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One of the most iconic teams in Missouri sports history is the Kansas City Royals, winners of two World Series.
A key player on the Royals team that last won the title, Alex Gordon, will make a different kind of sports history on Dec. 1 by placing the state’s ceremonial first wager when Missouri sports betting becomes legal.
Gordon will place the bet at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City when Missouri opens up betting statewide. The retail sportsbook, affiliated with Fanatics Sportsbook, is one of two partnering Ameristar and Fanatics in Missouri, with the other at Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles in the St. Louis metro area.
Gordon had a tremendous career with the Royals
Starting his pro baseball career in 2007, Gordon, a left fielder, played his entire career through 2020 with the Royals.
According to Baseball Reference, Gordon amassed 190 home runs, 749 runs batted in, 1,643 hits, and an on-base percentage of .338 in a career spanning 1,753 games. He was an eight-time Gold Glove winner for his defensive work in the outfield, a three-time All-Star honored among Major League Baseball’s best in the 2013-15 seasons, and in 2025, was named to the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.
He also won the 50th Hutch Award in 2015. According to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center site, it is “presented annually to a Major League Baseball player who exemplifies the honor, courage, and dedication of the late Fred Hutchinson, the beloved pitcher and manager who died of lung cancer at the age of 45.”
Gordon raised awareness and more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research to earn the Seattle-based organization’s praise.
According to KCTV coverage:
“Gordon’s ceremonial first wager will be placed Monday afternoon. The odds of the 2015 World Series champion placing a wager related to his former team seem likely, but the exact bet remains to be seen.”
Fanatics ramping up for Dec. 1
Gordon will call attention to one of three retail sportsbooks in Kansas City with his appearance on Dec. 1. According to KCTV, the Ameristar Kansas City sportsbook is a newly-designed portion of the casino, which is “2,000 square feet and features three betting windows, 12 self-service betting kiosks, 10 TV monitors and a giant LED video wall.”
In addition to the two Ameristar locations, six other casinos will feature retail sportsbooks on Dec. 1. Those include:
- Argosy Casino & Hotel (Penn Entertainment)
- Century Casino & Hotel Cape Girardeau (BetMGM)
- Harrah’s Kansas City (Caesars)
- Hollywood Casino and Hotel St. Louis (Penn Entertainment)
- Horseshoe St. Louis (Caesars)
- River City Casino and Hotel (Penn Entertainment)
Much of the Missouri sports betting handle, which could be as much as $4.59 billion annually, will be generated by online betting. In addition to Fanatics, eight other sportsbooks will operate online, including:
- Bet365 Sportsbook
- BetMGM Sportsbook
- Caesars Sportsbook
- Circa Sports
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- TheScore Bet
- Underdog Sportsbook
All online sportsbooks in the state are now taking deposits ahead of the Dec. 1 launch and are providing pre-live betting offers to court customers.
