At the start of 2024, neither casino in Missouri's southeast corner had a single hotel room. By the end of that year the pair had 143. The Riverview Hotel opened at Cape Girardeau in April 2024 with 69 rooms, and seven months later, on 1 November, Caruthersville moved off its riverboat into a new land-based building with 74 rooms of its own. For a region where most visitors arrive after a long drive, that one year changed what a trip down here looks like: both floors can now be an overnight stay rather than a same-day round trip.
The two properties share more than a corner of the map. Century Casinos, a Colorado group, operates both, and VICI Properties owns both. They run the same hours, and both sit on the Mississippi. What separates them is size, age and how far you are willing to drive.
Century Casino Cape Girardeau: the larger of the pair
Century Casino Cape Girardeau opened on 30 October 2012, making it the thirteenth of the state's casinos to open. Missouri has 13 licensed commercial casinos along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and none has opened since.
The floor carries more than 800 slot machines and 19 table games covering craps, blackjack and poker. That is small next to the metro properties, and the upside is shorter waits for a seat. Poker runs as occasional games rather than a full-time room, so phone ahead if cards are why you are going. The 19-table pit does not spread every game on every shift.
The Riverview Hotel's 69 rooms look out over the river, and with so few rooms serving such a wide area, weekends fill early. Dining is split between two restaurants, Beacon 53 and the Red Star Grill.
The location is the property's quiet advantage. It sits in the historic downtown rather than out by a highway exit, so an evening at the tables pairs easily with dinner or a walk in town. Google reviewers rate it 4.0, from a base of more than 3,500 reviews. The venue page puts it roughly two hours south of St. Louis on I-55, and notes that no other Missouri casino is closer than an hour away.
Century Casino Caruthersville: the newest building in the state
Century Casino Caruthersville sits in the Bootheel, about ninety minutes south of its sister property. For nearly thirty years it was a riverboat. The $51.9 million replacement, funded by VICI, is a 26,000 square foot land casino with 599 slot machines and nine live table games, around half again as many gaming positions as the temporary floor it succeeded.
Its Google score of 3.7, from more than 2,600 reviewers, is the lowest of any Missouri casino. Read that number carefully. A large share of those reviews were written about the retired boat or the stopgap floor, not the building that opened in November 2024. Sort by date before deciding anything from the rating.
Food and drink come from one restaurant and one bar, in keeping with the size of the place. The 74 rooms matter more here than almost anywhere in the state, because the Bootheel is a long way from any other casino.
How the two compare
| Cape Girardeau | Caruthersville | |
| Opened | 30 October 2012 | Land building 1 November 2024 |
| Slots | 800+ | 599 |
| Table games | 19 | 9 live tables |
| Hotel | 69 rooms (April 2024) | 74 rooms (November 2024) |
| Dining | Beacon 53, Red Star Grill | A restaurant and a bar |
| Google rating | 4.0 (3,500+ reviews) | 3.7 (2,600+ reviews) |
| Setting | Historic downtown, on the Mississippi | Bootheel, on the Mississippi |
Hours: the detail that trips people up
Neither floor is open around the clock all week. Both generally run 8am to 4am on weekdays, close for four hours, then stay open continuously from Friday morning until Sunday night. If you plan to arrive late on a Tuesday, check the schedule with the venue first. You need to be 21 to gamble at either one.
Which one to choose
Pick Cape Girardeau if you want the bigger table pit, two places to eat and a town to wander. Pick Caruthersville if you live in the Bootheel or want the newest building in Missouri, and judge it on recent reviews. Because one company runs both, you can easily visit the pair in a single weekend.
For the rest of the state's floors, see our guide to all 13 Missouri casinos. Heading north instead? River City Casino is the closest large floor in the St. Louis area.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a casino in Cape Girardeau?
Yes. Century Casino Cape Girardeau sits in the historic downtown on the Mississippi, with more than 800 slots, 19 table games and the 69-room Riverview Hotel.
How far apart are the two southeast Missouri casinos?
About ninety minutes, with Caruthersville to the south.
Do the Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville casinos have hotels?
Both do now. Cape Girardeau added 69 rooms in April 2024 and Caruthersville opened 74 rooms with its new building in November 2024.
Why is Caruthersville rated lower than Cape Girardeau?
Much of its review history describes the old riverboat and the temporary floor, not the current building.
