your phone number in case we have questions. Email gambler@villagerpublishing.com or mail to 8933 E Union Ave., Suite 230, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. Questions? Call Sharon at 303-503-1388.

Rollin’ Dough

Quantity Ingredient1/3 cups flour½ cup firmly packed brown sugar¾ cup granulate sugar, divided¾ cup cold butter or margarine1 cup old-fashioned or quick, Cooking oats

Quantity Ingredient½ cup chopped pecans1 pkg 8 oz. cream cheese, softened3 eggs1 can 15oz pumpkin1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat the oven to 350, line 13 x 9 inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan, grease foil, mix flour, brown sugar and ¼ of the granulate sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and pecans. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture; press remaining mixture onto bottom of pan bake 15 min. Beat cream cheese, remaining ½ cup sugar, eggs, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 25 min., makes 24 servings 1 bar.

Pecan PumPkin Bars

Carmen McCann has been with the Isle for 12 years; for the last two years she has been a Pastry

Apprentice in the bakery, recently being promoted to Pastry Chef. Carmen is dedicated in everything she does and her dedication shows with all of the delicious treats she makes from scratch for Calypso’s Buffet. We hope you enjoy! 

enjoy Pecan PumPkin Bars from isle’s Pastry chef

carmen mccann

November 22 - December 12 , 2011 THE COLORADO GAMBLER – Celebrating 20 Years PAGE 23

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