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Vol. 162 No. 50 June 12, 2025
1961 Fools Gold Rd.
993 Fall River Rd.
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1961 Fools Gold Rd.
993 Fall River Rd.
from Duran’s Hobby Acres
Garden Center in Longmont reviews
some of the eight truckloads of plants
delivered to the City of Black Hawk
last week. Additional photos and the story on
Black Hawk’s largest flower display
program to date is on pages 8-9.
Photo by Don Ireland
The paper for Gilpin’s most informed residentsThe paper for Gilpin’s most informed residents
Things could get really eye-popping, shaking, wiggling
and sizzling in Central City on Saturday.
While some visitors may gasp when they see people in
pajamas racing beds up and down Main Street during the
annual Madam Lou Bunch Day, that might not be the most
provocative thing they’ll see that day.
Instead, it might be the reaction of those who dare to
take a peek inside the new Rick’s Cabaret and Steakhouse
housing authority?
Black Hawk plans to ask its residents whether they
would like to establish a city-based housing authority
to help rehabilitate substandard homes and potentially
allow for the construction of a limited number of new
homes on lots within its Historic Residential District.
If residents agree to the plan, the city would establish
its own housing authority while also distancing itself
from any Gilpin County proposals that involve creating a
multi-jurisdictional housing authority, which would in-
at 130 Main St. when it offers brief
tours during the Lou Bunch activities.
However, the real spectacle may
take place Saturday night, when
Rick’s.
Langan, CEO and President of RCI
Hospitality Holdings, the nation’s
largest adult entertainment company,
said the public is invited to enter the
new Rick’s during the various sched-
uled Lou Bunch Day activities—except
when the bed races are taking place.
The reason? Rick’s will field a team
in the event. “We’re all going to be out
there watching the bed races,” com-
mented Langan, who plans to wear an
old-time costume like other commu-
nity members attending the annual
festival. “We will be opening our doors
during the day to let people walk
through. We’ll probably give them a
little tour and have the music on.”
At 6 p.m. on Saturday night, Rick’s
will open its doors as a nightclub. The
ground floor and second-floor mez-
zanine will be a 21-and-over club,
equipped with TV-video screens
alongside a sophisticated light and
sound system.
However, the primary attraction
is likely to be the 20-foot-long main
stage area on the first floor, along with
two smaller stages, where 15 to 20
women from RCI’s other clubs plan
to entertain customers into the early
hours of Sunday.
In an exclusive interview at the new
Rick’s Cabaret on Monday, Langan
told the Weekly Register-Call, “Please
make sure you [note] that we are
not operating a Sexually Oriented
Business at Rick’s. We will operate
in a manner that makes sure we are
outside that definition. I don’t want
the public to think otherwise and raise
When asked how the entertainers
would be dressed, Langan
smiled and answered, “I guess
we’ll have to see on Saturday.”
Will some of the entertain-
ers wear bikini bottoms with
sprayed-on latex above their
waistlines?
“Well… we might…but I
don’t know what we’re going
to do yet,” he responded. “We
have several legal opinions on
what we can do, and we might
not decide until Saturday at
What about the city’s code,
amended last August, that
states entertainers cannot give
lap dances or have physical contact
with patrons, who must place tips in a
box near the stage? Langan responded,
“Only if they’re in a state of nudity.
If they’re not in a state of nudity, you
can’t govern people’s behavior in a
Will the new Rick’s Cabaret in
Central City do the same as the Rick’s
in San Antonio, where the club skirts
around local regulations by having
dancers wear a sprayed-on latex top?
“There’s a high possibility,” said Lan-
gan. “Definitely, their buttocks will be
covered, whether in sprayed latex or
regular clothing. That’s yet to be de-
cided. As far as their tops, that will be
a decision made on the fly at the last
minute, due to the “free the nipple”
case in Fort Collins. We don’t believe
the female breast is a sexual organ.
th Circuit Court.
Whether we’re going to press that is-
sue Saturday, I don’t know. Right now,
I’m leaning toward latex….”
