Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

PAGE 7 WEEKLY REGISTER-CALLMarch 13, 2025

Opening day for Rick’s Cabaret

remains an elusive mystery

Rick’s Cabaret have been hung

along the Central City Parkway

since early January. A blade

sign for Rick’s has been hang-

ing outside 130 Main Street

since Jan. 31.

Nonetheless, the question

remains: When will the much-

ballyhooed strip club/cabaret

and steakhouse open for busi-

ness?

The short answer is: Nobody

knows. That includes RCI Hos-

pitality Holdings President &

CEO Eric Langan, who told the

Weekly Register-Call last week,

“We don’t have any news yet.”

One major drawback of

the club’s opening is an issue

with the lack of natural gas in

the building. A runaway RV

destroyed the gas meter serv-

ing 130 Main Street on Nov.

22, 2024. Excel Energy hasn’t

replaced the gas meter yet, nor

has it repaired Spring Street,

which was dug up to turn off

an underground gas line the

night of the accident. (See

The business owner needs

heat in the building to com-

plete the remaining remodel-

ing and construction. Howev-

er, Langan can’t proceed until

the gas is fixed. “We can’t do

anything until the gas is done,”

he commented.

Likewise, Central City Man-

ager Daniel Miera when asked

when Spring Street will be

repaired. “We’re not aware of

that date yet. We don’t know of

an opening date [for the club]

that has been released yet.”

The lack of gas prevents new

kitchen equipment from be-

ing installed and tested in the

steakhouse, which is located

on the upper floor of the build-

ing. The company has also

been waiting to set a date for

hauling its high-end leather

booths, seats and tables from

Florida to Central City for the

second-floor dining area.

Last fall, Langan said he

planned to open the business

in early November, but the

date was pushed back until

February. At one point, Langan

said he had hoped to open on

weekends during the spring

and expand the number of days

after warm weather and the

summer tourism season began.

While the work is temporar-

ily stalled in the Rick’s build-

ing, the subject of what type

of adult “strip club” entertain-

ment continues to be a titillat-

ing topic among residents.

Originally, Langan told Cen-

tral officials he wanted some

form of nudity in the cabaret.

Last spring and summer,

Central City residents filled the

city council chambers several

times to discuss the subject of

a strip club in the city’s His-

toric Downtown Gaming Dis-

trict. Most voiceds opposition

to having a Sexually Oriented

Business in their community,

saying it would harm Central’s

reputation and bring crime to

the community.

Following months of discus-

sion, Central City’s aldermen

changed some of the city’s

regulations involving SOBs and

required them to operate in In-

dustrial-zoned land along the

Central City Parkway. The new

rules also prohibit adult female

dancers and patrons from

touching one another. It also

requires customers to place

gratuities in a “tip box” on the

wall. Another rule prohibited

dancers from being nude.

In response to the new city

regulations, Langan said he

planned to have his female en-

tertainers wear clear latex tops

that give them the appearance

of being naked. One of RCI’s

Texas clubs uses latex clothing

as a workaround to strict San

Antonio regulations.

RCI filed a federal lawsuit

against Central City on Sept.

7, claiming its new regulations

violated the company’s rights.

The court is not expected to

hear the case until potentially

sometime in 2026. However,

the legal matter isn’t likely to

further delay RCI’s proposed

club opening this spring.

Miera told the WR-C last

week, “Once RCI is done with

their renovations and fin-

ish their project, they can

open and operate – so long

as they’re not operating as an

SOB. If they have entertain-

ment that isn’t nude or semi-

nude, then they can operate.

That lawsuit doesn’t have any

What if Rick’s Cabaret has

workers who wear clear latex

coverings that give the impres-

sion that they look nude?

“The way that we under-

stand it at this time,” contin-

ued Miera, “is that as long as

you cannot see the prohibited

areas of the body – and it’s

covered – there’s nothing we

know of that says it has to be

of a certain thickness or of a

certain material. It just says

that it has to be covered. I

think there’s a lot of flexibility

in someone’s ability to inter-

pret that. We’re just going to

make sure that we uphold our

laws and make sure they are

followed. We don’t want to

interpret things in a way that

would violate somebody’s abil-

ity to operate fully.”

It has been nearly a year

since Central City and Gilpin

County residents began turn-

ing out for city council meet-

ings – primarily to protest

the concept of a strip club.

Among the concerns aired

were potential increases in

illegal activities inside and

outside the building, a higher

number of police calls to the

Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office,

and having an adult nightclub

could bring Central City a

diminished reputation.

However, a few people turned

out to voice support for the pro-

posed Rick’s Cabaret, claiming it

could provide new nightlife along

Main Street, attract additional

patrons to local casinos and

generate additional sales-tax rev-

enues for Central City, which has

been faced with declining munici-

pal revenues in recent years.

County Sheriff’s Reports are

“exclusively” featured in their

editions. This statement is bla-

tantly false because the Weekly

Register-Call has been printing

these reports for almost two

centuries. It’s sad that someone

believes they have to use honor-

able work from Gilpin’s local

law enforcement for their own

gain.

One has to wonder what

other claims they make that are

incorrect.

Possession of a controlled

substance, failure to appear—

Oﬃ cers were dispatched to

the Ameristar Casino for drugs

found in a wallet. After Oﬃ cers

arrived, the suspect was staying

in one of the hotel rooms. Of-

/f_icers contacted the suspect who

admitted that the drugs were

theirs. The suspect was taken

into custody and booked in at

Gilpin County Jail for a warrant

and possession.

