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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
$79.8 million. The two towns have gotten into some ugly squabbles over the years. For example, in the early 2000s, when Buddy Schmalz was serving as mayor of Central City, Black Hawk opposed Central City’s plan to build a road from I-70 to its casino district that would bypass Black Hawk altogether. But the Central City Parkway went through, and Schmalz dedicated it in 2004. More recently, Black Hawk and Central City got into a legal dispute over land and a huge Black Hawk distillery project. In March 2020, Central City sued Black Hawk over a proposal by Proximo, the company that owns Stranahan’s, to construct a Tin Cup whiskey distillery resort. The crux of the suit was that Black Hawk would be violating a governmental agreement over land use if Black Hawk allowed the project to move forward. After a verbal battle that included Spellman referring to the lawsuit as a “transparent” move by Central City to “extort financial gain,” the two sides were able to settle their differences late last year. The whiskey distillery resort is moving forward, though the timetable is uncertain. But while there’s been plenty of bad blood spilled, the two cities are also linked by blood. Buddy Schmalz’s sister CinDee married Mark Spellman, David’s brother, in 1983. And David Spellman served as best man in Buddy Schmalz’s wedding. The ties go further. David Spellman is married to Lynnette Hailey, who served as city manager of Black Hawk from 1995 to 1999, then moved on to become manager of Central City from 2003 to 2010. There has been business cooperation, as well. When Buddy Schmalz was mayor, Black Hawk and Central City created a joint tourism bureau and a shared shuttle service, which continues to connect the towns today. Jeremy Fey became the mayor of
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