riverboat gambling in missouri

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Missouri Casinos – Best Places to Gamble in MO

Gambling in Missouri has always revolved around horse racing and riverboat casinos. Back in the 19th century, these industries were free to operate without any regulation. However, in 1905, the authorities started cracking down on all of the betting action and made all bookmaking operations illegal.

Legal gambling made a comeback in 1984 when Missouri legalized horse racing and set up an official lottery. Then, in 1992, riverboat casinos were given the green light. Unfortunately, as the casinos grew more popular, the horse racing scene dwindled. Local racetracks stopped hosting live races, and pari-mutuel betting disappeared from the state.

According to the Missouri Revised Statutes, gambling is defined as “staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or future contingent event.” While this definition doesn’t specifically mention online gambling, it’s broad enough to cover most types of gambling. However, since Missouri lawmakers haven’t passed any iGaming regulations, local businesses can’t operate any gambling sites under the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. If caught, engaging in illegal gambling as a player is considered a Class C misdemeanor and could result in a fine of up to $750 and up to fifteen days in jail. Professional gamblers face stiffer penalties, including a fine of up to $2,000 and up to one year in jail. Home games are legal as long as no rake or fees are charged.

If you want to know more about Missouri gambling laws, check out the Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 572.010 et seq. and 313.001 et seq. Just keep in mind that you need to be at least 16 to participate in charity games, 18 for lottery and pari-mutuel betting, and 21 for casino-style games.

List of Top Gambling Venues in Missouri

Related reading: Missouri online casinos

Reviews of the Top Missouri Casinos

1. ameristar casino resort spa st. charles.

This resort and casino complex is located in St. Charles, Missouri, and opened in 1994. The venue spans 130,000 square feet and includes a variety of gaming options such as slot machines, video poker, table games, and a poker room. Some of the popular game titles include Lightning Link, Buffalo Grand, Dragon Link, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

In addition to the gaming floor, Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles also offers several dining options ranging from casual to upscale. Examples of some of the restaurants include Falcon Diner, Bugatti’s Steak and Pasta, and Asia. The resort also features several bars and lounges, such as the Amerisports Bar and the Bottleneck Blues Bar.

If you are looking for accommodation, the resort has a 397-room hotel with amenities such as a fitness center, indoor/outdoor pool, and a full-service spa. The hotel also offers room service and complimentary Wi-Fi for guests.

Other amenities available at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles include a 20,000-square-foot conference center, a gift shop, and a 24-hour fitness center. The resort also has a high-limit slot and table game room, where guests can play with higher stakes.

2. Hollywood Casino St. Louis

Located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, Hollywood Casino St. Louis opened in 1997 and offers over 120,000 square feet of gaming space. The venue offers a wide range of gaming options such as slot machines, video poker, table games, and a poker room. Some popular game titles include Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Buffalo Gold, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

The casino also features several dining options ranging from casual to upscale, including a steakhouse, buffet, sports bar, and coffee shop. Some examples of restaurants at the casino include the Final Cut Steakhouse, Eat Up! Buffet, and Celebrity Grill.

Hollywood Casino St. Louis has a 502-room hotel with an indoor pool, fitness center, and free Wi-Fi.

Other amenities at the casino include a 20,000-square-foot conference center, a gift shop, and a RV park for guests traveling with recreational vehicles. The casino also hosts regular live entertainment events and has multiple bars and lounges throughout the venue.

3. Lumière Place Casino & Hotels

Located in downtown St. Louis, Lumière Place Casino & Hotels opened in 2007 and offers over 75,000 square feet of gaming space. The venue offers a variety of gaming options, including slot machines, video poker, table games, and a poker room. Some popular game titles include Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Buffalo Grand, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

Lumière Place Casino & Hotels also features several dining options ranging from casual to upscale, including several restaurants operated by celebrity chefs. Some examples of restaurants at the casino include The Kitchen Buffet & Bistro, Cielo Restaurant & Bar, and Burger Bar. The casino also has several bars and lounges throughout the venue.

The casino has a 294-room hotel with amenities such as a fitness center, indoor pool, and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel also offers room service and a full-service spa for guests.

Other amenities at the casino include a 20,000-square-foot event space, a gift shop, and a 24-hour fitness center. The casino also hosts regular live entertainment events and has a high-limit slot and table game room for guests who prefer to play with higher stakes.

4. River City Casino & Hotel

Located in Lemay, Missouri, River City Casino & Hotel launched in 2010 and offers over 90,000 square feet of gaming space. The venue offers a variety of gaming options such as slot machines, video poker, table games, and a poker room. Some popular game titles include Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Buffalo Gold, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

River City Casino & Hotel also features several dining options ranging from casual to upscale, including several restaurants operated by celebrity chefs. Some examples of restaurants at the casino include The Beerhouse, Cibare Italian Kitchen, and 1904 Steak House. The casino also has several bars and lounges throughout the venue.

If you’re looking for accommodation, River City Casino & Hotel has a 200-room hotel with amenities such as a fitness center, indoor pool, and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel also offers room service and a full-service spa for guests.

There’s also a 14,000-square-foot event space, a gift shop, and a 24-hour fitness center. The casino also hosts regular live entertainment events and has a high-limit slot and table game room for guests who prefer to play with higher stakes.

Pricing for games, dining, and hotel accommodations can vary depending on the time of year and availability. It’s best to check the casino’s website or contact them directly for more specific pricing information.

5. Harrah’s North Kansas City

Located in North Kansas City, Missouri, Harrah’s North Kansas City opened in 1994 and offers over 60,000 square feet of gaming space. The venue offers a wide range of gaming options such as slot machines, video poker, table games, and a poker room. Some popular game titles include Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Buffalo Gold, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

Harrah’s North Kansas City also features several dining options ranging from casual to upscale, including a buffet, steakhouse, sports bar, and coffee shop. Some examples of restaurants at the casino include The Buffet at Harrah’s, 37 Steak, and Corner Grill. The casino also has several bars and lounges throughout the venue.

Other amenities at the casino include a 10,000-square-foot event space, a gift shop, and a 24-hour fitness center. The casino also hosts regular live entertainment events and has a high-limit slot and table game room for guests who prefer to play with higher stakes.

Missouri Gambling Revenues

Gambling has been legal in Missouri since 1992 and has become a significant source of revenue for the state. In 2021, the state’s licensed casinos generated over $1.7 billion in gross gaming revenue, according to the Missouri Gaming Commission. Of this revenue, a percentage is allocated to the state and local governments, education, and other programs.

Missouri’s state government receives a portion of the gambling revenue in the form of taxes. In 2021, the state collected over $317 million in gaming taxes, which was used to fund various programs such as education, health care, and infrastructure. This revenue has been crucial in funding important projects that benefit the citizens of Missouri.

