A greyhound racino in the Kanawha Valley
Mardi Gras Casino is a racino built around dog racing rather than horses. The greyhound track came first, in 1985, and the casino grew around it as West Virginia law opened the door to lottery-run machines and later table games at its racetracks. The West Virginia racino guide explains how those laws work across all four tracks.
The name and theme came later. After casino gaming was expanded in 2007, the track renamed itself Tri-State Casino and Resort in 2008 and then became Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in 2010. Hartman & Tyner owned it until March 2018, when Delaware North bought it, putting both of the state’s greyhound tracks under one company.
Racing nights at Mardi Gras Casino
Live racing runs Tuesday to Saturday with a 6 p.m. post and 12 to 15 races a night, which makes this an evening outing rather than a matinee. Sunday and Monday are simulcast-only. Wagers go into pari-mutuel pools, the same system used at horse tracks and covered in the pari-mutuel betting guide.
The simulcast parlor opens daily at noon, with a wall of big screens and more than 50 carrels with individual televisions, carrying greyhound, thoroughbred and harness racing from elsewhere. Races are also streamed online. The property runs a greyhound adoption program, open Friday and Saturday evenings, for retired racers needing homes after leaving the track.
The national ban and what it means for West Virginia
Greyhound racing now survives only at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island. In 2026 the Greyhound Protection Act was added to the federal Farm Bill, H.R. 7567, which passed the US House by 224 to 200. The provision would end greyhound racing and betting on it nationwide, including bets on foreign races.
In June 2026, eight state lawmakers, among them Senate Majority Leader Patrick Martin, wrote to Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice urging them to support the ban. Defenders of the tracks point to jobs and pension funding for first responders. News coverage of the ban put annual wagering at Mardi Gras at more than $142 million.
Slots, tables and poker
Mardi Gras Casino advertises close to a thousand slot machines and more than 250 game varieties, with denominations from one cent to $100 and a separate High Roller’s Room. Machines use ticket-in, ticket-out cashing. Under state law they count as video lottery terminals, run through the West Virginia Lottery’s central system.
The table pit covers blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat and carnival games such as Three Card, Super 4, Louisiana Stud and Criss Cross Poker, and every player must be 21. The poker room opens Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 3 a.m., runs a monthly tournament calendar, and has a sports betting kiosk inside it. Set a budget first.
The Mardi Gras hotel
The Mardi Gras Hotel has 150 rooms. Most are deluxe double queen or king rooms, supplemented by 12 junior suites, seven executive suites overlooking the casino and two presidential suites with living areas. A continental breakfast is included, and guests have use of a fitness center. All guests must be 21, so families need to look elsewhere.
The property describes a multimillion-dollar full-property renovation of the hotel and event spaces, which now host weddings, conferences and private parties, some of them in trackside rooms. For visitors to Charleston, the hotel is an alternative to downtown rooms, with free racing to watch most evenings a few steps from the lobby.
Restaurants, bars and Louie’s Lounge
The French Quarter is the steak and seafood restaurant, open Wednesday to Sunday evenings with casual dress allowed. Above it, behind an unmarked door, Juniper & Smoke runs as a speakeasy-style cocktail bar. Cafe Orleans is the food court for burgers, quesadillas, baked goods and coffee, and First Turn Express covers quick bites near the floor.
The Bourbon Bar, Tiki Bar, Lobby Bar, French Quarter Bar and Sports Bar add to the choice, and the Jackson Square hotel bar opens for special occasions. Louie’s Lounge has free live music every Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., with regional bands such as Appalachian Lightning and the Detonators on the October 2026 lineup.
Getting to Mardi Gras Casino in West Virginia
The casino sits at 1 Greyhound Drive, just off the Cross Lanes exit of Interstate 64, inside the city limits of Nitro. Charleston is about 14 miles east and Huntington about 36 miles west, so the drive from either city is short. The casino floor is open seven days a week.
Wheeling Island is the sister greyhound track in the Northern Panhandle, several hours north, with afternoon rather than evening post times. Charles Town and Mountaineer race thoroughbreds. The online casino guide for West Virginia covers internet play, and racinos near me helps visitors from Ohio or Kentucky find the closest track.