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Corks were popped, glasses raised and congratulations bestowed during a night of remembering Deadwood's journey through 20 years of legalized gambling.

The 20th Anniversary Gala at The Lodge at Deadwood Saturday, Nov. 7, was the culmination of a week of lectures, speaker panels and parties which celebrated 20 years of gaming and historic preservation.

But there was an overriding sense at the gala that the journey is not over, and in another 20 years this historic community nestled in a gulch in the Black Hills will reinvent itself again.

"To the future of Deadwood," said emcee South Dakota Lt. Governor Dennis Daugaard as he raised a glass and asked the more than 600 people in attendance to do the same.

Daugaard, who didn't hide the fact that he was in the Black Hills not just for the gala, but to remind people that he's running for governor, said he's constantly amazed at how Deadwood markets itself to new audiences.

"I remember coming to the Hills with my parents when I was a little boy. Deadwood was just this sleepy little town," he said. "Every time I come now, there's more people here. I give a lot of credit to this community for their courage and perseverance."

Walter Dale Miller, who was lieutenant governor of the state at the time gambling was approved by the voters of South Dakota, attended the gala Saturday with his wife, Pat.

Miller said he couldn't have envisioned how gaming would so change the city of Deadwood. He was especially impressed with the new convention center at The Lodge at Deadwood.

"We've needed a place like this here," he said. "It's well-designed and we will now be able to have big conventions."

The evening program also included two video retrospectives on Deadwood gaming and video messages from South Dakota governor Mike Rounds and from HBO's "Deadwood" creator David Milch.

Tom Nelson, Lead mayor and state senator, said the gala put an exclamation point on a great week in Deadwood.

Mary Kopco, chair of the 20th Anniversary Committee concurred.

"I'm so proud of our community and all that we have done to take a really great idea and tie it to our history," she said. "The whole week was wonderful. It was like a big family reunion."