“This is how crazy this is: If I parade
them up and down the street in the
bed race – topless, there’s nothing any-
one can do. It’s not illegal,” comment-
ed Langan. “The city wants to say,
‘we’re going to pass an ordinance that
says you lose your 14
right when you walk into a commercial
establishment.’ I don’t believe that’s
true. I don’t believe a woman loses
th Amendment right because she
ment Right as part of
her entry, but that’s
commercial business.
It has nothing to do
hasn’t finalized how
are classified – will
Central City location
during the first two
from other RCI loca-
other states. Drinks
and a limited menu –
and appetizers – are
expected to be avail-
able.
night.
table lights, will accommodate 60 in
the main room, which is modeled after
Rick’s in Miami. A private dining room
behind the third-floor bar will provide
seating for another 28.
For patrons—especially families
with children—Langan plans to have
a private entrance along Spring Street
that will allow them to take an el-
evator to the top floor and avoid the
nightclub area.
Langan stated that the nightclub
will initially open Thursday through
Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 4
a.m. Patrons may be required to pay a
cover charge for admission on certain
nights. At this time, he also plans to
offer a happy hour from 6 to 10 p.m.
on the days the nightclub is open.
RCI purchased 130 Main St. for $2.4
million from Central City in December
2022. Scarlet’s Casino previously oc-
cupied the building from 2005 to 06.
Before that, Bullwhackers
Casino remodeled the old
building and operated a
casino inside from 1992
to 1999. Rick’s will utilize
approximately 30,000
square feet of the building
space for operations.
The first two floors
feature new black chairs,
couches, and illuminated
tables. Langan has pre-
served two ornate, spi-
raling staircases in the
building, along with a
historic mural, “The Opera
Goat,” located between the
second and third floors. In
addition to the purchase
price, RCI has invested ap-
proximately $5.9 million
to renovate the building,
including $1.8 million for
a new rooftop HVAC sys-
tem, $600,000 for interior
heaters, and $250,000 for
kitchen equipment.
Langan mentioned that
not all the pieces will be
in place Saturday due
to shipping delays. He
stated that “now open”
signs will soon be placed
on RCI’s billboards along
the Central City Parkway.
However, he expressed
that the goal is to be prepared for the
steakhouse opening on the weekend
of June 28. This weekend coincides
with Central City’s “Stills in the Hills,”
Black Hawk’s Founders’ Day, and the
opening weekend for the Central City
Opera. “That will be our big weekend.
Until then, it’s practice for us.”
Aside from the attention Rick’s will
attract during Lou Bunch Day, Langan
said others are aware the nightclub
will open Saturday. “I think every
casino worker in Black Hawk is wait-
ing for us to open. We talk to them on
a regular basis. We know the dealers,
bartenders, valets, pit bosses, hotel
clerks and concierges,” noted Langan.
“Word will get around really, really
fast. I think Main Street could be more
exciting [this Saturday] than ever
before. We’re really excited.”
“This is how crazy this
is: If I parade them up
and down the street in
the bed race – topless,
there’s nothing any-
one can do. It’s not
Last-minute projects are wrapping up this week as Rick’s
Cabaret prepares to host a public open house on Sat-
urday. The largest of the three stage areas (pictured)
on the ground floor will be surrounded by numerous TV
screens and a high-tech sound system.
Eric Langan, CEO and President of RCI Hospitality Holdings, sur-
veys the kitchen for the forthcoming Rick’s Cabaret and Steakhouse
in Central City. According to Langan, the price for the kitchen equip-
ment is around $250,000. The steakhouse is scheduled to open on
the third floor of Rick’s the weekend of June 26-28.
Photos by Don Ireland
Local artist Heidi Dom assisted in restoring “The
Opera Goat,” a mural that has been inside Rick’s
building for over 30 years but has sustained dam-
age during that time. The mural is located next to a
spiral staircase between the second floor and the
steakhouse on the third.
Many decisions left to make, but Rick’s Cabaret
to open by the end of June
