Colorado: Wildwood Casino to open adjacent hotel in early June

American Gaming Group is building a $14 million, 101-room hotel adjacent to its Wildwood Casino that is nearing a completion stage, and is scheduled to open by early June in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

The hotel is already offering pre-opening enticements for reservations made prior to April 15. “We are very excited,” said Nanci Ciampa, the Wildwood Hotel and Casino Sales Manager, as reported by The Mountain Jackpot News. “We are taking reservations now. This will take everything (in Cripple Creek) to the next level.”

The idea of developing a destination area has been thrown out for several decades, but local leaders believe the new Wildwood Hotel represents the first tangible new project to help make this dream a reality. With the opening of the new hotel, more casino lodging projects are expected to follow in these footsteps.

The new Wildwood hotel project was heavily lauded in TMJ’s 2021 “Best Of the High Country” contest. The need for more modern rooms in town was mentioned by many voters, and the new hotel was cited as a definite leap in the right direction.

The new Wildwood has been in the planning, development and building stages for a lengthy period. The project broke ground in 2019 in a ceremony that commanded tremendous interest, attracting a huge gathering of community leaders. At the official ground-breaking, Wildwood owner Joe Canfora described their hotel project as the opening act in the town’s next phase of development. He cited the need for more lodging, housing and non-gaming amenities as the real gap in the town’s development growth.

There are several other hotel projects coming to Cripple Creek. Full House's Chamonix Casino Hotel is scheduled to open late next year, as part of a $180 million expansion project under construction that will nearly double the gaming floor of Bronco Billy’s and add upscale hotel rooms, restaurants, a spa, rooftop pool, convention and meeting space and a parking garage. Triple Crown Casinos plans to start construction on its $40 million, 150-room hotel after Colorado’s pandemic-related restrictions on hotels and restaurants are further eased.

Wildwood operators admit the COVID-19 menace caused some delays. But the project is now poised for an early June opening, according to officials. A grand opening could occur in June, noted Ciampa. She said the new hotel plans to host an event that kicks off the summer season, and possibly sponsor more events further in the year. The Wildwood Hotel and Casino Sales Manager believes the timing could be ideal for their new hotel opening and early celebrations. By that time, the COVID-19 scare could be nearing a close and a new law will be in full force, eliminating all single-bet gaming limits and calling for more games.  

The new Wildwood Hotel isn’t the only lodging facility the casino will operate. It still will run the Gold King Mountain Inn.  “All of our properties are intertwined,” said Ciampa.

Wildwood operators see the project as a great hub to partake in gaming in the town’s main Las Vegas-style casino (touted as the highest casino in the world) and to frequent other amenities in the region. “This is really the right product for this area,” said Ciampa.