1st: Legal & Clasifi ed section

By Don Ireland
By Don Ireland

“That didn’t go very well. We
heard a lot about Sasquatch
(also called Bigfoot) and, if
you look today, it’s still well
advertised, So we decided to
go with Sasquatch. They’re
still looking for the sasquatch
on the internet and TV. The
sasquatch’s name sets up apart
from the other casinos.”
A Michigan artist designed
the gi-
ant, hairy
Sasquatch
creature that
welcomes
visitors who
walk in the
door. “The
artist said he
saw a Sas-
quatch run
up the hill
when he was
12 years old.
He got many
books about
it and later
designed
and built our
Sasquatch.
There is no
question in
his mind that
these are real.
He also built
another one
that is in our
Squatch gas
station,” said
Ed.
Many peo-
ple stop to snap a selfie with
the beast. They also venture
a few feet away to a small,
hairy sculpture that includes
a sign, “Rub the Sasquatch
butt for good luck.” Nearby, a
series of photos show how the
statue was built.
The present-day Sasquatch
operation is larger than when
it originally opened. The
Smiths purchased two smaller
spaces at the west end of their
place and made them part of
their casino. One section in-
cludes a small arcade section,
so children can play various
video games because state
law prohibits those under the

PART TWO
By Don Ireland
Senior Reporter
Ed and Shirley Smith are
considered casino legends
in Colorado. Married for 61
years, they never imagined
where their future would lead
when they exchanged vows.
Before gaming arrived, they
also operated a convenience
store and laundromat in Black
Hawk.
More than 60 years ago, Ed
had a friend in Fort Collins.
The man was dating a woman
from Wyoming and wanted
his lady friend to get someone
to go on a double date. That
woman convinced Shirley to
go along. That night, Ed met
Shirley… the rest became
history.
“She was from New Castle,
and I was from Rifle,” said
Ed. “Both of us had been in
4-H in our areas but never
really met. It was on that
double-date, a blind date for
Shirley and I, that we met,”
he added. “She and I had very
similar backgrounds with
farming and ranching. We
thought about things in the
same way.”
Ed and Shirley were mar-
ried in 1961.
Today, their family includes
four children (three sons and
one daughter), 14 grandchil-
dren and nine great-grandchil-
dren. The office walls at both
casinos are plastered with
family photos.
Shirley ran a laundromat
and convenience store in the
current Sasquatch space on
Gregory Street when gaming
arrived. “We rented the place
and had an option to buy,”
recalled Smith. “There were
quite a few shysters who came
and made promises, wanting
to take over. Shirley and I
decided to hold out because
we didn’t want to give away
our future for nothing.”
* * *
Selecting the appropriate
name for a casino can be chal-
lenging.
Picking the name for
the Wild Card Casino was
relatively simple because the
second floor of the historic
125 Gregory St. building (the
Sasquatch casino) contained
a stage and dance hall named
the Wild Card. The Wild Card
was established in a building
on Black Hawk’s Main Street
in 1995. The two casinos are
a stone’s throw away from
one another – especially if a
Bigfoot is hurling the stone.
On the other hand, it wasn’t
easy to choose the name for
the Smiths’ Sasquatch Casino.
Ed and Shirley were seeking
a new name for their Gregory
Street operation when they
went to dinner at a Chinese
restaurant in Idaho Springs.
“We talked to the Chinese
girl who worked there, and
she said, ‘This is the year
of the red rat.’ We thought
about the name ‘The Red Rat’
and laughed,” Ed recounted.