🥊 Buc-ee's is back for another round

🏀 As lawmakers weigh sports betting regulations, prop bets stay legal

On Tuesday, Colorado lawmakers struck down a ban on proposition bets — a type of bet commonly made on sports betting apps such as DraftKings or FanDuel. Proposition bets, or “prop bets” include wagers on specific moments in a game, such as number of goalie saves in a hockey game or a player throwing a certain number of touchdowns. The ban on prop bets was introduced as part of Senate Bill 131, which is intended to make sports betting safer for consumers and add more regulations to Colorado’s growing sports betting industry. [Colorado.gov;Fox Sports]

• Lawmakers who voted against the prop ban component cited the loss of state gambling revenue as their greatest concern with the measure. With the ban included in Senate Bill 131, Colorado was looking at a sports betting revenue loss of $2.4 million. Without the ban, that loss has fallen to $800,000, helping alleviate the state’s budget deficit. Currently, the majority of Colorado’s sports betting revenue goes toward water conservation projects, including those that directly fight the effects of drought. [Legal Sports Report;Colorado Dept of Revenue]
• Other aspects of Senate Bill 131 include new limits on the advertising of sportsbook apps during daytime broadcasts, a ban on phone notifications that solicit bets from users, and a limit of no more than 5 deposits within 24 hours. [Legal Sports Report]
• Ban advocates point out that prop bets raise ethical concerns, since athletes who are aware of bets can manipulate a certain outcome in a game to win money for themselves or others. No states with legal sports betting have banned professional prop bets outright; however, Vermont, Ohio, Maryland, and Louisiana have banned prop bets that concern specific college athletes. [Campaign for Accountability;NCAA]
• State lawmakers across the country are considering limitations on prop bets and other aspects of legalized sports betting after numerous prop betting scandals and insider trading rings have roiled the NBA in recent years, including the arrests of NBA coach (and Denver’s own) Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier in October. [CBS News]

⛽ Is Colorado getting a second Buc-ee’s?

Colorado’s second Buc-ee’s location may be closer to becoming reality. Earlier this month, an LLC affiliated with the Texas-based chain paid $10 million to Monument Ridge West LLC for a parcel of land near Palmer Lake between Denver and Colorado Springs. Plans for building the gas station, or an opening date, have not yet been released, and the official response from Buc-ee’s is “no comment.” [Denver Post 🔒]

• This comes after Monument Ridge West LLC withdrew its application to annex the site to Palmer Lake ahead of planned construction of a Buc-ee’s there in February. The initial proposal sparked concern among local residents who believed it would threaten open spaces, exacerbate traffic congestion, and strain the area’s water supply. [Colorado Sun]

🍎 Could Sheridan Be Folded into Denver Public Schools?

The strike led by teachers in the Sheridan School District began on April 1 and is now the longest teacher’s strike in Colorado in more than 40 years. But the strike is just one of many ongoing issues for the school district, including struggles with funding. One solution Democratic Senator Jeff Bridges plans to propose is a bill to fold the Sheridan School District into the Denver Public School District. Bridges says the consolidation would address longstanding financial concerns for the low income community. But the district’s superintendent Gionni Thompson said he was “shocked” by Bridges’ proposal and worries a legislative move could “split a community and then begin to gentrify it.” [Colorado Sun]

🚆 RTD could slash services by 20%

With the public transit agency in turmoil over its $215 million budget deficit this year, RTD’s managers have reportedly proposed a 20% cut to bus and light rail service, which would save the agency $62 million. Agency leaders have suggested an additional 16% service cut if RTD is not awarded an anticipated $40 million grant from the state. They have already identified $84 million in “non-service” cuts from the agency’s budget, including layoffs. [The Denver Post 🔒; 9News]

• How could a cut impact ridership? “Cutting service by 20% is crazy,” RTD Director Karen Benker told the Denver Post. “Combined with the reductions already made during COVID, these proposed cuts risk pushing RTD into a downward spiral.” [The Denver Post 🔒]

🛴 Who’s Really Winning the Scooter Wars?

City Council is poised to approve a new contract with Veo Micromobility on Monday, which would mark the end of an era for Denver and the culmination of months of ferocious lobbying on the part of rival e-scooter companies Lime and Bird. But who’s really coming out on top? Denver Post city government reporter Elliott Wenzler takes us inside the scooter vote. [City Cast Denver 🎧]