Now it seems that most businesses are closed up. Central City tried gambling rather than history to draw people in. Soda fountains gave way to slot machines, and all the old buildings turned into locally-owned casinos. One mile down the road, the town of Blackhawk upped the ante: they invited the Big Boys of Gambling (Harrah's, etc.) to outdo Central City's small casinos. Blackhawk won, and now that little town is unrecognizable: dwarfed by huge casinos with names like "Isle of Capri" and "Mardi Gras," etc.