Seven Casinos.
Two States. One River.

Caesars Entertainment

999 N 2nd St, St. Louis, MO 63102

The only casino you can walk to from a downtown hotel. It sits at the north end of downtown next to Laclede's Landing, under a mile from the Arch and within walking distance of both Busch Stadium and The Dome. Opened as Lumière Place in 2007; Caesars rebranded it Horseshoe in May 2022. Two hotels on the property — the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, the city's only five-star, and the 294-suite HoteLumière at the Arch, connected to the casino floor by skywalk. WSOP-branded poker room.

Go here if: you're downtown, you want to walk, or you're playing poker.

DraftKings at Casino Queen is directly across the river from this property. From the Horseshoe garage it's about five minutes.

Boyd Gaming

1 Ameristar Blvd, St. Charles, MO 63301

The biggest gaming floor in Missouri at roughly 130,000 square feet, with a full hotel and ten restaurants. It's also the best poker room in the state — deeper cash action than anything else in the metro. Thirty minutes northwest, which puts it next to Historic Main Street St. Charles if you want a real evening around the trip.

Go here if: you want the destination-resort version of the night, or you're serious about poker.

Penn Entertainment

777 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights, MO 63043

The volume floor of the metro — the biggest Missouri-side room after Ameristar, with a hotel, poker, and a retail sportsbook. Twenty-five minutes west on I-64/I-70, in the same corridor as Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.

Go here if: you're already out west, or you're pairing a show with a floor.

Penn Entertainment

777 River City Casino Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63125

South county's anchor, fifteen minutes down I-55 from downtown. Hotel and event center on site. The least touristed of the four and the easiest parking in the metro.

Go here if: you're staying south, or you want a floor without a crowd.

Bally's Corporation

200 Front St, East St. Louis, IL 62201

Riverfront property directly opposite downtown St. Louis, roughly 38,000 square feet of gaming with a hotel and an RV park. Five minutes over the Poplar Street Bridge and the Arch is in the window. Rebranded from Casino Queen under a partnership with DraftKings.

Go here if: you're staying downtown without a car and want the shortest possible trip.

Accel Entertainment

9301 Collinsville Rd, Collinsville, IL 62234

A 95-year-old thoroughbred track — long known as Fairmount Park — rebranded under a FanDuel partnership and acquired by Accel Entertainment, which holds an Illinois Organization Gaming License permitting casino gaming at the site. Live racing plus a full sportsbook, twenty minutes east of downtown.

Go here if: you want live horse racing, which nothing on the Missouri side offers.

Casino gaming at this property has been phased in — confirm the current floor before you drive.

Penn Entertainment

1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002

A genuine riverboat on the Mississippi in Alton, thirty-five minutes north. No hotel on site, so it's a day trip, not a stay. Alton itself is worth the drive — river bluffs, antique district, and the Great River Road runs north from here.

Go here if: you're making a day of the Great River Road.

Downtown — the no-car option

Stay at or near Horseshoe and you can walk to one casino, rideshare to a second in five minutes, and still be inside a mile of the Arch, Busch Stadium, and The Dome. This is the best base for a short trip, a game weekend, or anyone flying in.

Casinos in reach: Horseshoe (walk) · DraftKings at Casino Queen (5 min) · River City (15 min)

St. Charles — the resort option

Base at Ameristar and you're at the largest floor in the state with a hotel, ten restaurants, and Historic Main Street a few minutes away. You'll drive for everything else, but you may not want to.

Casinos in reach: Ameristar (on site) · Hollywood (20 min) · Horseshoe (30 min)

Maryland Heights — the west-side option

Hollywood has a hotel and sits in the amphitheatre corridor. Good if a concert is the reason for the trip.

Casinos in reach: Hollywood (on site) · Ameristar (20 min) · Horseshoe (25 min)

South County — the quiet option

River City has the easiest parking and the smallest crowds in the metro, fifteen minutes from downtown on I-55.

Casinos in reach: River City (on site) · Horseshoe (15 min) · DraftKings at Casino Queen (20 min)

Cardinals

Busch Stadium

Horseshoe is a walk. Park once at the casino garage, walk to the game, walk back. On a summer weeknight this is the single easiest casino-plus-sports combination in the Midwest.

Blues

Enterprise Center

Same downtown footprint, and hockey nights run late enough that the floor is still busy when you get back.

St. Louis City SC

Energizer Park

The newest of the three and the closest to the western edge of downtown. Still an easy walk or a two-minute ride from Horseshoe.

Know Before You Go

• •Minimum age is 21 for casino gambling in both Missouri and Illinois
• •Missouri has 13 licensed casinos statewide; all four in this metro are riverboat licenses
• •There is no tribal gaming in either Missouri or Illinois
• •Missouri's $500 loss limit was repealed by voters in 2008 — no cap today
• •Missouri sports betting launched December 1, 2025; Illinois since 2020
• •Mobile sports betting is geofenced by state — your app follows the river
• •Neither state has legalized online casino gaming

Getting Around

• •I-64, I-70, I-55, and I-44 all converge downtown; anything west or north gets slow at rush hour
• •The Poplar Street Bridge is the downtown-to-Illinois crossing and it's short
• •MetroLink light rail connects the airport to downtown but does not reach any casino directly
• •Rideshare downtown-to-Casino Queen typically runs five minutes
• •Casino garages downtown are usually cheaper than event parking on a game night

MISSOURI

Missouri Problem Gambling Helpline

1-888-BETSOFF (1-888-238-7633)

24/7 — free and confidential

ILLINOIS

Illinois Gambling Helpline

1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537)

24/7 — free and confidential