Gilpin GM a character with a capital T

To call T Alan Roberts a character doesn’t do him justice. He’s a capital C character along with being the general manager of The Gilpin casino in Black Hawk. But his real job is to hand out T-isms like a slot machine that’s always paying out.

T on rival Central City: “In the initial days before gaming, I sat in a hall meeting, and the Central City people … would say, ‘Those sod busters in Black Hawk, they don’t know what they’re doing.’”

On his first name “T,” which he refuses to divulge what it stands for: “I tell everybody it stands for the truth.”

On winning: “If you value your gaming, don’t go to a place that’s mired in debt.”

On the red siren-like lights on top of various machines throughout The Gilpin: “Those are machines that paid out more money in a week than was paid in. That’s truth in lending, we have nothing to hide.”

On traffic from Lakewood to Black Hawk: “It’s my road. I don’t mind if everybody else uses it, but let me through first.”

On working in the gaming industry for 17 years: “I know less today than I did back then.”

On his employees: “They call it work for a reason, and I try to remember people have lives away from here.”

On his job: “If it all comes to an end for me tomorrow, it’s been a great ride.”

Painted past. The walls of The Gilpin Casino are adorned with several murals depicting Gilpin County’s mining era. Take a stroll through Gilpin County’s painted past.

Panels include depictions of John Gregory, who discovered gold on May 6, 1859, and pioneered the foundation of mining law; Gullveig, the sorceress who had love and lust for gold; Freya, Gullveig’s temptress partner in crime; the Lace House, which was built for Mary Lucien Smith, who lost her child when she was seven months pregnant. There’s also a painting of the vaudeville era, and the hotel’s resident ghost Lucille Malone, who died of a broken heart when her lover was run over by a carriage of drunken riders.

Steak escape. Farraday’s, the fine dining restaurant inside the Isle Casino Hotel in Black Hawk, offers a steak house menu every bit as impressive as the ones carnivores know and love in the metro area.

This meat market is a white-tablecloth establishment offering both prime and Angus slabs o’ steak served ala carte, as is the steak house tradition.

In addition to traditional fare, new to the menu is an all-Colorado products tasting menu for $40 per person.

The wine list, which reads like an engrossing novel, carries everything from a $22 Snoqualmie Wine Makers Select Reisling to a $4,500 1961 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Premiere Grand Cru Cabernet.

Farradday’s submitted its Wine list to the prestigious Wine Spectator – and scored the coveted award. Farradday’s serves dinner nightly.

Eavesdropping on two women at The Gilpin: “Why is it so hot in this part of the casino?”
“Because these are hot machines. Everybody’s winning.”

~ Penny Parker is a columnist for The Denver Post. She’s always on the prowl for tidbits and tips from Colorado’s gaming communities. Call her at 303-619-5209 or e-mail
pparker@denvernewspaperagency.com.