Local governments also benefit from gambling revenues through taxes and fees paid by casinos. In 2021, the state’s local governments collected over $40 million in gaming taxes and fees. This revenue is used to fund local programs and services, such as public safety, transportation, and community development.

Education is another area that benefits from gambling revenues in Missouri. A portion of the state’s gaming taxes is allocated to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In 2021, the department received over $181 million in gaming revenue, which was used to fund K-12 education programs throughout the state.

In summary, gambling revenues generated in Missouri are allocated to various state and local programs, such as education, infrastructure, and public safety. The revenue has been critical in funding important projects and services that benefit the citizens of Missouri. The state’s licensed casinos have become a significant contributor to the economy, and the revenue generated is expected to continue to play an essential role in Missouri’s future.

Indian Gaming Tribes in Missouri

There are currently no federally recognized Indian tribes in Missouri. However, several tribes have historical ties to the state, such as the Osage Nation, Quapaw Nation, and Cherokee Nation. These tribes have faced various challenges throughout history, including displacement, forced removal, and loss of their lands and resources.

In recent years, there have been several efforts by Indian gaming tribes to establish casinos in Missouri. In 2021, the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to overturn a decision that prevented them from opening a casino in Missouri. The decision was based on the tribe’s lack of historical ties to the state.

There have also been conflicts between Indian gaming tribes and state governments over gaming regulations and revenue sharing. In 2019, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma sued the state of Missouri, claiming that the state’s gaming laws violated their tribal sovereignty and resulted in unfair revenue sharing.

A History of Gambling in Missouri

Gambling has a long and complicated history in Missouri. The first gambling activities in the state can be traced back to the early 1800s, with riverboat gambling being a popular pastime. By the mid-1800s, Missouri had become a hub for gambling, with St. Louis becoming known as the “Monte Carlo of the West.”

In 1905, the state government enacted a complete ban on all forms of gambling. This ban lasted for over 80 years until the Missouri General Assembly passed the Missouri Gaming Commission Act in 1992, legalizing gambling in the state once again.

Under this act, Missouri allowed a limited number of licenses for riverboat casinos. The first casino, the President Casino on the Admiral, opened in 1994 in St. Louis. Over the years, the state’s gambling industry has grown, with several casinos opening in various cities, including St. Charles, Kansas City, and St. Joseph.

In 2008, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the state to issue licenses for casinos on land-based sites. This amendment opened up the possibility for casinos to be built in more areas of the state.

Today, Missouri has 13 licensed casinos that generate billions of dollars in annual revenue. In 2021, the state’s casinos generated over $1.7 billion in gross gaming revenue, making Missouri one of the leading states in the Midwest for gambling revenue.

However, Missouri’s gambling industry has not been without controversy. There have been disputes over the location and ownership of casinos, as well as issues related to problem gambling and addiction.

In 2018, Missouri lawmakers passed a bill that allowed for the establishment of a fund to help individuals struggling with gambling addiction. The bill also required casinos to implement programs and policies to identify and assist individuals with gambling problems.

Overall, gambling has been a significant part of Missouri’s history and continues to be a crucial contributor to the state’s economy. The industry has come a long way since its early days, and it is likely to continue to evolve as technology and consumer preferences change.

Gambling Taxes in Missouri

If you’re a resident of Missouri who has won money through gambling, you may be required to pay taxes on your winnings. In Missouri, gambling winnings are subject to both state and federal taxes. The amount of tax you’ll need to pay depends on several factors, including the type of gambling activity you participated in and the amount of money you won.

For federal taxes, the IRS requires individuals to report all gambling winnings that exceed $600 in a single session. For example, if you won $700 playing slot machines at a casino, you would need to report that on your federal tax return. The tax rate for gambling winnings is based on your total income for the year and can range from 10% to 37%.

In Missouri, gambling winnings are subject to state income taxes. The state tax rate is 5.4% on all taxable income, including gambling winnings. However, Missouri residents are allowed to deduct any losses from their gambling activities, up to the amount of their winnings, when calculating their taxable income.

In addition to state and federal income taxes, gambling winnings in Missouri may also be subject to local taxes. Some municipalities in the state impose additional taxes on gambling activities, which vary depending on the city or county.

If you’re a resident of Missouri who has won money through gambling, it’s important to keep accurate records of your winnings and losses. This will make it easier to calculate the amount of tax you owe and avoid any penalties for underreporting your income. You can report your gambling winnings and losses on your Missouri state income tax return, which is due on April 15th each year.

Missouri Gambling FAQ

How much can you win at missouri casinos before being taxed.

In Missouri, if you win more than $1,200 on a slot machine or bingo game, or more than $5,000 on a poker tournament, the casino will report your winnings to the IRS. However, you may still be required to pay state taxes on your gambling winnings regardless of the amount.

How to ban yourself from casinos in Missouri?

If you feel that you have a gambling problem, you can self-exclude from all Missouri casinos by visiting the Missouri Gaming Commission website or by visiting any casino in person. You can choose to self-exclude for a period of one year, five years, or for life. During this time, you will not be allowed to enter any Missouri casinos.

Who regulates gambling in Missouri?

The Missouri Gaming Commission is responsible for regulating all gambling activities in the state. The commission is made up of five members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. The commission oversees all aspects of gambling in Missouri, including licensing, regulation, and enforcement.

What is the minimum gambling age in Missouri?

The minimum gambling age in Missouri is 21 years old. This applies to all forms of gambling in the state, including casino gambling, poker, and sports betting. Anyone under the age of 21 who is caught gambling in Missouri can face criminal charges and fines.

Can I gamble online in Missouri?

No, online gambling is currently not legal in Missouri. While some states have legalized online gambling, Missouri has not yet passed any laws allowing for online casinos or sports betting. However, you can participate in daily fantasy sports contests and online horse racing betting in Missouri.

What types of gambling are legal in Missouri?

In Missouri, casino gambling, poker, horse racing, and daily fantasy sports contests are legal. The state also recently legalized sports betting, which will be offered at licensed casinos and online sportsbooks in the near future. However, online casino gambling is currently not legal in Missouri.

How many casinos are there in Missouri?

There are currently 13 casinos in Missouri. These casinos are located throughout the state and offer a variety of gambling activities, including slot machines, table games, and poker. Some of the largest casinos in Missouri include Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles, Hollywood Casino St. Louis, and Harrah’s North Kansas City.

Can I deduct gambling losses on my taxes in Missouri?

Yes, if you are a Missouri resident, you can deduct your gambling losses on your state income tax return. However, you must itemize your deductions and provide proof of your gambling losses, such as receipts or other documentation. Additionally, you can only deduct gambling losses up to the amount of your gambling winnings.

Related Posts:

• US Casinos Directory
• Massachusetts Online Casinos Sites (2023 Update)
• Oklahoma Online Casinos Sites (2023 Update)
• Michigan Online Casinos Sites (2023 Update)

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Rolling on the Rivers – Riverboat Casino

Editorial Staff | Posted on April 10, 2010 |

After 15 years of evolution, riverboat casin o s have become resort destinations in and of themselves

By frank legato.

