Casinos in Colorado first opened in 1991. At that time, all video poker and slot machines operated with coins. Players that wanted to leave a machine with money in it would need a bucket to carry the coins away. Large wins were paid by a slot attendant.
There are still several Colorado casinos that have coin-operated slot and video poker machines. Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek all have these games.
Black Hawk coin slot machines
There are two Black Hawk casinos that still offer coin games. These are found at Wild Card Saloon and Bull Durham Casino. Both have nickel and quarter reels. Titles include Kenny Rogers The Gambler, Double Diamond, and Enchanted Forest. The former Golden Gulch, now part of Bally’s Black Hawk, no longer offers coin-operated slot machines.
Central City coin slot machines
Famous Bonanza Casino is the last casino in Central City where we found coin games during our last trip. Players will find nickel, quarter, and dollar denominations of old reels. Titles include Kenny Rogers The Gambler, Thunderheart, and Enchanted Forest. Many of the Famous Bonanza Casino slot machines are coin-operated.
Cripple Creek coin slot machines and video poker
Two Cripple Creek casinos offer coin video poker. One of those also has a large variety of coin slot machines.
The largest selection of coin games in Cripple Creek is found at Johnny Nolon’s. It has quarter video poker. The options include two Triple Play machines with games like Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker Deluxe and Double Double Bonus Poker, all with quality pay tables. Deuces Wild is the Not-so-ugly-ducks version. The Jacks or Better and Double Double Bonus Poker pay 9 on a full house and 6 on a flush. Johnny Nolon’s Casino also has quarter coin 8/5 Double Double Bonus Poker with five progressive meters.
Johnny Nolon’s has a variety of coin slot reels. The denominations start at quarter and run up to $25.
Colorado Grande has two types of $1 coin video poker machines. The options are 9/6/5 Double Bonus Poker and 8/5 Double Double Bonus Poker. Each has a progressive meter for four of a kind hands and a royal flush.



All Colorado casinos with coin games also offer ticket machines
Coin slots and video poker are not for everyone. Some players do not want to touch all those coins or worry about carrying around buckets of nickels and quarters. Each of the casinos mentioned have something for everyone as modern machines that accept and dispense tickets are available at all.
How to play a Colorado coin slot machine
Coin slot and video poker machines were used before the invention of ticket-in/ticket-out technology. All Colorado coin games that we found have a bill acceptor. Players may use cash or drop coins into the slot. Note that some newer $50 and $100 bills may not work in coin game bill acceptors.
Large wins are paid with cash by a slot attendant. If you decide to leave and still have coins in the slot or video poker machine, hit the cashout button. It will dispense the coins equal to the amount of the credit. All Colorado casinos with coin games have buckets for players to use to collect the win. The cashier has a counter that will determine the amount of the coins. It gets paid in cash.
Most Las Vegas coin video poker machines have bill acceptors. However, there are a few that only accept coins. Players will need to buy a roll of quarters from a slot attendant to play these games.