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Monday, Nov. 2, was anniversary day in Deadwood as city officials and gaming promoters gathered to commemorate 20 years of legalized gaming for historic preservation.

Under a glorious autumn sky, Deadwood mayor Francis Toscana read a proclamation marking the start of gaming Nov. 1, 1989,

followed by volleys of pistol shots by western re-enactors and the start of a series of retrospectives by special speakers and panels.

Inside the city’s casinos, gaming traffic was average for a Monday morning in November. “Twenty years ago there was probably more excitement,” Toscana said.

The gaming enterprises in Deadwood give a portion of the proceeds to the state of South Dakota and the city’s historic preservation department.

Money is used for a variety of projects ranging from infrastructure upgrades at public facilities, to assistance with private residential exterior work and developments at local non-profit agencies.

When it wasn’t drowned out by the outdoor speakers or the sound of gunfire echoing through Deadwood Gulch, the sound of hammers and saws at the Slime Plant could be heard from Main Street. The former mine tailings processing building is being

converted to a cornerstone entertainment complex, with the help of Deadwood preservation funds.

Money is also given throughout the state to historic preservation projects in towns and cities.

People like Marlowe Onstad of Westby, Mont., are the baseline investors.

The money he loses eventually ends up promoting South Dakota tourism or goes to Deadwood’s historic preservation efforts.

He made is third-ever trip to Deadwood this weekend on a bus tour, but was not having much luck as of Monday morning.

“The machines are tight,” Onstad said.

Before Deadwood opened its gaming industry in 1989, Onstad said he went to Nevada casinos to make his wagers. He still goes to Nevada, but he has added Deadwood to his itinerary.

Lifetime Deadwood resident Carlton Spindler sat inside the Franklin Hotel lobby Monday, watching the anniversary festivities outside.

Spindler, who used to be a bellhop at the Franklin several years ago, said the advent of gaming

certainly changed the community feel of Deadwood. “There are a lot of strangers here now,” he said.

Spindler said the community has undergone a successful remodeling with the infusion of gaming money, saying no one can question the physical upgrades Deadwood has enjoyed under gaming.

For ground-floor “Deadwood — You Bet” committeeman Tom Blair, Monday’s gathering of old friends turned emotional.

During a press briefing, Blair explained the long road and countless hours of work it took to put the city’s gaming hopes on a statewide election ballot.

“It’s actually, for some of us, 23 years,” he said.

From the basement of the Franklin, in the area formerly known as Durty Nellies, Blair remembered committee meetings over Miller Lite and “salad,” (beer nuts mixed with potato chips.)

Blair said it wasn’t only the half-dozen committee members that made it happen, it was supporters in Lead, Spearfish, Whitewood, Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Watertown, Webster and Sioux Falls.

“We worked our tails off. We went out and became comfortable with South Dakota,” Blair paused as he composed himself, “and South Dakota became comfortable with us.”