Consider the term “riverboat casino.” These days, the term conjures up images completely different than when the modern riverboat gaming industry was inaugurated in Iowa some 15 years ago. Back then, riverboat casinos were little more than a means of bailing out state budgets—of clearing red ink in government ledgers without raising taxes.

The idea was to use gambling to raise money, but to restrict it to waterways¬. To distinguish them from “real” casinos, as existed only in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, they would be kept from land, thereby saving “respectable” people from the specter of gambling in their neighborhoods. To give them charm and appeal for gamblers, they would recall the times of Mark Twain, designed as replicas of legendary 19th century paddlewheel steam riverboats on which frontier characters played draw poker while floating lazily up and down the Mississippi River.

Riverboat casinos, once viewed as a necessary evil to communities in which they were legalized, grew to be vital parts of those communities, providing jobs and economic revival to depressed areas, and donating millions to local charities. For the people who played there, the vessels became hot regional destinations, providing escapes for drive-in customers and great gambling deals for the locals.

Anthony Sanfilippo, president of Harrah’s Entertainment’s Central Division, has been operating in the riverboat market since the early days. He has been with Harrah’s for nine years, and he says the past decade has seen changes not only in the way players see riverboat gaming, but in the way communities see the casinos.

“The main difference today is the acceptability of gaming in communities that were considered new jurisdictions 10 years ago,” Sanfilippo says. “Ten years ago, gaming was stereotyped—from movies, mainly—and communities didn’t have an understanding of their economic impact in the local community and state, as well as the ability to bring a whole new type of entertainment experience into their community.”

Those two vessels would eventually grow into what is now Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc., but first, Goldstein faced quick competition, both in Iowa and across the river in Illinois. The biggest threat to those first riverboats, though, was Iowa’s own gaming law, which imposed a limit of $5 per bet and a “loss limit” of $200 per person, per cruise. With boats required to cruise during the warm months, that meant if a customer lost $200 in the first half-hour of a two-hour cruise, he was stuck doing nothing for the other hour and a half.

Nearby states were quick to pick up on the fact that gamblers were looking for less restrictive rules. In September of 1991, Illinois launched its riverboat gaming market, with no bet restrictions or loss limits. The following year, Goldstein moved his two original boats to the Gulf Coast to become the first to open in Biloxi with his renamed Isle of Capri casino. Not only did Mississippi allow casinos to operate without betting restrictions; there was no cruising requirement. Vessels were permanently docked, and—for better or worse, as we now know—most were built on barges directly on the water, forming what were essentially floating land-based casinos.

The first riverboat casinos made money through what is known in the trade as “convenience gambling,” meaning people went there solely because it offered gambling close to home. The ability to gamble without traveling to Las Vegas or Atlantic City made up for the fact that typically, one would find slots and table games cramped on several levels of a paddlewheeler. Little comfort, lots of action.

However, as with most forms of entertainment, increased competition ultimately led to better offerings, larger facilities, and a wealth of choice for the player. This was aided by the fact that the Indian gaming market was launched at essentially the same time as the riverboat market. Racinos were not far behind; nor were new land-based commercial casinos in markets like Detroit. Riverboat casinos could no longer afford to be convenience gaming outlets. They now had to compete for their customers with a collection of gaming choices that was not even on the radar of the visionaries who started riverboat gaming in the early 1990s.

Many of the older multi-level paddlewheel riverboats were replaced by massive single-level vessels with as much casino space as many traditional land-based casinos. Riverboat gaming operators expanded landside entertainment and dining complexes, added hotels, and built golf courses.

Riverboat casinos were no longer cramped vessels where gamblers put up with crowded conditions and discomfort for the sake of laying down a bet. They were resorts.

Evolution of the Offering Sanfilippo of Harrah’s says he has watched the riverboat market grow from gambling joints into full-blown destination resorts. “Early on, the experience was centered around pure gambling, with some food offerings,” he says. “Over 10 years, we’ve seen an evolution of our offerings. For example, at our Horseshoe Hammond, we are under way with a complete renovation that will transform the property.”

While many improvements and expansions have been made to the landside dining and entertainment facility, the multi-leveled vessel itself had little room for improvement. The $485-million makeover of Horseshoe Hammond will replace that vessel with a huge riverboat placing all gaming on one level. On the second level of the new boat will feature a state-of-the-art entertainment venue, two celebrity chef restaurants and a 2,500-seat buffet. New shore-side facilities will include Diamond and Seven-Star Lounges for top players. The expansion will be complete in the summer of 2008.

Horseshoe Hammond’s new facility will demonstrate something that has become common over the evolution of the riverboat gaming market: Riverboats these days are destinations, in and of themselves, and they are viable alternatives to the plane trip to Las Vegas or the larger land-based casinos of Atlantic City or Connecticut.

“The (riverboat) markets have evolved to where the non-gaming aspects of the properties are much more important,” says Wade Hundley, president of Pinnacle Entertainment, the Las Vegas-based company that operates two of the most elaborate riverboat properties in the nation, Belterra in Indiana and L’Auberge Du Lac in Lake Charles, Lousiana. “These are entertainment destinations rather than several decks of gaming.”

He adds that at the same time the non-gaming amenities have been proliferating, the riverboat markets have maintained the familiarity with their customers possible only in locals markets. “The riverboat properties will give you more personal attention than many Las Vegas properties,” says Hundley. “Your personal relationship with employees is much more evident, because Las Vegas tourist properties may see customers a couple of times a year, where in regional markets, you see them much more often.”

Hundley predicts that the riverboat market will continue to evolve along the lines of offering the best in non-gaming entertainment and pampering to go with the gaming experience. “Our company believes in building world-class destination resorts,” he says. “That’s the type of property that will be successful in the future. You want to be able to get a free spa visit or a steak dinner, and play a round of golf. People can get these things in Las Vegas, so you have to offer the same kinds of amenities—and they can get them without having to go to an airport, go through security, and go through all the other hassles that come with traveling far away.”

Tourism based on gaming entertainment—it’s a concept that once was confined to markets such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Nowadays, the Midwest riverboat markets offer an experience that is, in the end, worth the trip.

The Gems You will, in fact, find something worth the trip in each riverboat region of the country. Here are a few of the gems to be found in each of the riverboat states:

Iowa Much of the first riverboat gaming market remains as it was when it launched the industry in the early 1990s. While they can now remain docked and can operate without the silly betting restrictions, most of the 10 Iowa riverboats are still simple and small.

The exceptions to this rule are obvious every year when we do our “Best of Gaming” survey. Iowa’s two “category-killer” riverboat casinos are in Council Bluffs—Ameristar and Harrah’s. Over in Bettendorf, Isle of Capri’s second Iowa entry is definitely worth a visit as well.

