Wheeling Island Casino at a glance
The property is a racino in the West Virginia sense: a licensed racetrack that also runs lottery-controlled slot machines and, since 2007, table games. The guide to what a racino is explains the model. Here the racing is greyhounds rather than horses, and the dogs run on the same island site where thoroughbreds raced in the 1930s.
Wheeling Island Casino draws more than two million guests a year, according to its general manager, Kim Florence, with regulars from Ohio, Pennsylvania and other parts of West Virginia. The casino floor sits about ten and a half feet above ground level, because the island is prone to flooding when the Ohio River rises.
Greyhound racing on the island
Live racing runs Wednesday to Sunday at 1 p.m., with 15 to 20 races a card, and the track is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Holidays change the pattern: the July 3 card started at 3 p.m., and the track goes dark on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Admission to watch the dogs has traditionally been free.
Races can also be streamed from the track’s website, and the simulcast parlor opens daily at noon with a wall of big screens and 120 individual carrels with their own televisions. It carries greyhound, thoroughbred and harness racing from other tracks. Betting works on the pari-mutuel pool system, the same structure used at horse tracks.
Wheeling Island and the 2026 federal greyhound ban
Greyhound racing is illegal in most states, and since January 2023, after Arkansas closed its last track, the two West Virginia tracks are the only ones left. In 2026 the US House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, H.R. 7567, by 224 to 200, with a provision that would ban greyhound racing and betting on it nationwide.
An amendment from Representative Riley Moore to exempt West Virginia’s tracks failed 239 to 187. Supporters of the tracks point to jobs and to pension money for Wheeling police and firefighters, while opponents cite state subsidies. In June 2026, eight West Virginia legislators asked the state’s two senators to back the ban, and the Senate has the final say.
The gaming floor
Wheeling Island Casino lists more than 1,000 slot machines. A high-limit room holds more than 47 machines with smoking and non-smoking sections, and the Aristocrat Gaming Lounge groups more than 100 titles from one cent to five dollars. In West Virginia these machines are formally video lottery terminals tied to the state lottery.
Table games run from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 4 a.m. later in the week. Craps with $5 minimums and 10x odds is a regular feature, alongside blackjack, roulette and poker-based carnival games. The nine-table poker room hosts weekly high-hand promotions, and the sportsbook takes bets on the floor and through the Ember Sportsbook app.
The Wheeling Island Casino hotel
The Wheeling Island Hotel has 151 rooms: deluxe queens and kings with desks and charging docks, and two-room suites with a separate living room, sofa bed and refrigerator. The hotel connects to the casino floor, and guests can use the fitness center. All hotel guests must be 21 or older, which rules it out for families.
Stone Street Gifts sells souvenirs and essentials from Thursday to Sunday, and the hotel bar opens on weekends. Downtown Wheeling is a short drive across the river, and the hotel is the obvious base for a concert night, since the showroom and the comedy club both sit inside the same building.
Restaurants and the buffet
A $4.5 million dining renovation, unveiled in December 2025 after six months of work, refreshed the steakhouse and added Cask & Clover Kitchen and Bar. The Pointe Sea & Steak serves dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m., with crab cakes, lobster bisque and steaks. Cask & Clover pours cocktails and serves food from breakfast to late night.
The Buffet opens Wednesday to Sunday, with themed days: wings and tacos on Wednesday, barbecue on Thursday, crab legs on Friday at $49.99 and prime rib on Saturday, with most days priced at $29.99. Gravitate Food Hub handles pizza, pasta and bowls for dine-in or takeout, and racing concessions serve fans watching the dogs.
Shows, comedy and events
The Showroom at Wheeling Island Casino hosts the venue’s own concert series, with Uncle Kracker on October 10, 2026, and tribute acts covering Meat Loaf, Garth Brooks and Fleetwood Mac through the autumn. The Comedy Club runs stand-up nights with dinner-and-show packages. Every entertainment event is limited to guests aged 21 and over.
Getting there and nearby racinos
The address is 1 South Stone Street, reached from the Wheeling Island exit of Interstate 70. The casino is open around the clock every day. The hotel pitches itself to visitors from Pittsburgh and Columbus, and the drive from either is manageable for a day trip that takes in an afternoon racing card.
Mountaineer is about an hour north along the river and races thoroughbreds. The sister greyhound track, Mardi Gras near Charleston, is also owned by Delaware North. The West Virginia racino guide covers all four tracks, and the online page for West Virginia explains how the state licenses internet casinos through these properties.
History of the track
Wheeling Downs opened in 1937 as a thoroughbred track. Ogden Corporation bought it in 1969 and introduced greyhound racing in August 1976, ending the horse meets. Delaware North bought the track in 1988, video lottery machines arrived in 1994, and Ohio County voters approved table games in June 2007, with poker opening that October.
