New Casino Coming 30 Miles North of Fort Collins

Nearly two years after Horse Palace at Swan Ranch casino opened, a few miles north of the Colorado border, news of a new, larger, casino coming south of that casino was announced. The casino will be only about 30 miles north of Fort Collins.

What is the Casino That's Just North of the Colorado Border?

Many in Colorado are very familiar with Wyoming's exit 2 off of I-25, as that's where you'll find a few fireworks stands. Coming in 2027, exit 2 will also be where you'll find a new 58,00 square-feet casino, for fun, according to the Paulick Report, who report on the horse racing industry.

What Does Horse Racing Have to Do with the New Casinos in Wyoming?

I know that when I found out that Cheyenne had casino gambling I was very curious as to "how." I went up there in 2022 to check it out; I lost about $40 before heading home, still confused on what it was.

It turns out, that the slot machines you find at these casinos in Wyoming, are very similar to what we find in Black Hawk or Central City, but they are different. These machines are showing you bet results on past horse races; it's called Historical Horse Racing (HHR.)

I don't really understand it, but the Kansas City Gaming Commission explains it fairly well:

When you play [HHR slot machines] the machine pulls a random race from a library of hundreds of thousands of past races (anonymized so you don't know which one it is). The "spin" on the screen is just a visual representation of that race’s outcome. If the horses you "bet" on finished in the winning order, you win.

What Will the Casino at Exit 2 in Wyoming Have?

According to the Paulick Report, the $80 million casino will be 58,000 square-feet, will have 600 [slot machines], Off Track Betting on horse races, a "stadium-style" bar, a few dining options, along with what will be the largest TV wall in Wyoming.

 READ MORE: Windsor Bar May Have Colorado's Largest TV Wall

Paulick Report states that by 2030, the new casino will be generating $3 million in tax revenue for Wyoming, mostly from folks who come up from Colorado.