What you need to know about Denver in 5 min.

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Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Become a member and be a better Denverite every day.

Two Colorado casinos purchased in $1.7 billion deal

Reno-based Eldorado Resorts buying Isle of Capri Casinos

Associated Press

Sep. 20, 2016, 10:44 a.m.

Sep. 20, 2016, 10:44 a.m.

Wynn Encore Hotel and Casino. (Gary J. Wood/Flickr)

Eldorado Resorts has agreed to buy Isle of Capri Casinos for $1.7 billion in combined stocks and cash, a move that will add 13 casino-resorts to the Reno-based company’s portfolio.

The deal announced Monday includes $929 million of long-term debt held by Isle of Capri Casinos. The company based in the St. Louis, Missouri-area operates 14 casino properties in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

Eldorado Resorts chairman and CEO Gary Carano told the Reno-Gazette Journal the deal will help spread his company’s risk across 20 casinos in 10 different states.

Eldorado’s expanded property portfolio will include about 20,800 slot machines and video lottery terminals, more than 560 table games and 6,500 hotel rooms. The company said in a news release it received the $2.1 billion in financing from J.P. Morgan.

Oskar Blues Grill & Brew on Market St.

Restaurant operators say fewer COVID-19 restrictions “didn’t really change all that much” on the first day

The six-foot distancing rule is still a huge limiting factor.

Denver Water workers replace lead pipes leading into a home in Whittier. April 15, 2021.

Why you received an ominous Brita filter in the mail from Denver Water

The short answer is the utility is trying to get the lead out. Here is the medium-sized answer.

The driving space on Santa Fe Drive was recently slimmed in favor of more room to walk and roll by its galleries. April 9, 2021.

Art District on Santa Fe considers resuming First Fridays

With new programming, good weather and improving optimism, businesses and galleries are seeing more foot traffic.

Spring in Civic Center Park, April 20, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Things to do in Denver this weekend, April 16-18

With snow in the forecast, consider watching some movies?

A billboard interrupts the view of University Hills for a few apartments in the DECO apartment building on Colorado Boulevard. April 14, 2021.

Why some people nearly had Garth Brooks staring into their homes on Colorado Boulevard

Instead, they got the Wright brothers.

Main Htoo carries her son through the Hidden Brook Apartments in East Colfax, Nov. 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Denver’s considering forcing landlords to apply for licenses to rent their properties

The goal would be to give the city a better idea of how many rentals exist and more leverage over enforcing housing standards.

Local 46 on Tennyson Street is closed for social distancing. April 28, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

What the new, looser COVID-19 restrictions mean for your social life, Denver

Denver is moving to level Blue on the COVID-19 dial. Here's how the new restrictions affect bars, theatres, restaurants and gyms.

Nikkol Grimes, left, and Sonja Taylor relax while watching Grease during the 21st annual Film on the Rocks, drive-in edition at Red Rocks Park on Aug. 13, 2020. Grimes is a Grease fanatic who says she’s probably seen the classic movie 50 times.

Film on the Rocks is rolling back to Red Rocks. Here’s what you can watch and when.

Some screenings will even return to the amphitheater!

Inside the Bagel Store in Washington Virginia Vale. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Zaidy’s Deli will reopen at a new Holly and Leetsdale location after closing in Cherry Creek last year

It’ll bring back old recipes, as well as the original owner to work on the staff.

Nhung Mai draws out a COVID-19 vaccine at a city-run clinic inside the Barnum Recreation Center. March 10, 2021.

Denver also stops use of vaccine from Johnson & Johnson

Six women who received the vaccine, out of 6.8 million people, are known to have had a stroke. One person has died.

Zee, 19, and her husband Chris S., 20, who are both deaf, sign to each other as they cuddle. Christmas Day at Urban Peak, a shelter for Denver's homeless youth, Dec. 25, 2017. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

As the need grows for shelters for minors experiencing homelessness, Denver chips in money for services

City Council approved two contracts worth $1.6 million for Urban Peak, which serves people ages 15 to 24.

Fireworks on July 3, or Independence Day Eve. 2016. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Airbnb is cracking down on Fourth of July one-night stays to prevent partying in the pandemic

Guests “without a history of positive reviews” won’t be able to book one-night stays in Denver over Independence Day weekend.

Jessica Payne

After a year of furloughs and delays, Colorado Ballet is finally getting back into dancing shape

Colorado Ballet performs its first live, in-person show after a year of furloughs and postponed seasons

Ummidia paulacushingae, the trapdoor spider named for Denver Museum of Nature and Science invertebrate curator Paula Cushing.

The Museum of Nature and Science’s arachnid queen now has a trapdoor spider named after her

It's the third animal species named in honor of scientist Paula Cushing.

3435 Albion St. Northeast Park Hill. April 8, 2021.

One of the oldest homes in Northeast Park Hill could be on the chopping block

The owner has filed for a permit to consider demolishing the 132-year-old home. It's under contract to be sold.

A map of 2019 RSEI risk scores, with population weights removed, in 810-meter squares around the Denver metro.

Maps of toxic hazards show a wash of chemicals over the Denver metro’s north and west edges

From Inspiration Point to Elyria Swansea, here's a pretty intimate look at the risks related to the metro's industrial activity.

An apricot tree in bloom at the Denver Botanic Gardens, April 7, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Things to do in Denver this weekend, April 9-11

Salvado Dali, Itchy-O or dim sum, anyone?

Melanie Crumb and Angela Jackson hold hands during a vigil for George Floyd at Civic Center Park. June 9, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Black Denverites are more likely to be ticketed and arrested than white people in many categories

Like all data stories, this one is way more complicated than it appears.

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Denver has 29 public-access bodies of water. Which ones can you swim, kayak or fish in?

Not everything blue on a map is meant for swimming.

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Where Denver can — but mostly can’t — add more marijuana dispensaries

Also, did you know Denver equals roughly 56,000 football fields?