City: Kansas City, MO

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (816) 414-7000, (800) 499-4961

Address: 3200 N. Ameristar Dr.

Description: If your interpretation of “a little R & R” is “I’m ready to roll the dice,” the Ameristar is for you. The 184 guest rooms and suites are quite nice, but it’s the entertainment outside that keeps the reservations phone ringing.The casino’s decor—with an arched, blue-sky ceiling and dancing water fountains—makes it one of the most beautiful in the Midwest. Guests can partake of more than 160 table games, Kansas City’s largest collection of slot and video poker games, 18 state-of-the-art movie theaters, or a stroll along the Victorian-era streetscape. And everyone gets lucky at the hotel’s restaurants. Choose from a brew pub, steakhouse, oyster bar, or Arthur Bryant’s, an offshoot of the famous barbecue joint downtown. And Ameristar makes sure children have fun while parents play; Kids Quest provides activities in a safe, supervised environment.Ameristar’s three live music venues pay off big as well. The Star Pavilion hosts top touring talent such as B. B. King, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, and Willie Nelson, while Depot No. 9 brings down the house with rock ’n’ roll and blues.