Casino games at Rising Star Casino Resort

Rising Star Casino Resort is a relatively small casino in the Indiana market. Still, it has plenty to offer visitors with its decent selection of real money slots and table games.

Slot machines

At present, there are 617 slot machines on the casino floor at Rising Star Casino Resort. These include a number of penny slots as well as several progressive jackpot slots. Some of the most popular slot machines at Rising Star Casino include:

• Apollo God of the Sun
• Dragon Link
• Lightning Link
• Lock It Link
• Samurai 888
• Lucky Larry's Lobstermania 4 Link
• Ultimate Fire Link

In addition, there are a number of video poker games mixed in among the slots. You can also play keno at Rising Star Casino Indiana.

Table games

Rising Star offers 24 table games. More than half are blackjack, with other favorites represented as well. Hours for table games begin Monday through Wednesday at 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 11 a.m. and weekends at 10 a.m. The table games remain open as demand warrants.

Table games at Rising Star include:

• 21+3
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Crazy 4 Poker
• Mississippi Stud
• Roulette
• Three Card Poker

For Mississippi Stud and Crazy 4 Poker players, Rising Star has a special multi-link progressive jackpot. Players in these games can make an optional $1 side bet, and if they hit a royal flush, they can win the jackpot. Even if someone else gets the jackpot at your table, you can still win a $1,000 “envy bonus.”

There is a separate Three Card Poker progressive jackpot as well. Make a straight flush and win 10% of the jackpot, or make a royal and win it all.

In addition, there are electronic table games on the casino floor, giving people other ways to play their favorite casino table games.

Sports betting at Rising Star Casino Resort

At present, Rising Star's sportsbook is closed. The area is currently used for slots and table games.

Previously, a TwinSpires Sportsbook operated at Rising Star until Churchill Downs chose to close it in early 2022. Now, Rising Star is seeking another partner to open a retail sportsbook. There will be no sports wagering on the premises until that time.

That said, Rising Star Casino does partner with two different online sportsbook operators in Indiana: WynnBET Indiana and SBK Indiana Sportsbook. Players 21 and older can place wagers on both sites from anywhere in the state.

Amenities at Rising Star Casino Resort

The property contains a 294-room hotel with guests enjoying access to an indoor pool, sauna, hot tub and fitness center. There is also a sizable RV park next to the casino with full hook-ups, private bathrooms, washers and dryers.

The resort has its own Rising Star Ferry, which regularly travels to and from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The distance is less than a mile, but the ferry ride enables travelers to avoid a 26-mile drive between the airport and the casino.

For dining options, Rising Star has several choices:

• Wellington's Steakhouse — fine dining in an elegant atmosphere with steaks, chops, seafood and more (open Thursday through Sunday)
• Ben's Bistro — casual fare including sandwiches, salads and other entrees (open daily)
• The Coffee Bar — serving Starbucks coffee and other quick bites (open daily)
• Jack's Casino Deli — on-the-go meals and snacks including chili, pizza, sandwiches and more (temporarily closed)

The resort also features its own 18-hole Scottish links-style golf course called The Links at Rising Star Casino Resort.

There are two different entertainment venues on the property. The Anchor Lounge is located inside the casino and features free live music at various times throughout the week.

Meanwhile, the Grand Theatre appears just as you enter the pavilion. It also features music and comedy acts and other forms of live entertainment. The Grand Theatre can be rented for conferences, weddings, banquets, trade shows or other purposes, providing 15,000 square feet of event space.

The casino also has its own weekly podcast, the Paddlewheel Podcast, covering upcoming Rising Star Casino promotions and events.

Rising Star VIP Club

Rising Star Casino Resort has its own loyalty program called the Rising Star VIP Club. Membership is free, and once you receive your Rising Star VIP Club card, be sure to insert it into the slot reader and present it at table games in order to accumulate Tier Points.

Players earn 1 Tier Point for every $1 they spend on slots and 1 Tier Point for every $5 they spend playing video poker. With table games, Tier Point earnings are determined by the table game's average bet and the total hands/wagers placed.

Participants move up in tiers as they gather points. The tiers are as follows:

• Rising Star VIP — 0-999 Tier Points
• 3 Stars — 1,000-14,999 Tier Points
• 4 Stars — 15,000-49,999 Tier Points
• 5 Stars — 50,000-plus Tier Points
• Elite — invitation only

Note that unlike some loyalty programs that reset points after one year, the Rising Star VIP Club requires you to accumulate points during a six-month period.

There are many different perks and benefits available to Rising Star VIP Club members, with the amount and value of those rewards going up as you ascend the levels. Rewards include being able to redeem points for free play in the casino, hotel and RV discounts, comp food offers and dining credits, room upgrades, free ferry rides, preferred golf times, priority and VIP service and more.

Being a Rising Star VIP Club member also makes you eligible for frequent drawings and promotions awarding prizes, free play, hotel and dining discounts, Tier Points and more.

Rising Star Casino Resort history

After Indiana lawmakers passed the Riverboat Gambling Act, which went into effect in 1993, regulators began taking applications and issuing licenses. Among the first to be issued was one to Hyatt Hotels.

In 1996, Hyatt acquired the Queen of New Orleans casino riverboat from Hilton Flamingo, renaming it Grand Victoria II and making it the center of the new Grand Victoria Casino & Resort by Hyatt in October 1996. The casino offered 40,000 square feet of gaming space. Within a year, Hyatt added a 200-room hotel.

By the late 2000s, Hyatt Hotels had begun shopping the property to prospective buyers. In 2011, Full House Resorts purchased the hotel-casino for $43 million and renamed it Rising Star Casino Resort. In 2013, Full House Resorts added a 104-room hotel tower.