Ameristar Council Bluffs This massive paddlewheel-style riverboat features around 38,000 square feet of casino space spread over three levels, with 1,651 slots and 31 table games. A great player’s club offers frequent 4X-point days and cashback on both slots and tables. Ameristar would be a typical old-fashioned riverboat casino, except for all the stuff that goes along with the games, much of it on the shore-side complex: great restaurants, including the much-acclaimed Waterfront Grille for the best steaks in the market; a 160-room hotel including eight beautiful luxury suites, 32 unique “king whirlpool rooms” and great river views; lounge entertainment at two cabaret bars, and headliners at the Amerisports Bar. In short, all the casino comforts in a river setting.

Harrah’s Council Bluffs Similar in style to Ameristar—a three-deck paddlewheel vessel with hotels and restaurants on shore facilities—Harrah’s consistently gets our readers’ nod as the best overall riverboat casino hotel in Iowa. With just over 1,000 slots and around 35 table games spread over three levels, the gaming is comparable to Ameristar, with the added benefit of the Harrah’s Total Rewards national player’s club. Harrah’s also is known for its great 240-room hotel; restaurants such as the 360 Steakhouse and the ’50s-style Ace’s Diner; and the hip Stir nightclub.

Isle of Capri Bettendorf Isle deserves honorable mention in Iowa for the property it built in the location of the property that inaugurated the riverboat market, Bettendorf. While gaming offerings are on par with other riverboats its size (like the Council Bluffs boats, it is a three-level, paddlewheel-style vessel), the adjacent 256-room hotel is outstanding, from its elegant lobby to comfortable standard rooms to the fantastic theme suites.

Illinois Illinois has nine riverboats, with the 10th license still wrapped up in the courts with legal challenges from Emerald Casino, Inc., over the revocation of its license.

The other nine riverboat casinos are mostly smaller properties, with a few large gems. There is still a $5 admission fee, although some properties, such as Harrah’s, have waived it if you flash a player’s club card. The best feature of many—and a large reason for their popularity—is proximity to the city of Chicago. In fact, the four Illinois casinos and five Indiana casinos which are all within an hour’s drive of Chicago, and which form the casino market commonly known as “Chicagoland,” constitute the third-highest-grossing casino market in the country.

Gems on the Illinois side of Chicagoland include Harrah’s Joliet and the Grand Victoria in Elgin, but one other Illinois casino far from Chicago deserves honorable mention—the Casino Queen in East St. Louis, on the Missouri border.

Harrah’s Joliet Located around 30 miles from Chicago, Harrah’s Joliet is casino on a barge docked on the Des Plaines River. During the third quarter of 2001, the two existing riverboat casinos, which had been linked by a “transition barge” after Illinois approved dockside gaming in 1999, was replaced with the single-level, Vegas-style casino. Shore-side facilities adjacent to the casino include a pavilion featuring a lounge and a retail shop, and n 11-story luxury hotel with a fitness center. You will find some of the best video poker in Chicagoland here, as well as great headline entertainment at the Stage 151 concert venue.

Grand Victoria Docked on the Fox River in Elgin, around 31 miles from Chicago, the Grand Victoria is a classic paddlewheeler on the outside, but once inside, you’d never know it. The casino’s spacious single-level interior, housing around 30,000 square feet of gaming space, sports the classic elegance of a high-end Las Vegas-style design. Grand Victoria is one of Chicagoland’s most popular casinos, and our readers consistently vote it Best Casino in the market because of good rules on the table games, great cashback and comps, and the best dealers and hosts in the business. If you go, don’t forget to visit Buckingham’s for great steak.

Casino Queen Across the state from the Chicagoland market in East St. Louis, you will find the casino with the loosest slots in the nation. This classic paddlewheel riverboat with its 27,500-square-foot casino did something last year that no other casino in the nation has been able to do: it unseated the Las Vegas locals casinos for the crown of Loosest Slots in the Nation, returning a remarkable 95.13 percent of all wagers to players, in all denominations. Among the other pleasant surprises here are a first-rate hotel, a great sports bar, and a fantastic steakhouse called the Royal Table.

Indiana There are two distinct markets for riverboats in Indiana—the five casinos on the Indiana side of the Chicagoland market, and the southern Indiana casinos along the Ohio river, which serve the Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky markets. In all, there are 10 riverboat casinos, with an 11th on the way in French Lick, to be placed on a man-made lake between two resort towns.

In the Chicagoland area, there is one Indiana choice that stands out above all the others—Resorts East Chicago. In the South, there are three standouts—Caesars Indiana, Argosy Lawrenceburg, and the fabulous Belterra.

Resorts East Chicago Resorts East Chicago, the massive yacht-style riverboat that opened as Harrah’s East Chicago, is the clear choice as the best casino in the Chicagoland market. Harrah’s sold the 53,000-square-foot casino a year ago to Resorts International Holdings, as part of the divestitures associated with its takeover of Caesars. Thankfully, Resorts has not altered it significantly. In our annual reader survey, this property consistently ranks as the best overall hotel casino in the market, along with the best rooms and suites, in the 286-room adjacent hotel.

Caesars Indiana This is one of those riverboat properties which, if seen only from the inside, is virtually indistinguishable from an upscale Las Vegas resort casino hotel. Caesars Indiana is attached to one of the most beautiful hotels in the market, its elegant lobby awash in marble befitting the familiar Roman theme. The riverboat itself, on the 5,000-passenger side-wheel style vessel dubbed Glory of Rome, is the largest riverboat casino in the world, with some 90,000 square feet of gaming space. There is fantastic slot selection, great video poker, and top-notch table games and poker room. You can’t go wrong here.

Argosy Lawrenceburg Another behemoth on the Ohio, Penn National’s Argosy Lawrenceburg casino—the closest to Cincinnati—features some of the best slots and video poker in southern Indiana, as well as another great hotel. It is one of the most popular riverboat casinos in the nation, not only for its games—2,300 slots and 80 tables spread over three levels—but for a promotion-rich slot club that many consider the best in the market.

Belterra And then there’s Belterra. Pinnacle Entertainment’s Belterra property is not as large as its neighbors, but is one of the very best riverboat casinos in the country. The two-tower hotel is twice as large as competing locations, a recent expansion bumping the room count to 608, including 57 luxurious suites. Staying at the hotel gives you access to a package of top amenities dominated by a championship golf course. The casino is just as good: The slot floor stocks the newest games on the market. Table games include five-deck blackjack and 10-times odds on craps. In short, what’s not to like?

Missouri Missouri has 11 riverboat casinos, but there are only two names you need to know: Ameristar and Harrah’s. Ameristar operates top properties in Kansas City and St. Charles, and between those properties and the Harrah’s casinos in St. Louis and North Kansas City, the two operators dominate the market.

