(STL.News) Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Charles held the Mid-States Poker Tour’s St. Louis stop from September 1 to 7, 2026. The schedule had 14 events with buy-ins from $250 to $1,110, and the $1,110 No-Limit Hold’em main event had a $300,000 guarantee across 4 days. A Tag Team event and a Seniors event were also on the schedule. St. Louis has a steady calendar of regional tournaments priced near $1,000, and its cash rooms have traditionally dealt fixed-limit hold’em at stakes from $3/$6 to $20/$40.
The Main Rooms in the Metro Area
The St. Louis area has 4 casinos historically associated with poker rooms, spread across downtown, the northwest suburbs, St. Charles and south St. Louis County.
Horseshoe St. Louis is downtown on Laclede’s Landing, beside the Mississippi River. It opened as Lumière Place on December 19, 2007, under Pinnacle Entertainment, and passed to Tropicana Entertainment in 2014 before Eldorado Resorts, now part of Caesars Entertainment, took it over in 2018. Caesars rebranded it as Horseshoe in May 2022. The 75,000-square-foot casino has operated a 10-table poker room under the World Series of Poker name. Visiting players can stay on site at Hotel Lumière, which has 294 suites, or at the 200-room Four Seasons St. Louis, which has held a AAA Five Diamond rating.
Hollywood Casino St. Louis is in Maryland Heights, northwest of the city. Its non-smoking room has been listed with about 20 tables, with no-limit hold’em from $1/$2 to $5/$10 and limit hold’em from $3/$6 up to $20/$40. The $1/$2 no-limit and $1/$2 Pot-Limit Omaha tables are among the regularly listed games, while limit Omaha 8 or Better at $4/$8 and $10/$20 starts when enough players ask for it. Published room hours have included round-the-clock play on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. the rest of the week.
Ameristar is across the Missouri River in St. Charles. Its poker room is on the second floor of the riverboat structure, has been listed with roughly 20 tables and offers a wider range of limit games than the other 2 rooms, including $4/$8 and $20/$40 hold’em with a half kill and $5/$10 Omaha 8 or Better. Its published weeknight hours have also been longer. Players who want to play poker games after Hollywood’s listed 3 a.m. closing time have had the option of staying at Ameristar until 5 a.m., with the St. Charles room historically operating 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
River City Casino is in south St. Louis County. Its poker room has dealt a $4/$8 limit hold’em game with a $40 buy-in and offered other approved games when enough players signed a list for one.
Fixed-Limit Games and the Half Kill
In a fixed-limit game, every bet and raise is a set amount, and the betting structure places limits on how much can be wagered during each round. Hollywood and Ameristar have both listed limit hold’em beside their no-limit games, and Ameristar has also offered limit Omaha 8 or Better at $4/$8 and $5/$10.
Several of these limit games have been played with a half kill. Under a common half-kill rule, a player who wins 2 qualifying pots in a row triggers higher limits for the next hand, although the exact conditions depend on the room. A $4/$8 game becomes $6/$12, and the player who triggered it may be required to post an additional blind. That extra money increases the pot before the cards are dealt and changes the betting dynamics for the next hand. For a short period, a $4/$8 table plays at $6/$12 stakes without anyone moving to a bigger game.
Room Amenities and Jackpots
Hollywood’s room has been listed as non-smoking, with free Wi-Fi and USB ports at the tables. Players have also been able to order food and cocktails at the seat, with massage service available during play. A previously published comp rate of $0.75 per hour would work out to $7.50 in credit for a 10-hour session.
The non-smoking policy is the casino’s own choice. Casinos were exempt from St. Louis County’s indoor smoking ban when it took effect in 2011, and a 2023 county proposal would have banned smoking in casinos outright. The debate led to a compromise proposal allowing the county’s casinos to set aside up to 50% of their gaming space for smokers.
Hollywood has also offered special hand jackpots under names such as Quads Cracked, Mini Bad Beat and Made Hands, and a Quads Cracked award goes to a player who loses a hand while holding 4 of a kind. Ameristar has advertised daily jackpots in its room as well.
The River Rules Behind the Casinos
Missouri’s casino law shaped where these rooms could be built. Voters first approved riverboat gambling in November 1992, with 62% in favor. The original rule required gambling boats to be on the rivers, and several operators dug basins beside them instead, which produced the boats in moats that courts then challenged. Amendment 9 settled it in 1998 with 55% of the vote, allowing casinos to float on water within 1,000 feet of the Missouri or Mississippi rivers.
Horseshoe met the rule with an unusual design. Its gaming floor is on an 8-foot-thick concrete raft on the riverfront, less than a mile from the Gateway Arch.
Missouri also had a loss limit. Before 2008, a Missouri patron could buy no more than $500 in chips or tokens in each 2-hour period. Proposition A removed that cap following its approval on November 4, 2008. It also raised the state tax on casinos from 20% to 21% and barred new casinos from being built. The $500 restriction on chip purchases also affected how quickly a player could add money to a cash-game stack, so its repeal removed a significant restriction on cash-game play.
The Regional Tournament Calendar
The Mid-States Poker Tour came to Ameristar twice in 2026. The casino held the tour’s Missouri State Championship from March 24 to 29, 2026, with a $1,110 main event, and returned to the tour schedule in September for the St. Louis stop. The September main event attracted 486 entries and generated a $469,920 prize pool, exceeding its $300,000 guarantee.
Hollywood has hosted Heartland Poker Tour championship events, including series with buy-ins up to $2,500, and has also run RunGood Poker Series festivals with 12 ring events and $250,000 in total guarantees.
The daily schedule has traditionally been cheaper. Hollywood has offered tournaments with buy-ins mostly under $100 and a $220 event on Friday nights. That spread has allowed local players to enter smaller tournaments regularly and save the larger buy-ins for touring series.
The 2026 World Series of Poker Circuit schedule did not include a Missouri stop. The city’s series calendar has therefore relied heavily on regional tours, despite the WSOP name associated with the Horseshoe room downtown.
The Largest Buy-In on the Local Calendar
Prices in St. Louis poker have ranged from River City’s $40 buy-in for a $4/$8 limit game to the $2,500 top event of a Heartland Poker Tour championship at Hollywood. The 2 are different purchases, since the $40 seat is a cash game that can be left at any point and the $2,500 seat buys a tournament stack that is played until elimination or the final hand. Among tournaments alone, the local calendar has ranged from Hollywood’s daily events under $100 to championship buy-ins of $2,500, a top price at least 25 times the bottom one.
Conclusion
St. Louis poker has developed around a mix of regional tournament stops, regular cash games, and the riverboat casinos that Missouri law helped shape. The larger events bring tournament players to the area, while smaller buy-ins and fixed-limit tables have supported a different kind of local card-room culture. The result is a poker scene defined as much by its everyday games as by the championships on its calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are poker tournaments held in St. Louis?
Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Charles has hosted Mid-States Poker Tour events, while Hollywood Casino St. Louis has held regional poker festivals and smaller tournaments. Event schedules and room availability should be checked directly before visiting.
What types of poker games are played in St. Louis card rooms?
Local poker rooms have offered No-Limit Texas Hold’em, fixed-limit hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and Omaha 8 or Better. Some fixed-limit games also use half-kill rules, which temporarily increase the betting limits when certain conditions are met.
How much does it cost to enter a poker tournament in St. Louis?
Smaller local tournaments have offered buy-ins under $100, while major regional events have charged around $1,000 or more. The September 2026 Mid-States Poker Tour main event at Ameristar had a $1,110 buy-in. Prices depend on the event and organizer.
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