In November, 1992 Missouri voters approved a state-wide referendum to allow riverboat gambling, making it the fifth state to approve this form of gambling. There is no limit to the number of licenses that may be issued by the state's gaming commission and all boats remain dockside. When they first opened, all Missouri riverboats initially conducted two-hour gaming sessions (8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, 10pm, 12am, 2am) with a $500 loss-limit on each session. In August 1999, however, the state's gaming commission began a pilot program allowing some casinos to offer continuous boardings rather than holding gaming sessions. The experiment was successful and all Missouri riverboats now offer continuous boardings rather than sessions. The $500 loss limit per two hours, however, still remains in effect
The $500 loss limit is usually enforced by tracking the buy-ins on your Player's Card. You must have a Player's Card to get on the riverboats and present it whenever you buy chips, tokens, or put cash into a gaming machine. If you buy $500 worth of chips/tokens/credits you can't gamble anymore until two hours have lapsed since the start of the last gaming session. The sharing of chips/tokens is prohibited by law - even between spouses. There is no limit on winnings. Missouri riverboats and not open on a 24-hour basis and the operation hours for each casino are listed. For more information on visiting Missouri call the state's Travel Center at (800) 877-1234. Here's Information from the Missouri Gaming Commission regarding the slot percentage paybacks for each casino's machines for the 12-month period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998:
CASINO PAYBACK % Argosy 94.96 Harrah's M.H. 94.93 Harrah's K.C. 94.70 President 93.65 Hilton (now Isle of Capri) 94.40 Station-Kansas City (now Ameristar) 94.30 Station-St. Charles (now Ameristar) 94.23 St. Jo Frontier 93.08 Aztar 90.82
These figures reflect the total percentages returned by each casino for all of their electronic machines including slot machines, video poker, video keno, etc. As you can see, Argosy Casino returned the most to its slot machine players, while Casino Aztar returned the least. Although these numbers are only for a one-year period they pretty much remain constant with the same casinos at the top and bottom of the list. Unless otherwise noted, all casinos offer: slots, video poker, craps, blackjack, roulette, poker and Caribbean stud poker. Optional games include: baccarat (B), mini-baccarat (MB), poker (P), pai gow poker (PGP), let it ride (LIR), Spanish 21 (S21) and 3-Card Poker (TCP). The minimum gambling age is 21.
http://www.ameristarcasinos.com/corporate/scfacts/ Toll-Free Number: (800) 325-7777 Restaurants: 4 (Snack bar on boat) Buffets: B-$6.99 L-$8.99 D-$10.99/$13.99 (Thu-Sat) Boat Hours : 9am-1am/3am (Fri/Sat) Barge Hours : 8am-2am/5am (Fri/Sat) Admission: Free Valet Parking: $5 Casino Size: 55,000 Square Feet Other Games: MB, LIR, TCP, PGP Casino Marketing: (800) 325-7777 Fun Book: Distributed by local hotels Senior Discount: Mon-Thu from 8am-6pm receive double points, gift shop discounts, $1 lunch and free valet parking, by joining Golden Opportunities, if 55, or older Special Features: 2,000-passenger old-fashioned paddlewheeler remains dockside on Missouri River and another casino on a barge. Burger King and TCBY Yogurt on barge. Free hotel shuttle on weekends.
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www.argosycasinos.com Toll-Free Number: (800) 270-7711 Restaurants: 4 (Deli on boat) Buffets: B-$5.95 L-$6.95 D-$10.95/$14.95 (Fri-Sat) Hours: 8am-2am/6am (Fri/Sat) Admission: Free Valet Parking: $5 Casino Size: 30,000 Square Feet Other Games: PGP, LIR, S21, TCP Casino Marketing: (816) 746-3151 Senior Discount: SVP club members receive discounts on select days, if 55, or older Special Features: 1,800-passenger old-fashioned paddle wheeler that remains dockside on the Missouri River. Buffet and fine-dining restaurant are in land-based pavilion.
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