When you pull up to the Ameristar Casino, you will have the option of parking somewhere in their huge parking lot, or allowing their valet to park your car for you. The valet is free, except for the tip that will be expected once your day of fun is complete.

As you open the door, and step inside the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri; it will feel as if you've opened a door and stepped out into a small town. Each attraction under this one roof has its own storefront, and as you walk down the walkway you can look up to see, what appear to be, fluffy white clouds in a blue sky. With no windows, except for the entrance doors, you'll have a hard time knowing the difference between night and day once you're deep inside the building.

Be sure to have your camera with you because you're going to want pictures, and pictures are allowed in most areas. Just not in the casino itself. Security is very nice about directing you where pictures can, and cannot, be taken. When we were taking pictures, security was actually willing to stand there and look over our shoulder to tell us how much of a view was actually allowed. They allowed a partial view of the hotel entrance, and not much of the casino. But there's so much more to see than just the casino.

Immediately inside the doors is an antique railroad car, complete with its original furnishings. There are also beautiful fountains along the path. As you follow the path around you'll see 11 different dining opportunities from snacks, to fast food, to buffets, to a nice sit-down dinner. The restaurants are, Amerisports Brew Pub, Arthur Bryant's Barbeque, Burger King, Casino Deli, Cold Stone Creamery, Falcon Diner, Great Plains Cattle Co., The Horizon Buffet, Pearl's Oyster Bar, and SBARRO the Italian Eatery as well as the Star Club, a private players' lounge. Ameristar has something to suit everyone's taste and budget.

The building is open 24hours, but the casino floor is open Sunday through Thursday from 8am to 5am, and 24 hours on Friday and Saturday. Ameristar has 140,000 square feet of gaming space where you'll find 3,022 machines and 105 table games.

If gambling just isn't your thing, or you're looking for activities for those members of your family who have not yet reached 21, there are also other entertainment venues under the Ameristar roof. There is the Star Pavilion where some of today's hottest entertainers come to perform, and Depot #9 where you can see some of Kansas City's local talent. There's a video arcade, and Kid Quest, a child care facility that is supervised. There is also an 18 screen movie theater on site.

The Ameristar Hotel has 184 rooms. They offer a mixture of standard rooms and suites, with double, queen, or king sized beds. They offer smoking or non-smoking rooms and wheelchair accessible rooms are also available. The casino lobby has a marble floor and crystal chandelier, offering elegance from your very first step inside the door.