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| Casino Profile - Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa Kansas City, Missouri |
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By Rick Alm
Penn National Gaming poured $66 million into Argosy's 258-room hotel that opened two years ago and last year was ranked by Expedia.com at No. 8 on its "Insiders' Select" list of the world's best hotels. If the long menu of luxury spa treaents doesn't float your boat perhaps the shower-stall "rain" experience in each oversized and elegantly furnished room will.
Wake up to a complimentary cup of Kansas City's own and addictive Roasterie coffee before hitting the fitness center or the business center. (Be sure to request a room with southern exposure for a postcard view of the Missouri River and the Kansas City skyline. Note: Smoking rooms are available on one floor only, and smoking is permitted in some dining areas.) The hotel's six high-tech meeting rooms and 5,000 square feet of smoke-free, pre-function space and 8,000 square feet grand ballroom won the Nielsen Company's MeetingNews magazine's "Planners' Choice" award in 2008 and have emerged as popular venues for wedding receptions, business meetings and other gatherings. Hungry? Argosy has five restaurants including Zoe's bakery and gift shop and Leo's Deli on the casino floor with its big menu of hot sandwiches, soups and salads. For fine dining the choice is Journey Wood Fired Steaks, where the daily special recently included Florida stone crab claws for $14. Really hungry? Go for the 18 oz. ribeye ($32) or twin pork chops in a brandy glaze ($24) topped off with a creme brulee ($7).
Of course there's a buffet, and the Terrace Buffet just might be the most intimate casino buffet room in the land. Cuddle up in a dining alcove with your significant other and a heaping plateful from the salad bar or carver table. Be sure to arrive early Wednesdays and Thursdays for wildly popular all-you-can-eat crab legs and prime rib nights ($24.99).
The architectural fun at Argosy actually starts outside where 850 strobe lights are built into the casino's exterior walls and are switched on at dusk where they perform in one of the largest computerized light shows in the country. The lower floors of the 9-story glass hotel tower are wrapped in a Mediterranean village streetscape facade of modest dwellings and storefronts. There are several entrances, including from the 1,200-car indoor parking garage. But be sure to stroll through the colonnaded main entrance atrium that links the casino to the hotel and where a stunning, 2,000 square feet stained glass dome streams sunlight onto an inlaid Moroccan tile floor for an effect that has drawn rave reviews in the architectural world all by itself. Nevermind Missouri's infamous $500 "loss limit" cramping your gaming style. Voters last year repealed the state's unique wagering restriction and its mandatory player ID-at-the-door rules. For a real multi-media adventure have a seat at the casino floor VP bar on any Friday or Saturday night where the stage above and behind the hardworking bartenders will be rockin' with local band talent. Drop by on New Year's Eve for a rare free performance by the home-grown, tap-dancing, jazz-playing McFadden Brothers who, for the third consecutive year, will make Argosy a year-end tradition for their legions of fans. Shortly after the Mediterranean-themed playpen for grownups replaced Argosy's picturesque and classic three-deck riverboat in late 2003, the American Gaming Association awarded its owners the industry's top architectural redesign award. "The tastes of today's casino customer are increasingly sophisticated, and Argosy literally transformed its property to respond to this trend, creating a destination resort that is truly unique for its market," said AGA president Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. at the time.  The atrium at Argosy "They have brought the Las Vegas casino resort concept to Missouri." Indeed. With Vegas out of reach today for many strained budgets Argosy, in sleepy Riverside, Mo., is a getaway destination offering much more than a mere taste of gaming opulence. The Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa is located at 777 N.W. Argosy Parkway in Riverside, Missouri. For more information or reservations, call them toll-free at 1-800-270-7711, or visit their web site at www.stayargosy.com
Rick Alm is a freelance writer recently retired after 20 years as the gaming and tourism beat reporter for The Kansas City Star.
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