Harassment—Oﬃ cers re-

sponded to a disturbance at Lady

Luck Casino Hotel but the report-

ing party did not want to pursue

charges on the suspect due to

a mental health crisis and being

family members.

Theft— Oﬃ cers responded to

the Sasquatch Casino on a report

of a theft. Suspect was issued a

Theft— BHPD was noti/f_ied by

the Monarch Casino HR Direc-

tor of nine employees that were

committing theft while using the

cash register at the restaurant and

coﬀee bar. Oﬃ cers met with the

employees and issued summonses

for theft. The employees were ter-

minated by the Monarch Casino.

Forgery— BHPD Oﬃcers re –

sponded to the Sasquatch Casino

on a report of a fake identi/f_ication

card. Suspect was not on scene

upon arrival and the identi/f_ication

card was seized.

Criminal traﬃc violation— Of-

/f_icers conducted a traﬃc stop on

(HWY 119 and Miners Rd.) for hav-

ing no plate lights and displaying

expired tags. The driver was given

a verbal warning.

Counterfeit Bill— Oﬃ cers were

dispatched to Monarch Casino

for a fake $20 dollar bill. Oﬃ cers

arrived and through investigation

took pictures of the bill and Mon-

arch Security collected it.

Criminal traﬃc violation— Of-

/f_icers observed a vehicle traveling

at a high rate of speed north on

Main St. Oﬃ cers initiated a traﬃ c

stop and discovered the driver did

not have necessary documents.

Oﬃ cers issued a summons and

cleared the scene.

DUI (alcohol)—BHPD were dis-

patched to a Reddi report from the

Ameristar Casino the driver was

driving a red Chevy pickup going

southbound HWY119. Oﬃcers

located the vehicle and arrested

the driver for suspicion of DUI.

Traﬃc— BHPD observed a

vehicle traveling northbound on

HWY 119 and passing a vehicle

over two solid yellow lines into

mons was issued to the driver for

careless driving.

Criminal Traﬃc Violation— A

2021 White Ford Ranger, traveling

northbound on HWY 119 with

plates that expired January 2024

. A traﬃ c stop was conducted on

the vehicle in the valet parking

garage at the Ameristar Casino.

The driver was issued a county

summons.

Criminal traﬃc violation— An

Oﬃ cer Conducted a traﬃ c stop

at Gregory Stand HWY 119 for

running a red light. Oﬃ cers wrote

a summons for failure to present

insurance.

Aggravated assault— BHPD

Oﬃ cers were in contact with

a possible domestic violence

victim at the Monarch Casino

that happened in room 3106.

During the investigation, oﬃ cers

determined that a possible assault

had occurred and strangulation.

Oﬃ cers were not able to locate

the suspect, appeared suspect left

the city.

A $1,000 fine has been imposed on the driver of a recreational

vehicle that crashed into the Rick’s Cabaret building in Novem-

ber.

Last week, the Gilpin County District Court ordered Robert

Garcia, the RV driver, to pay $1,000 following a restitution hear-

ing for the Nov. 22, 2024, incident in Central City. Garcia pleaded

guilty to charges of careless driving on Jan. 8, according to a

spokesperson for the court.

Neither Garcia nor his passenger, Dalene Wilson, were injured

when the RV lost its brakes coming down the hill on Nevada

Street, ran a stop sign and crashed into the side of 130 Main

Street. The building is owned by RCI Hospitality Holdings, which

wants to open one of its Rick’s Cabaret branded steakhouses

featuring female adult entertainers later this spring.

The runaway RV also destroyed Central City’s community

Christmas tree and a gas meter outside the building. The incident

also damaged the building’s exterior brick wall, although RCI

said the accident didn’t harm the building’s structural integrity.

On the night of the crash, the Central City Fire Department

and Gilpin County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident,

evacuating the area due to the gas leak. The first responders

stayed at the scene overnight and redirected traffic.

Because of the gas leak, Xcel Energy workers were required

to dig into nearby Spring Street to turn of the supply line for the

building. Those involved with the matter said a new gas meter

will be installed at the Rick’s building before the street being

repaired.

However, RCI President & CEO Eric Langan told the Weekly

Register-Call last week that the date for such repairs is unknown.

“We don’t have any news yet,” Langan said.

A runaway RV crashed into the side of the proposed Rick’s

Cabaret building on Nov. 22, 2024. The crash destroyed a

community Christmas tree, crushed a gas meter and

damaged part of the building exterior. Neither the driver nor

his passenger was injured, also people from blocks around

the crash scene were cleared from the area.

our story on RCI’s Denver

issues last week, the com-

pany has filed a federal

lawsuit against the City

of Denver. The company

alleges the city “ille-

gally accessed employee

records, falsely accused

the Diamond Cabaret and

Rick’s Cabaret of steal-

ing tips from entertain-

ers and employees while

also misrepresenting how

much the businesses paid

their employees while

calculating fines.

Several weeks ago, the

city Auditor’s department

issued nearly $14 million

in fines and restitution

following a probe of the

two strip clubs. Rick’s

Cabaret filed the lawsuit in

U.S. District Court, asking

for a gag order to prevent

Denver Labor from further

“ disseminating falsehoods

against the clubs.” The

lawsuit also requested a jury

trial.

DESPERADOSDESPERADOS

Black Hawk Police ReportBlack Hawk Police Report

Work resuming on Floyd Hill; expect overnight closings

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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