Black Hawk looks a little more like Las Vegas after Ameristar Casinos opened a 33-story, 536-room luxury hotel and spa yesterday, making it the tallest structure between Denver and Salt Lake City. It's the first destination resort in Black Hawk, and some state officials hope it will provide a massive stimulus to the economy, including more jobs and funds for community colleges through Amendment 50, writes INDenverTimes. While some complain the resort is an eyesore that's out of touch with Black Hawk's history (via 9News), others are clearly impressed, including Governor Bill Ritter, who "broke the speed record for speeches" yesterday, congratulating a host of staff, dignitaries, and guests in freezing temperatures outside the casino, writes The Denver Post. For visuals of Black Hawk's first skyscraper, The Huffington Post offers 10 photos of the posh hotel and adjoining casino, and a pic of Ritter giving his super-speedy speech can be found at Marketwire.com.