Ameristar Kansas City / St. Charles This is a remarkably beautiful dockside casino, its two levels bedecked in gold and elegant trappings. It is a consistent winner of most of Player’s top awards for Missouri in the annual survey—clearly a favorite of players for its hotel, its restaurants, its slots, its tables, blackjack, entertainment and restaurants. As far as Missouri goes, this is the place to be. Ameristar St. Charles, recently refurbished to the tune of $360 million, is not on par with the Kansas City property. By next year, the St. Charles property will add a new 25-story hotel tower housing 400 luxury suites.

Harrah’s St. Louis Harrah’s dominates downtown St. Louis with this huge dockside facility, featuring a total of 120,000 square feet of gaming space. Harrah’s gets high marks for its hotel rooms—including some great room packages—as well as its casino promotions, and of course, the typical Harrah’s service and the ever-present Total Rewards national player’s club.

Louisiana Louisiana has 15 riverboat casinos spread out across three regions—Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Shreveport/Bossier City, and Lake Charles. The two standouts in the state are operated by Harrah’s (which also operates a land-based casino in New Orleans) and Pinnacle Entertainment.

Horseshoe Bossier City When Harrah’s Entertainment acquired the Horseshoe brand a couple of years ago, one of the best properties that came with it was the Horseshoe riverboat in Bossier City. Built by Jack Binion as the first casino in the market, it is a beautifully elegant paddlewheeler with some of the best poker, table games and slots in the state. It is adjacent to a magnificent 606-room, all-suite hotel with some of the best resort amenities to be found anywhere in the riverboat market.

L’Auberge du Lac The newest riverboat casino in Louisiana is also the best. Pinnacle’s L’Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino is simply gorgeous, its single-level dockside casino only one part of an amazing resort set on 227 acres. Pinnacle has here reprised the formula that worked so well at Belterra, with a 600-plus room, high-end hotel feeding the central feature of the resort—a Tom Fazio-designed, 18-hole championship golf course. As we said with Belterra, what’s not to like?

Rolling on the Rivers – Riverboat Casino.

How Riverboat Gambling Became Riverboat Gaming

Kevin has been involved in the gambling industry since the ‘80s. From winning tournaments to casino management, he’s ultimately done it all. Throughout the years, he’s written for various iGaming publications on topics such as the legal landscape of online casinos and strategies behind winning. His favorite game is blackjack.

Cash-strapped states across the South and Midwest in the late eighties and early nineties were desperate for a new source of cash revenue that didn’t raise taxes. Gambling seemed like an easy way out, but it was going to be a hard sell to dubious voters.

But what if they used the allure of the old riverboat gambling myths and the promise of using the riverboat casinos to keep the gambling scourge at arm’s length from impacted communities? Could they sell this new, sanitized riverboat gaming to their constituents?

The Evolution of Gaming on America’s Rivers

We will explore the history of riverboat gaming in America from the early 19th century right into the 21st. We will discuss how it morphed and was delicately managed to become a product that a broad number of people could support a few decades ago, before starting another slow decline, and we take a closer look at some of its few bright remaining stars.

• ⛴ The History of Riverboat Gambling
• ⛴ The Beginnings of Riverboat Gaming
• ⛴ A Few of the Best Riverboat Casinos Remaining
• ⛴ Conclusion

The History of Riverboat Gambling

The first steamboat to make the trip down the Ohio and then the Mississippi was aptly named New Orleans, and she made her inaugural trip in 1811. For the next 100 years, these boats would define commerce along the nation’s mighty rivers. And with commerce comes con men.

The huge sums of money that came from moving much of the fledgling nation’s goods up and down the rivers would prove to be a powerful temptation. While much of the gambling that soon developed on these long, slow trips along the river was legal, many of the men who came to play were on the wrong side of the law .

Not even two decades into the new steamboat trade and there were articles in the Eastern papers about the con men, card sharps, and confidence scams being run on every bumpkin that set foot on a boat. In 1835, the townsfolk in Vicksburg had had enough; they lynched 5 of the “professional gamblers” and burned every Faro table in town, which was stated to be in the dozens.

Much like the frontiersman who preceded them and the Wild West lawmen who would come later, these sharply dressed, supremely confident riverboat gamblers who plied their way on the steamboats of the Mississippi using only their luck and some “skills” they’d picked up along the way were the subject of many salacious headlines and stories in their day. Despite their many obvious flaws, an almost reverence was bestowed on them as archetypical American heroes.

The Beginnings Of Riverboat Gaming

The hay day of the Riverboat gambler started to fade in the 1860s during the Civil War, and then with the advent of railroads, they were soon all but forgotten. But in the early 1990s, states desperate for tax revenue and looking at the success of Las Vegas and Atlantic City decided to retest the waters of riverboat gambling.

This time, it was a way of introducing limited casino operations only along the waterways of the State’s rivers, selling it to their constituents as a diversion and pastime. Thus, the term riverboat gaming was needed . This was to be entertainment and frivolity, none of those card sharps and hustlers from the good ole days. So, a new term was coined.

Iowa led the riverboat race with the Diamond Lady in Bettendorf in April 1991. But riverboat gaming would soon come to Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana , and other states along the Mississippi and other large rivers like the Missouri and Ohio and even the Fox and Red Rivers.

Used mainly as a stalking horse for the eventual opening of land-based casinos in most of these states, many gamblers found the cramped quarters, the limited selection of slots and tables, and most egregious of all, the ability to only embark or disembark while the boat was at the pier, to be a let down from the Las Vegas style experience that they had been promised.

In Iowa, the first land-based casinos made an appearance in just three years. In every State, some accommodations were made , from no longer having to cruise the dangerous rivers to being allowed to move on to barges over the river to being able to move to land as long as you were adjacent to the river. This was a push generally called dock-side gaming, which meant that the actual return of elegant paddle wheelers with blackjack, roulette, and slot machines prowling the Mississippi again lasted less than a decade.

Dock-side gaming was far safer and allowed gamblers to come and go as they pleased , which drove casino revenues much higher. Also, the ability in some states to move either onto barges or land-based casinos adjacent to piers saw some spectacular casinos get built that could finally meet the promise of a Las Vegas experience.

A Few Of The Best Riverboat Casinos Remaining

If you are going to visit one of the grand old ladies of the river, we think that you should start with the actual riverboats that once traveled the Mississippi, and of these, the Amelia Belle is one of the most iconic .

Situated about an hour and a half outside New Orleans, deep in Cajun Country, this beautiful riverboat gambling hall has over 30,000 square feet of gaming space , 800 slots, and a dozen table games. Before she was damaged during Hurricane Katrina, she sailed up the river from the port of New Orleans several times a day in the mid-90s, but she now sits permanently in Bayou Bouef, her expedition days behind her.

