What suffered from the CHS spending this money were the several other worthwhile historic preservation projects that were not funded in the state, but this pales in comparison to the money that went from the CHS fund into state capitol building "restoration" and that amount is in the millions at this point. And much of that money went for deferred maintenance on the state's part as well as code upgrades and not too much into actual restoration or preservation work--thank the state legislature for robbing the fund of those funds.
And, this is money that is collected from the taxes on gambling revenues--not from sales tax, income tax, or any other taypayer source. So everytime I read that the Colorado taxpayer is getting screwed by all this I have to cringe at the basic ignorance as to where this money comes from. This money collected for historic preservation is mandated by a constitutional amendment and is a tax on gambling, not a tax on the taxpayer. Mis-spent? Probably, but get the righteous indignation in proper perspective. Unless you gamble in one of the 3 towns in Colorado, as a Colorado taxpayer not one cent of your taxes have gone into the Georgetown Loop saga.