St. Jo Frontier Casino is a

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, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to e ...

on the edge of the Missouri River in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

owned by

Affinity Gaming Affinity Interactive, formerly known as Herbst Gaming and Affinity Gaming, is an American private casino and sports betting company based in Paradise, Nevada. It operates eight casinos in Nevada, Missouri, and Iowa, and publishes the '' Daily Raci ...

History

William M. Grace

The casino is the second smallest in Missouri and was one of original four casinos that opened after Missouri legalized riverboat gambling in 1993. It is in its second structure since William M. Grace opened it on June 24, 1994. When it opened it appropriated a tourist

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

The Spirit of St. Joseph that operated out of Riverside Park immediately west of downtown St. Joseph under the

Interstate 229 (Missouri) Interstate 229 (I-229) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs through St. Joseph, Missouri. It begins southeast of the city at Interstate 29 in Missouri, I-29 and U.S. Route 71 (Missouri), U.S. Route 71 (US 71) and travels to ...

viaduct. It did not have authorization to have

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s and only card games could be played. The riverboat went on excursions on the river which was to cause some jurisdiction issues with neighboring

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. Missouri voters on Nov. 8, 1994 approved slots. In 1996 the Missouri Gaming Commission ruled that gambling boats did not have to cruise the river and in fact could be within of the river (if river water touched them). Missouri casinos were to build "boats in moats" in concrete basins. Grace built an $18 million boat in a moat three miles (5 km) north of its original location in 1998. The opening was delayed after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled the voters had to approve the boat in moat concept which they did in 1998.

Herbst Gaming

Grace died in 2005 and

Herbst Gaming Affinity Interactive, formerly known as Herbst Gaming and Affinity Gaming, is an American private casino and sports betting company based in Paradise, Nevada. It operates eight casinos in Nevada, Missouri, and Iowa, and publishes the ''Daily Raci ...

acquired it along with Grace casinos in

La Grange, Missouri La Grange is a city in Lewis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 825 at the 2020 census. Since the 1960 census, the population has been dwindling. It is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History L ...

and

Osceola, Iowa Osceola is a city in Clarke County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,160 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Clarke County. History Osceola was named after a Seminole Indian leader of the same name. Osceola is a ...

for $287 million. Herbst Gaming which made $16 million in renovations including a

Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...

restaurant and live entertainment venue. Herbst Gaming changed its name to Affinity Gaming in 2011.

Facilities

It has 556 gaming machines and 11 poker tables. It paid $3 million in taxes in 2008 on $18 million in gross revenue and admissions of 579,550.http://www.hotel-online.com/News/2009_Jan_15/k.JMA.1232043928.html

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Jo Frontier Casino Riverboat casinos Casinos in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Joseph, Missouri Affinity Gaming Tourist attractions in Buchanan County, Missouri 1994 establishments in Missouri