Mark Twain Casino

Games at Mark Twain Casino

Mark Twain Casino is one of the smaller gambling venues in Missouri, but it nonetheless does offer a nice selection of slots and table games. Here’s an overview:

Slot machines

When it comes to real money slots, Mark Twain Casino features around 430 slot machines on the casino floor, including both traditional reel slots and video slots. The majority can operate as penny slots, though there are also machines as high as $5 a spin.

Some of the more popular slots at Mark Twain Casino include the following:

• Buffalo Gold
• Dancing Drums
• Jinse Dao Dragon
• Lightning Link
• Lock It Link
• Mighty Cash Big Money
• Panda Fu Dai Lian
• Red Hot Tamales
• Triple Double Diamond
• Ultimate Fire Link
• Wheel of Fortune

You’ll also find video poker machines among the slots.

Table games

As far as table games go, the selection is quite slim at Mark Twain Casino. The only actual live table games available are only a couple of blackjack tables.

However, the casino also has electronic table games, including electronic versions of roulette, craps, and blackjack. In other words, the casino somewhat covers the basics, even if there isn’t the wide selection of live games you’ll often find at other Missouri casino locations.

While Mark Twain was himself a fan of poker and wrote about that and other card games on multiple occasions, there is no poker room at Mark Twain Casino.

DRF Cash Grab

Mark Twain Casino has no social casino apps or associated online games of which to speak. However, it does invite guests to try DRF Cash Grab, a free-to-play sports predicting app that offers chances to win real cash prizes.

The app is available for both iOS and Android devices and challenges users to guess outcomes for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college games, and more. While sports betting in Missouri remains illegal, DRF Cash Grab serves as a legal alternative.

Possible sportsbook partners for Mark Twain Casino

As noted, sports betting is not legal in Missouri, although lawmakers continue to consider changing that. Should sports betting become legal in the state, there’s little doubt that Missouri casinos will have a chance to open retail sportsbooks. If the state also allows online sports betting, casinos will likely partner with online books, as well.

Whether Mark Twain Casino will join the crowd and offer a sportsbook is somewhat up in the air. Affinity Interactive operates seven other casinos in the US besides Mark Twain Casino, including St. Jo Frontier Casino in St. Joseph.

Affinity Interactive partners with William Hill to operate a racebook and sportsbook at each of its Nevada casinos. Meanwhile, at its Lakeside Hotel Casino in Iowa, the DRF Sportsbook opened in early 2022, the first sportsbook from the Affinity-owned Daily Racing Form.

Being such a small property, it could be that Mark Twain Casino opts for betting kiosks rather than a full-fledged retail sportsbook should the state allow sports betting. In any case, Affinity Interactive would have options when it comes to working with partners to run a sportsbook at Mark Twain Casino at some future date.

Amenities at Mark Twain Casino

Gambling is the primary focus at Mark Twain Casino, which means there aren’t too many extra amenities to discuss.

There is only one dining option at the venue — the Fireside Sports Bar and Grill, where you’ll find burgers, sandwiches, fries, salads, and steaks along with a selection of beverages. Note that the grill is only open Thursday through Sunday and only for limited hours (afternoons and early evenings).

There is plenty of parking at Mark Twain Casino, including for semi-trucks. There is also an adjacent RV park. The casino allows smoking in public areas throughout the venue.

There is no hotel on site, but the casino partners with Oak Hill Inn & Suites, located about 15 minutes away in Canton. Guests staying at Oak Hill can get a 10% discount just for saying they are visiting the casino during their stay.

A-Play Club loyalty program

Mark Twain Casino in La Grange, Missouri participates in Affinity Interactive’s loyalty program. The A-Play Club works much like other similar programs with both a points system and levels indicating your status. You earn points for your play as follows:

• Slots — Three points for every $1 you wager
• Video poker — One point for every $1 you wager
• Table games — 15 points for every $1 “in theo” (theoretical win)

You can then redeem the points as follows:

• 2,000 points = $1 in bonus slot play
• 4,000 points = $1 in cash

Meanwhile, the points you accumulate during each qualifying period (Jan. 1-June 30 and July 1-Dec. 31) determine your A-Play Club level:

• Red = 0 to 1,499 points
• Silver = 1,500 to 59,999 points
• Gold = 60,000 to 179,999 points
• Platinum = 180,000-plus points

Achieving higher levels provides various benefits, including multipliers on how fast you accrue points. Other perks like birthday offers, restaurant discounts, private parties, and exclusive getaways with airfare are available, as well, at the Mark Twain Casino Players Club.

Mark Twain Casino offers a few other promotions as well, including a chance for new A-Play Club members to win $500 worth of bonus bets. The casino sometimes holds cash drawings and other giveaways as well.

Mark Twain Casino history

When Mark Twain Casino first opened on July 25, 2001, it was quite an event in La Grange, a city with a population of just under 1,000.

Grace Entertainment Inc. built the casino and operated it until 2005 when Nevada-based Herbst Gaming bought it. The change in ownership came with a rebranding, too, with the property renamed Terrible’s Mark Twain Casino. During subsequent years the casino featured more slots (around 650 to 700) and table games (close to 15) than is the case today, and revenue increased accordingly.

However, Herbst Gaming faced challenges during the late 2000s, eventually having to file for bankruptcy, with the company’s creditors eventually taking over ownership of its properties, including the Missouri casino. The new owners changed the company name to Affinity Gaming and, in turn, changed the casino’s name back to what it was, Mark Twain Casino. Later the company would change its name once more to Affinity Interactive (with Affinity Gaming a subsidiary).

Though now downsized to 400-450 slots and just a couple of table games, Mark Twain Casino continues to attract gamblers as the lone Missouri casino in the northeastern part of the state.