The old mining towns of Central City and Black Hawk, Colorado have enjoyed legalized limjted stakes gambling for the past eight years. Not coincidentally, property values are at their highest levels ever. Commercial developers wanting to get in on the action continue to search for possible sites for casinos and resorts. The high price of “traditional” real-estate has led to an unusual solution. The developers have started to cut away at the steep slopes that surround the towns and put casinos and resorts where mountains once stood. But cutting away moun­tains leads to conditions of instability, for which corrective measures must be taken.