Midwest Casino Advantage Play: Regional Guide

The American Midwest is underrated as a casino advantage play market. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas collectively host dozens of commercial casino properties with strong national chain coverage — Penn Gaming's mychoice touches properties in nearly every Midwest state, while Caesars, Hard Rock, MGM, and Rush Street add additional program options. For the organized AP, the Midwest's interconnected geography creates multi-state circuit opportunities that don't require cross-country travel.

The Midwest Gaming Landscape

Midwest commercial casino gaming developed primarily through the riverboat casino era of the 1990s, when states along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers began authorizing gambling on floating vessels as a compromise that allowed gaming revenue without land-based casinos. Most states have since removed the riverboat requirement, converting to land-based facilities, but the border-river geography still shapes where many properties are located.

Penn Gaming (mychoice) has the broadest Midwest footprint, with Hollywood Casinos in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and West Virginia. This means a single mychoice account builds tier status across six Midwest states — exceptional for players who travel regionally.

The Midwest casino market is characterized by regional competition: properties often sit near state borders to draw from multiple state populations. The Indiana casinos near Chicago, the Iowa properties across from Omaha and Kansas City, and the Illinois casinos along the Milwaukee-Chicago-St. Louis corridor all reflect this border-capture strategy.

Ohio: The Midwest's Strongest Market

Ohio legalized commercial casinos by referendum in 2009 and opened four major properties in 2012-2013. The four Ohio commercial casinos are strategically placed in the state's four largest cities — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo — creating one of the most geographically distributed commercial casino networks in any state.

• Hollywood Casino Columbus (Penn Gaming, mychoice) — central Ohio; ~2,000 machines
• JACK Cleveland Casino (JACK Entertainment) — downtown Cleveland; ~1,600 machines; JACK Rewards program
• Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati (Hard Rock International) — downtown Cincinnati; ~1,700 machines; Hard Rock Rewards
• Hollywood Casino Toledo (Penn Gaming, mychoice) — northwest Ohio; ~2,000 machines

The Ohio market also includes racino facilities — racing tracks with video lottery terminals — at Scioto Downs (Columbus), Thistledown (Cleveland), Belterra Park (Cincinnati), and others. These racinos carry different machine types than the commercial casinos but add additional options for Ohio APs.

The Penn mychoice double-coverage in Ohio (Columbus and Toledo) is notable — both properties are on the same program, making an Ohio diagonal circuit (Toledo → Columbus) straightforward for status building.

Indiana: Chicago Border and Beyond

Indiana's casino landscape reflects its border geography: the highest-concentration cluster sits in Hammond and Gary, directly adjacent to Chicago — capturing the massive Chicago metro population. These properties include Horseshoe Hammond (Caesars Rewards, one of the highest-grossing casinos outside Nevada and Atlantic City), Ameristar Casino East Chicago (Boyd B Connected), and Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana (Gary).

Beyond the Chicago border, Indiana has Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg (Penn mychoice, near Cincinnati), Indiana Live! Casino (Shelbyville), and French Lick Resort Casino (independent, historic resort) among others.

Horseshoe Hammond is particularly significant for Caesars Rewards status building — as a Caesars property within the Chicago metro, it draws enormous traffic and offers strong Tier Credit earning for players building toward Diamond status.

Illinois: The I-80 Corridor

Illinois was one of the first states to authorize riverboat gaming (1990) and has one of the most developed commercial casino markets in the Midwest. The properties cluster along I-80 west of Chicago and along the Mississippi River in the western part of the state.

Key Illinois properties include:

• Hollywood Casino Aurora (Penn mychoice) — I-88 west of Chicago
• Grand Victoria Casino Elgin (Rush Street Gaming, Rush Rewards) — northwest Chicago suburbs
• Rivers Casino Des Plaines (Rush Street Gaming, Rush Rewards) — near O'Hare Airport
• Harrah's Joliet (Caesars Rewards) — southwest of Chicago
• Hollywood Casino Joliet (Penn mychoice) — Joliet
• Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino (Boyd Gaming, B Connected) — East Peoria on Illinois River
• Jumer's Casino & Hotel (now Rock Island Casino) — Rock Island on Mississippi

The Chicago-area Illinois cluster — Des Plaines, Elgin, Aurora, and both Joliet properties — represent a high-density multi-property AP opportunity. Multiple programs (mychoice, Rush Rewards, Caesars Rewards, B Connected) are all accessible within 60 miles of Chicago's Loop.

Missouri: The River Corridor

Missouri has commercial casino gaming along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, concentrated in the St. Louis and Kansas City metro areas. Key properties include:

• Hollywood Casino St. Louis (Penn mychoice)
• Lumière Place Casino (Caesars Rewards) — St. Louis
• Ameristar Casino Hotel St. Charles (Boyd B Connected) — St. Charles, near St. Louis
• Hollywood Casino Kansas City (Penn mychoice)
• Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City (Boyd B Connected)
• Harrah's North Kansas City (Caesars Rewards)

The St. Louis market allows AP players to cover Penn mychoice (Hollywood), Caesars Rewards (Lumière), and Boyd B Connected (Ameristar St. Charles) on a single trip. See our dedicated St. Louis AP guide for detailed coverage.

Iowa: The River Casino Cluster

Iowa has an unusual casino landscape: the state was an early adopter of riverboat gaming and has maintained a high density of properties relative to population, particularly along its western (Missouri River) and eastern (Mississippi River) borders.

Notable Iowa properties:

• Ameristar Casino Council Bluffs (Boyd B Connected) — across from Omaha; one of the larger Midwest floors
• Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Caesars Rewards) — Caesars presence in the Omaha market
• Harrah's Council Bluffs (Caesars Rewards) — third major property in Council Bluffs
• Diamond Jo Dubuque (Penn mychoice) — Mississippi River, northeast Iowa
• Riverside Casino and Golf Resort — independent, Iowa City area
• Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo (Caesars Rewards)

The Council Bluffs cluster (three major properties across from Omaha) replicates the Baltimore/DC model at a smaller scale — three properties from different chains within a few miles of each other. See our Omaha/Council Bluffs guide for the full circuit strategy.

The Midwest mychoice Circuit

For APs prioritizing Penn Gaming's mychoice program, the Midwest offers an exceptional status-building circuit:

• Hollywood Casino Toledo (Ohio)
• Hollywood Casino Columbus (Ohio)
• Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg (Indiana)
• Hollywood Casino Aurora (Illinois)
• Hollywood Casino Joliet (Illinois)
• Hollywood Casino Kansas City (Missouri)
• Hollywood Casino St. Louis (Missouri)
• Diamond Jo Dubuque (Iowa)

All eight properties contribute to the same mychoice account. A player who circuits through all eight in a month builds significant Tier Credits toward mychoice Elite or Inspire status — applicable at Penn properties nationally.

Midwest Circuit Planning Tips

• Ohio loop: Columbus → Toledo → Cleveland → Cincinnati = four commercial properties plus multiple racinos; 2-3 day circuit
• Chicago cluster: All Illinois/Indiana Chicago-area properties within 60 miles; 1-2 day multi-property circuit
• River corridor: Follow the Mississippi from Iowa through Illinois and Missouri — multiple casino stops on a southward drive
• Omaha anchor: Council Bluffs cluster (three properties) + Kansas City (2-3 hours south) = natural two-market Midwest circuit

Frequently Asked Questions