Since Louisiana has kept its premise of at least gambling on a boat, even if its moored in a giant pool or cemented to the dock, longer than most other of the original riverboat casino states, it’s no wonder we can find most of the truly breathtaking and best riverboat casinos there.

Another of the must-see gambling boats sits on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana. Chosen for its 20-minute proximity to the Texas border and only two and a half hours drive from Dallas, Shreveport was once a thriving riverboat gambling town and one of the country’s premier riverboat casino locations. But the Indian tribes in Oklahoma, which sit only an hour outside of Dallas to the North, have taken some of their business.

Still, there are several other riverboats operating in Shreveport, but what we think makes the Sam’s Town Property, one of the best riverboat casinos in Louisiana , is that they’ve turned a 30,000-square-foot gaming boat into a destination resort. They have a 500+ room hotel directly adjacent and tied into the property with four restaurants including a really nice steak house and lots of other amenities. The boat itself has over 1000 slots and more than 27 table games.

One of the best riverboat casinos outside of Louisiana is the Grand Victoria in Elgin, Illinois. Built back in 1995, she was spared the dangers of cruising the Fox River in 1999, when Illinois was one of the last states to end their riverboat gaming rules that required the boats to leave their docks. Today, this 30,000-foot boat has room for 1100 slots and almost 30 tables and even sports an onboard buffet and three other restaurants. She is one of the prettier examples of the early 1990s boats that you will see as well, and it is well worth your time to get a good vantage point and take in her lines.

While both the age of riverboat gamblers and its more recent short-lived renaissance of riverboat gaming are now a thing of the past, the allure of cruising the mighty Mississippi while making your living playing cards and shooting dice will probably live on into the distant future. There is something about the water flowing past and the land slipping by out the window that just seems to call for a quick hand of poker or a spin on the roulette wheel.

It’s a call back to a time when the men and women who traveled these waterways were used to risking everything in order to follow their dreams. Get out there and check out some of those boats, wander the decks, play a hand or two of blackjack, and contemplate that river streaming by while you still have a chance to see a dying American breed , the last of the riverboat casinos.

• Terms & Conditions

Missouri's last remaining riverboat casino can now move inland

Century Casinos , which owns and operates Century Casino Caruthersville in Missouri, said Friday that changes on a law in the state have been approved to remove the requirements for casinos to be "floating facilities."

The Missouri Gaming Commission will now have the ability to approve a casino facility that is built as a standard building as long as it also includes a container with at least 2,000 gallons of water beneath the facility . This change clears the way for Century Casino Caruthersville, which is the last remaining riverboat casino on open water in Missouri, to move to a non-floating facility.

Century also announced it acquired parcels of land between land already leased by the company and the land-based Pavilion building , which contains a restaurant, multifunctional spaces and an entrance to the walkway to the riverboat casino . The purchases also come with an existing two-story hotel, and they would be the initial step for a future casino and hotel development and better access to parking, for which the operator has already started working with an architecture firm to develop plans . It will refurbish the existing hotel with the goal to reopen it with 36 rooms by early 2022.  

However, the number of available casino licenses in Missouri remains capped at 13 , and casino facilities are still required to be located within 1,000 feet of the Mississippi or Missouri rivers . The company's two casinos in Missouri, which include Century Casino Cape Girardeau , operate 1,365 slot machines and 32 table games and generated 43% of the company's net operating revenue and 104% of the Company's Adjusted EBITDA1 in Q1 2021.

"We are very thankful to the Missouri legislature, the Caruthersville community and our management in Missouri for having driven and supported our successful efforts in Missouri," Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, Co CEOs of Century Casinos commented in a press release. "We look forward to bringing exciting improvements to our property in Caruthersville."

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Is The Missouri Belle Riverboat Casino From Ozark A Real Place?

The tale of a man relocating his family from the big city to a more rural area is usually a page from the sitcom playbook. But " Ozark " is anything but a laugh-a-minute romp. The crime family drama follows Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) as he's forced to relocate his family to Missouri and launder extraordinary amounts of money for a drug cartel. Over the course of the series, things have become unbearably intense, and moral compasses have steadily eroded among the characters, all of which have helped make "Ozark" a must-see Netflix series. 

The Navarro Cartel in "Ozark" is no pushover, and panic sets in during the early seasons as Marty and his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) struggle to figure out an operation big enough for their money laundering goals. That all changes in Season 3 when the two enter the riverboat casino business. They open the Missouri Belle Riverboat Casino, which proves to be a huge success and helps further the family's descent into the criminal lifestyle. This particular story of a riverboat casino used to move drug money is a work of fiction (pending the days we read about it as headline news). But that doesn't necessarily mean that the riverboat as seen in "Ozark" is fake.

The casino is a real riverboat

While the use of exterior shots of the Lakes of the Ozarks would suggest that the series is filmed in Missouri, the actual truth is that much of "Ozark" is shot a little further south in the Peach State. Per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , the Netflix series has used various counties in the Atlanta, Georgia, area for filming. This also includes Stone Mountain, Georgia, where the actual Missouri Belle Riverboat used as the Byrde's casino is located. Via Pop Culture , the riverboat's location is at a business called Atlanta Adventure Tours, where fans can likely catch a glimpse of the boat while on a bike ride or kayaking the river. However, don't expect to encounter a real casino. The series produces the interior shots elsewhere, as the actual boat doesn't have anything related to gambling other than the signs featured in the show.

The Missouri Belle isn't the only riverboat fans can visit. An attempt to see the Big Muddy Riverboat, which also comes under the ownership of the Byrdes during Season 3, requires a trip to a Joe's Crab Shack in Savannah, Georgia (via Atlas of Wonders ). As to why the series would choose to film in Georgia instead of its story setting, the reason is likely because Georgia is a great cost-effective state for filming. The location offers some juicy tax incentives to filmmakers. And they are too good to pass up. For instance, in 2021, Georgia granted $1.2 billion in tax credits for numerous filming productions (via The Hollywood Reporter ).

Fans couldn't help but notice a small detail about the casino's name

Even though it's a front for some illegal money laundering, the Missouri Belle Casino is a catchy name. If the riverboat were a legit gambling operation, we're sure that commercial that Marty and Wendy made during Season 3 would probably bring in big business. Who wouldn't want to gamble the night away at the charming spot? The answer to that is fans who have been following the disturbing and heartbreaking trek of Marty and his family. But in case binging episodes of the Netflix show isn't enough to show that all is not good with the casino and the family, maybe we should think about its name.

Fans on a Reddit post , upvoted over 400 times, noted that when sounding out the name of the Byrde's riverboat casino, it sounds like the word "Miserable." The realization has delighted fans, and it has also caused some to draw a parallel between "Ozark" and another classic Jason Bateman series. "'Arrested Development's wordplay must follow Jason," u/RedTexas23 said. Fans have already noticed a few "Arrested Development" references in "Ozark," with some no doubt theorizing that the two shows are linked despite their starkly different tones. We're sure this clever riverboat wordplay will add more fuel to that raging theory fire.

