STILL LOOSE
Rocky Mountain Gaming renews its Strictly Slots Loose Slots Certification
By Frank Legato
The Rockies are “Certified Loose.” Again.
One year ago, Rocky Mountain Gaming—the casino company formed in Cripple Creek, CO, by a consortium including Las Vegas veteran Michael Gaughan III—announced the achievement of its first “Certified Loose” designation from Casino Player’s sister publication, Strictly Slots.
The Loose Slots Certification is achieved by submitting operator statistics on payback percentages, also known as return-to-player, or RTP, for verification. The statistics reported to regulatory authorities show slot hold, the percentage of wagers kept by the casinos as “casino win.” The inverse of those numbers is the RTP. The Loose Slot Certification is awarded when the numbers clearly show an operator is firmly ahead of its market in the percentage of wagers returned to players.
Rocky Mountain Gaming, LLC, is the product of a combination of legendary Las Vegas and the much newer market of Cripple Creek, a picturesque former mining town with nine casinos, most located in historic buildings along its main street.
The operator was formed in 2023 when Gaughan, the son of South Point Casino owner Michael Gaughan and grandson of Jackie Gaughan, the storied late owner of the El Cortez casino in Downtown Las Vegas, partnered with former Coast Casinos executive David Ross and Joseph J. Canfora, former owner of the Wildwood Casino in Cripple Creek and formerly with Las Vegas-based operators Station Casinos and Horseshoe Gaming. The partnership purchased Johnny Nolon’s casino, one of Cripple Creek’s original gaming halls; and the Colorado Grande Casino, placing them both under nowparent company Rocky Mountain Gaming.
The pedigree of iconic operations like El Cortez, South Point, Coast, Station Casinos and the original Downtown Horseshoe casino has guaranteed one longstanding philosophy: giving customers a fair gamble for their money.
That certainly has applied to return-to-player percentages on the slots, a category in which Cripple Creek has recorded the loosest slots in Colorado for seven years running, and in which the two Rocky Mountain Gaming casinos have led the pack.
Last March, Rocky Mountain Gaming brought in Matt Andrighetti as general manager of sister casinos Johnny Nolon’s and Colorado Grande. Andrighetti was formerly GM of Canfora’s Wildwood Casino in Cripple Creek and remained with that property as it transitioned into the Golden Nugget. As it happens, a player-friendly policy was a part of his philosophy as well. In fact, he says it’s part of the attraction of the whole town for slot players.
I’ve lived in Cripple Creek for the better part of 18 years, and I love the small, local atmosphere,” Andrighetti says. “The slots are loose, it’s friendly, it’s laid back, and it has a good game selection. I’ve loved these two buildings. There’s a bit more intimate setting, and a really great history about these two buildings, so when I had the opportunity to come down here, I completely jumped at it.”
That history includes loose slots. “We spent a long time developing that player philosophy, and it was very successful at Wildwood. Everybody’s got a budget, everybody’s got expendable income, and when you come into a casino and bring your few hundred bucks and you’re out in 20 minutes versus if you get a chance to play for a few hours—there’s value in that experience, and we love catering to the value.”
Crafting the Experience
Andrighetti has joined in the effort to craft a unique and beneficial player experience at Johnny Nolon’s and Colorado Grande. Part of that has been combining the slot clubs of the two properties into what is now the Legend Rewards Club, which was completed in April 2025.
“We brought in technology to combine them into one player’s club,” he says. “If you play at one casino, you’re earning the same rewards as if you’re playing at the other casino. We created all new VIP tiers. Prior to that, there were no VIP levels. You were rewarded based on the matrix at the time. You got some offers in the mail, and that was about it.”
The VIP tier system for the Legend Rewards Club comprises three levels— Silver, Gold, and the top Black level. “Each of those generates varying discounts at the restaurants, and we do a lot of promotions based on the tiers,” Andrighetti explains. “We recognize the players who ‘play up’ in our places, and they get more rewards over time.”
The other part of the Rocky Mountain
Gaming experience lies in the buildings themselves. At the Colorado Grande, for instance, there are only seven hotel rooms (it’s called the Lucky 7 Hotel), “but they are seven of the most unique and fun hotel rooms in the city,” says Andrighetti. “The Colorado Grande is a 130-year-old building. There’s an amazing history about it.”
The history of the building actually is woven into the history of Cripple Creek itself, an explosive history borne of the 1890s gold mining boom that renamed the town of Poverty Gulch with the current moniker. In its first decade, Cripple Creek became known as the “World’s Greatest Gold Camp,” with more than 22.4 million ounces of gold produced by more than 500 mines.
It’s also a history fraught with violence, as the scene of one of the most brutal labor struggles between miners and owners in the early 20th century. It’s no surprise, then, that this combative history would produce a lot of spiritual energy. The Colorado Grande building, constructed in 1896 as the Fairley Bros. & Lampman Building, is said to be among the most haunted locations in the U.S. There are ongoing reported sightings of an apparition of an Irish woman known as “Maggie.” The hotel’s restaurant is named after her.
“They’ve done some of those ghost-hunter shows about Maggie,” Andrighetti says. “Every now and then we’ll get a guest come back there and say, ‘We heard something last night that was a little weird.’ We tell them they’re not the first. If you like ghost-hunting, come to Cripple Creek and you won’t be disappointed.
“This town really does have an amazing history. I’ve been here since 2008, and I still enjoy it every day I come up the mountain.”
For the near future, Andrighetti says Rocky Mountain Gaming will be expanding the amenities to be earned through the slot club, along with interior remodeling and other improvements.
Meanwhile, the company’s two casinos remain favorites of the locals. Johnny Nolon’s won recognition last year as Best Casino Bar, prompting a major renovation to start this year. “We’re going to be completely redoing that bar, with a whole new façade,” says Andrighetti. “It’s going to look like a new place. Then, we’re going to continue doing more renovations throughout [the] first quarter of 2026, and into the second quarter as well.”
One thing that won’t change is the philosophy of offering loose slots at Johnny Nolon’s and Colorado Grande.
“I’ve been a player for a long time,” Andrighetti says, “and as a player, you’ve got a fixed [budget], and you expect a certain amount of entertainment and value for your dollar. A low hold percentage on the slots allows you to get value for that dollar. We’re not guaranteeing you’re going to win every time, but If you can stay and play and enjoy yourself, it’s worth the trip.
“Our players do know that and they do appreciate that. We achieved the Loose Slots Certification in 2025, and we push that in our messages to players. We don’t have the biggest hotels; we don’t have spaces for 300 people to come to a meeting, or the fanciest steakhouse in town. But when players are finally ready to win, our place is where they go. We keep our machines looser. We value your experience. We want people to really understand that’s our mentality, and we’re going to maintain that going forward.”
