Central City is above Black Hawk. A free tramway connects both cities. US Casino Advantage rode it between properties a few times during our most recent visit. Central City is accessible by driving through Black Hawk or taking the Central City Parkway exit near the Idaho Springs exit from Interstate 40.
Our third trip to survey the casinos was in August 2024. Previous visits to Colorado were in 2020 and 2021. During our recent visit, Main Street was blocked off to vehicle traffic while preparing for an event later in the day. Grand Z, Dragon Tiger, and Century have live table games. All other Central City casinos are slots-only. Smaller Central City casinos only have video poker at bars.
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Grand Z
Grand Z is the largest Central City casino. It is the only Central City casino with a sportsbook. It has Caesars kiosks. There is ample seating and several large televisions steps away from its table game pit. The available games are $5 Three Card Poker and $10 double zero roulette, craps with 10 times odds, double-deck blackjack, and six-deck blackjack. All blackjack pays 3/2. The dealer hits soft 17.
There is also a large selection of electronic table games at Grand Z. However, unlike the live tables, blackjack only pays 6/5 on electronic options. Video blackjack can be played heads-up for $1 on Interblock machines and $3 on the Casino Wizard machines. All other ETGs, including the remaining Casino Wizard options, have a $1 minimum. Baccarat, craps, and 00 roulette are offered on the Casino Wizard and as multiplayer games. Big Six is only available on heads-up Interblock machines. Side bets are available on most electronic table games.
Kristina and I played video poker for an hour or two at Grand Z. She played Six Card. I played Ultimate X Bonus Streak and Powerhouse Poker. Other video poker variants we found include Ultimate X and Spin Poker. Denominations start at a nickel for multi-hand and single-line video poker games.
Grand Z has the best video poker games in Central City. The good paytables start at the $1 denomination. Games include 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe, 8/6 Jacks or Better, 8/5 White Hot Aces, and 15/9 Deuces Wild.
Dragon Tiger
Dragon Tiger was Johnny Z’s during our last visit. It was slots-only then. It now has $10 blackjack and baccarat. There is an Interblock stadium with four electronic table game options. Unlike many stadiums, only one game can be played at a time on this version. Options include baccarat, 6/5 blackjack, craps, and 00 roulette. Games have a $3 minimum, except for baccarat which is $5. Side bets are offered for baccarat and blackjack. We did not find any playable video poker. A small sports viewing area is also available at Dragon Tiger.
Famous Bonanza
Famous Bonanza is a small slots-only casino. It has a few dozen coin slots. Some banks were converted to tickets since our last visit. We played a little Kenny Roger’s Gambler. We lost $0.90 of our $5 deposit. It dropped $4.10 in nickels. Video poker is available at the bar. However, the paytables are below average.
Dostal Alley
Dostal Alley is a bar with poor video poker and a small slot hall on two levels. The downstairs also has a pizza restaurant.
Easy Street
Easy Street was exactly as we remembered. It has a few coin slots and a few banks of video poker machines. The Game Kings have a variety of variants like Triple Play, Five Play, Ten Play, Ultimate X, Spin Poker, and Chase the Royal. The denominations are nickel, dime, and quarter on multi-hand games. The best options are 8/5 Super Double Double Bonus and 9/6 Double Double Bonus.
Century Central City
Century Casino has a small table game pit. It also has a few electronic table games. The live table games are $5 Heads Up Hold’em, Three Card Prime, and 3/2 six-deck blackjack. Heads-up video blackjack also pays 3/2 and offers two side bets. It has a $2 minimum. The other two electronic table game options only have a $1 minimum. Games include heads-up craps and multiplayer 00 roulette.
A bar has a few 99% video poker options. An entire room is dedicated to video poker. Variants include Triple Play, Five Play, Ten Play, Ultimate X, Spin Poker, and Chase the Royal. The best video poker game is 8/5 Bonus Poker in $0.50 and $1 denominations. Deuces Wild with a 15/9 paytable is also available. At the $1 denomination, there is a bank of 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker machines with a royal flush progressive.