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Missouri riverboat gambling, proposition a (1992).

Aftermath Election results Text of measure Similar measures See also External links Footnotes

• • • • • • • • • • • • • The Missouri Riverboat Gambling Proposition , also known as Proposition A , was on the November 3, 1992 ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred state statute , where it was approved . The measure authorized riverboat gambling excursions on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, to be regulated by the State Tourism Commission. [1] [2] The resulting law from this proposition was struck down by the State Supreme Court in Harris v. Missouri Gaming Commission under a ruling that games of chance can only become legal through changes to the state's constitution. [3] In 1994, two constitutional amendments were proposed, one in an April special election which was defeated, and one in the November general election which was approved. Expansions on the November, 1994 amendment were put before before voters in 1998 and in 2004 . Election results Missouri Proposition A (1992) ot    869 S.W.2d 58 Result Votes Percentage Yes 1,397,750 62.47% No 839,568 37.53% Election results via: University of Missouri Institute for Public Policy Text of measure The question on the ballot appeared as: [2] “ Authorizes riverboat gambling excursions on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, regulated by the State Tourism Commission. Excursions may originate where locally approved by the voters. Five hundred dollar maximum loss limit per person per excursion. The proposal is intended to produce increased General Revenue. ” Similar measures Missouri 1992 ballot measures 1992 ballot measures List of Missouri ballot measures History of Initiative & Referendum in Missouri External links I&R Institute ballot measure database for Missouri University of Missouri Institute for Public Policy Chillicothe Constitution Tribune , "Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of Missouri," October 6, 1992 Harris v. Missouri Gaming Commission ↑ University of Missouri Institute for Public Policy , "Constitutional Amendments, Statutory Revision and Referenda Submitted to the Voters by the General Assembly or by Initiative Petition, 1910–2010," accessed May 14, 2014 ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chillicothe Constitution Tribune , "Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of Missouri," October 6, 1992 ↑ The News , Missouri wagering again goes to the ballot as sides debate need for gambling, April 3, 1994 ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.  •  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •  •  of ( ) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pages using DynamicPageList3 parser function Gambling, Missouri Gambling, 1992 Ballotpedia features 514,765 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Click here to contact our editorial staff or report an error . 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A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot.  The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office that its initiative petition did not qualify for the statewide ballot because it was short 2,031 signatures in the 2nd Congressional District.  The proposal collected enough signatures in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th districts.  The group claims it has identified more than 2,500 valid signatures that were rejected and should have been counted in the 2nd District.  “Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “However, (Osage River Gaming & Convention) has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the Nov. 5 general election ballot and are now asking the court to do so.” The proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow a casino along the Osage River between Bagnell Dam and the confluence with the Missouri River. The constitution currently authorizes casinos only along  the Missouri and Mississippi rivers . It would also override a state law  limiting the state to 13 licensed casinos , passed in 2008 as a result of an initiative sponsored by casino operators. The Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri’s busiest tourism destinations. The casino proposal is being bankrolled by Bally’s, which currently operates a casino in Kansas City, and RIS Inc., a major regional developer. Each has contributed about half of the $4.1 million raised for the petition drive. The proposal is being pushed in response to a casino development  announced in 2021  by the Osage Nation, the Native American tribe that the river is named for. That project, a $60 million development, includes construction of a casino, hotel and convention center. Backers of the initiative effort say their casino project will  provide 700 to 800 jobs. According to the ballot summary, the casino is expected to produce admission and fee revenue of $2.1 million annually, money that is split with the local government with jurisdiction over the site and the Missouri Gaming Commission. The tax on casino net winnings is projected to be about $14.3 million annually. New gambling tax revenue would be earmarked to early childhood literacy programs in public schools. Miss Clipping Out Stories to Save for Later? Click the Purchase Story button below to order a print of this story. We will print it for you on matte photo paper to keep forever. BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: QUINCY RELAX SPAS Loyd Jack Jarvis — Davis Funeral Home Current weather. Sunny. Hot. High 94F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. 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A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot.  The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office that its initiative petition did not qualify for the statewide ballot because it was short 2,031 signatures in the 2nd Congressional District.  The proposal collected enough signatures in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th districts.  The group claims it has identified more than 2,500 valid signatures that were rejected and should have been counted in the 2nd District.  Sports wagering, minimum wage hike headed for November vote in Missouri “Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “However, (Osage River Gaming & Convention) has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the Nov. 5 general election ballot and are now asking the court to do so.” The proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow a casino along the Osage River between Bagnell Dam and the confluence with the Missouri River. The constitution currently authorizes casinos only along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers . It would also override a state law limiting the state to 13 licensed casinos , passed in 2008 as a result of an initiative sponsored by casino operators. The Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri’s busiest tourism destinations. The casino proposal is being bankrolled by Bally’s, which currently operates a casino in Kansas City, and RIS Inc., a major regional developer. Each has contributed about half of the $4.1 million raised for the petition drive. The proposal is being pushed in response to a casino development announced in 2021 by the Osage Nation, the Native American tribe that the river is named for. That project, a $60 million development, includes construction of a casino, hotel and convention center. Backers of the initiative effort say their casino project will  provide 700 to 800 jobs. According to the ballot summary, the casino is expected to produce admission and fee revenue of $2.1 million annually, money that is split with the local government with jurisdiction over the site and the Missouri Gaming Commission. The tax on casino net winnings is projected to be about $14.3 million annually. New gambling tax revenue would be earmarked to early childhood literacy programs in public schools. Recommended Stories Rfk jr.'s endorsement of trump sparks 'outrage' among some members of the kennedy family. here's what they've said.. The family dynasty has broken from its longstanding Democratic politics. SpaceX will soon send the Polaris Dawn crew off to attempt the first commercial spacewalk Polaris Dawn, a private space mission that aims to complete the first-ever civilian spacewalk, is expected to launch this week. SpaceX said it’s targeting Tuesday August 27 at 3:38AM ET for liftoff. 