Erma Bombeck Remembered: New year a good time to remember Erma’s philosophy

“Why” and “if” can change your life

I enjoy spending time with my daughter,

Susan, who is a driving force behind our

publications. Recently, I was driving through

the mountains with smoke drifting in from the

wildfires.

As many of our readers know, I’ve been writ-

ing about the Meeker Massacre and the White

River Museum letters from 1885, published in

the Meeker-Herald Times. At the time, Colora-

do Gov. Frederick W. Pitkin showed no respect

for the Indians, and he accused the Utes of

setting fires in the vast forests.

Earlier this month, Susan called and told me

about the smoke from the Meeker fire. I said,

“Well, the Indians didn’t start these fires.” She

burst out laughing.

We were talking Sunday afternoon, and she

shared something she had learned from a suc-

cessful company. She was a Dallas advertising

executive before returning to The Villager a

decade ago. She explained the importance of

the word “WHY” to her, and perhaps to her

mother and me.

The bottom line is, WHY do we all do what

we do? Think about it: why do we get up every

morning and do whatever we need to do—go

to work, prepare meals, get the kids off to

school, or catch the morning news? Why is a

very important question to ask yourself? Why

I like every day is because I enjoy my role in

the newspaper business. It has been my main

career outside of well-spent military training.

What is your WHY?

Another challenging word is “IF.” How many

of you are living with an IF: if I win the lot-

tery, if I get a new job, if I receive a raise, get

good grades, or if I lose weight. There are so

many IFS in our lives. My conclusion is that

you make your own IFS come true through

hard work, patience, and determination. Learn

to bounce back well and never give up. Many

IFS can become reality with hard work, sweat,

effort, and yes, simple GOOD LUCK.

Let’s all figure out WHY we do what we do,

maybe do it better, or change the WHY. And

hopefully, all our IFS will come true.

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A fellow has to be a contortionist to get by these days.

First, he has to keep his back to the wall and his ear to

the ground. He is expected to put his shoulder to the

wheel, his nose to the grindstone, keep a level head,

and both feet on the ground. And, at the same time,

look for the silver lining with his head in the clouds.

Weekly Register-Call, June 14, 1935

Sports betting sets record

When it comes to bet-

ting on sports, Coloradoans

apparently aren’t worried

about the price of gasoline,

groceries, insurance or other

household costs.

Newly released numbers

from the Colorado Division of

Gaming showed that sports

bettors raised the stakes for

themselves during the 2024-

25 state fiscal year, which

ended on June 30.

According to the state,

Coloradoans spent a record

of $6 billion on sports bet-

ting last year. That’s not a

typo – it’s B, as in billion,

rather than M, as in mil-

lion. The $6,300,842,045

in sports betting generated

a total of $36,819 million in

tax revenues for the state,

establishing a new fiscal-year

mark. The number is nearly

$6.4 million higher than the

previous year in tax income

and a 354 percent increase

from fiscal year 2020-21, the

first year that residents were

allowed to place sports bets.

The majority of the nearly

$37 million in taxes will go

toward water conservation

and protection projects. The

funds will support the Water

Plan Grant Program adminis-

tered by the Colorado Water

Conservation Board, the

state’s primary water-policy

agency.

“These record-breaking

numbers are great for the

industry and for the State of

Colorado,” Division of Gam-

ing Director Chris Schro-

der said. “Each dollar raised

helps us protect Colorado’s

vital water resources, both

today and for future genera-

tions, while also reinforcing

our commitment to respon-

sible gaming practices that

ensure a safe and enjoyable

experience for all partici-

Based on estimations, the

average person in Colorado

(population 5.597 million)

placed a total of $1,125 in

sports bets between July 1,

2024, and June 30 of this

year – or $21.49 a week.

The events that attracted

most of the sports bets during

the past year included: No. 1,

basketball ($1,405 billion);

No. 2, American pro football

($851 million); No. 3 baseball

($599 million); No. 4 tennis

($357 million), No. 5 NCAA

basketball ($298 million);

No. 6 soccer ($291 million);

No. 7 table tennis ($279 mil-

lion); No. 8 NCAA football

($210 million); No. 9 ice

hockey ($160 million) and

No. 10 golf ($60 million).

More than 98 percent of

sports bets are placed via

online apps. The remainder

is placed at brick-and-mortar

casino sportsbooks in Black

Hawk and Cripple Creek. Lo-

cal taxing authorities do not

receive shares of sports bets

placed in local casinos.

The City of Black Hawk

reported its sales-tax rev-

enues were up during June.

Each month, Black Hawk

contributes 1.5 percent of the

tax collected at restaurants,

coffee and gift shops around

the casino city to the Gilpin

County School District RE-1

for its student programs.

In June, the city contrib-

uted $166,287 to the district,

a 1.93 percent increase over

the same month in 2024.

During the last calendar year,

Black Hawk set a record by

contributing $1.974 million to

the school district.

Cripple Creek Police De-

partment said they arrested

a man after he was captured

on video jumping over a

cashier’s counter and stealing

$76,800 from the J.P. Mc-

Gill’s Casino on East Bennett

Avenue just after 4 a.m. on

Monday, Aug. 18.

The suspect, Andrew Irvine,

26, of Colorado Springs, was

arrested later that day.

In March 2023, a $500,000

heist occurred at the Monarch

Casino Resort Spa in Black

Hawk, becoming the largest

theft in the nearly 33-year

history of legalized gaming

in the state. Following more

than a year of investigations

and court proceedings, one

man was sentenced to 54

months in prison.

In June 2024, the case end-

ed after charges were dropped

against a casino cashier,

whom prosecutors said was

duped into stuffing $50,000

bricks of cash from the cash

before leaving the building.

The money was never re-

covered.

Mountain Kids [early learning

center] and other programs.

Infrastructure money could

be used for water and road

improvements, because there’s

been a lot of demand for them.

There’s also money that could

be used for some sustainable

housing options. We will be

taxing the visitors – we won’t

be taxing our residents.”

Previously, Gilpin was lim-

ited to a two-percent lodging

tax rate. However, earlier this

year, the state legislature ap-

proved a measure that permits

counties to hike their rates by

another four percent, pending

voter approval.

TODAY!!!

Erma Bombeck Remembered: New year a good time to remember Erma’s philosophy

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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