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While all Missouri casinos are technically on a barge or riverboat, only one considers itself a true riverboat casino - Century Casino Caruthersville. Check the next section for the full list of casinos in MO. Casinos in Missouri History of Missouri Casinos. Riverboat gambling was voted in via a state-wide referendum in 1992, making Missouri the fifth state to approve this form of gambling. Since by law riverboats are not required to cruise, most of the Missouri casinos are built on top of a docked barge. This gives them the aesthetic appearance of a land-based casino ... Missouri Casinos A History of Gambling in Missouri. Gambling has a long and complicated history in Missouri. The first gambling activities in the state can be traced back to the early 1800s, with riverboat gambling being a popular pastime. By the mid-1800s, Missouri had become a hub for gambling, with St. Louis becoming known as the "Monte Carlo of the West." Century Casinos Gets Approval to Bring Missouri Riverboat Ashore Century's "two casinos in Missouri, Century Casino Caruthersville and Century Casino Cape Girardeau, operate 1,365 slot machines and 32 table games and generated 43 percent of the company's ... River City Casino in St. Louis, MO Set on the banks of the Mississippi River, River City Casino offers a luxury hotel and casino with the best gaming and dining in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit River City Casino & Hotel Take exit 202B. Turn left at end of ramp onto Eastbound Germania. Turn right onto Alabama Ave. and cross the River des Peres. Alabama Ave. becomes Lemay Ferry Rd. Turn left at the first signal onto River City Casino Blvd. and follow east to the casino. From Jefferson City, MO via US-54 and I-70: 2 hr. drive - Follow US-54 East. Harrah's Kansas City Hotel And Casino Come out and play at Harrah's Kansas City, set along the banks of the picturesque Missouri River. Experience thrilling table games and slots on the 60,000-square-foot casino floor, superior hotel amenities in plush rooms and suites, and restaurants founded by celebrity chefs or quick and convenient eateries. Casino KC 1800 E Front St , Kansas City , 64120 , USA. By Mike J. Davies Senior Editor at Casinos.US Updated: January 19, 2022. Casino KC in Kansas City— formerly Isle of Capri Kansas City is a classy riverboat casino, permanently docked on the Missouri River. You can board the riverboat and you'll be faced with a casino floor filled with slots and ... PDF Missouri versightGoverning Body: The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) is in charge of regulating riverboat gambling throughout t. e state. The commission's role is to effectively regulate licensed gaming operations, and ensure that games are conducted fairly, and with full di. closure. The commission is comprised of five members, who are appointed by ... Rolling on the Rivers Missouri Missouri has 11 riverboat casinos, but there are only two names you need to know: Ameristar and Harrah's. Ameristar operates top properties in Kansas City and St. Charles, and between those properties and the Harrah's casinos in St. Louis and North Kansas City, the two operators dominate the market. ... Riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, ... By 1998, "according to the state Gaming Commission, just three of the 16 operations comprising Missouri's $652-million riverboat gambling industry [were] clearly on the main river ... Century Casino Caruthersville Century Casino & Hotel Caruthersville is calling your name - and the good times are waiting at Missouri's first non-floating casino that makes its home next to the mighty Mississippi River. Try your luck at any of more than over 400 gaming machines or at any of 6 exciting table games. Enjoy good eats and look into staying at The Farmstead or ... Missouri Gambling History The return of riverboat gambling to Missouri. Reprising its history with 19th-century steamboats, Missouri introduced legal riverboat casinos in the 1990s. In 1989, Iowa was the first state to legalize riverboat gambling. Then, Missouri voters approved a 1992 referendum to authorize gambling on boats on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. How Riverboat Gambling Became Riverboat Gaming Another of the must-see gambling boats sits on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana. Chosen for its 20-minute proximity to the Texas border and only two and a half hours drive from Dallas, Shreveport was once a thriving riverboat gambling town and one of the country's premier riverboat casino locations. But the Indian tribes in Oklahoma ... St. Jo Frontier Casino St. Jo Frontier Casino. /  39.83222°N 95.01694°W  / 39.83222; -95.01694. St. Jo Frontier Casino is a riverboat casino on the edge of the Missouri River in St. Joseph, Missouri owned by Affinity Gaming . The casino on July 19, 2011 during the 2011 Missouri River floods which temporarily closed the casino. Missouri's last remaining riverboat casino can now move inland This change clears the way for Century Casino Caruthersville, which is the last remaining riverboat casino on open water in Missouri, to move to a non-floating facility. acquired parcels of land between land already leased by the company and the land-based Pavilion building, which contains a restaurant, multifunctional spaces and an . Missouri Legislature considering Osage River gambling boat Missouri Legislature considering Osage River gambling boat. February 8, 2023 at 4:03 a.m. by Ryan Pivoney. Guests below Bagnell Dam at the Osage River access watch a young eagle soar above the ... Missouri Online Casinos Guide The 90s were mainly focused on developing river boat casinos, first legalized in 1992, which also established the Missouri Gaming Commission a year later. In 1994, river boat casinos were permitted to provide games of chance and in 1998, the referendum was amended to allow rivers boat casinos to remain docked. Missouri Gambling Regulation RSMo, Chapter 313. The General Assembly adopted several legislative amendments that led to the establishment of the Missouri Gaming Commission, which took over the regulation of riverboat casinos.All regulatory requirements and restrictions are outlined in detail in Chapter 313 of the Missouri Revised Statutes.. Excursion gambling boats are described as ferries, boats, and floating facilities ... Missouri Gambling Laws According to Missouri constitutional law, riverboat gambling is allowed on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers (but boats in artificial moats, within 1000 feet of an approved river, are allowed). The law doesn't specify whether dog racing is legal, but there are no dog racing tracks in the state. However, betting on licensed horse racing (at ... Missouri's Last Riverboat Casino Prepares For Move To Dry Land Caruthersville, Missouri, is a small town prepping for a big upgrade. Next month, Century Casino will break ground on its Caruthersville, Missouri casino. The project will move the property's gaming floor from a riverboat into a pavilion and add a hotel. The expansion will be a big boost for the town, the mayor told local media. Is The Missouri Belle Riverboat Casino From Ozark A Real Place? The casino is a real riverboat. While the use of exterior shots of the Lakes of the Ozarks would suggest that the series is filmed in Missouri, the actual truth is that much of "Ozark" is shot a ... Riverboat Gambling & Entertainment Along the Mississippi Riverboats are the only casinos in some states. By 2018, 63 riverboat casinos were operating across six states. More than a sideline, these gaming houses account for the entire commercial casino operation in the states of Illinois and Missouri. By the end of 2018, gambling revenue from boats totaled $382.5 million in state tax in Illinois and ... Missouri Riverboat Gambling, Proposition A (1992) The Missouri Riverboat Gambling Proposition, also known as Proposition A, was on the November 3, 1992 ballot in Missouri as a legislatively referred state statute, where it was approved. The measure authorized riverboat gambling excursions on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, to be regulated by the State Tourism Commission. Backers of new Missouri casino file lawsuit hoping to get on statewide The constitution currently authorizes casinos only along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It would also override a state law limiting the state to 13 licensed casinos, passed in 2008 as a result of an initiative sponsored by casino operators. The Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri's busiest tourism destinations. Backers of new Missouri casino file lawsuit hoping to get on statewide The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state's office that its initiative petition did not qualify for the statewide ballot because it was short 2,031 signatures in the 2nd Congressional District. Backers of new Missouri casino file lawsuit hoping to get on ... A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot. The Osage River ... catamaran gulet motorboat powerboat riverboat sailboat trimaran yacht