Mardi Gras Casino and Resort · Nitro

Year Opened

2008

Hours

Open 24/7

Age Restriction

21+

Property Type

Racino & Resort

Regulator

West Virginia Lottery Commission

Operator

Delaware North

Slot Machines

900

Poker Tables

24

About Mardi Gras Casino and Resort

Mardi Gras Casino and Resort is a Delaware North-operated racino physically located in Nitro, West Virginia, with a Cross Lanes postal address at 1 Greyhound Drive. The site has been a greyhound racing venue since the 1980s, and its current casino form opened in 2008 under the Mardi Gras branding. The property is licensed by the West Virginia Lottery Commission and operates 24/7. The minimum age across all gaming is 21. The 900-machine slot floor and 30-table dealt pit make it one of the more substantial casinos in the central part of the state, and the 24-table poker room is the largest in West Virginia by table count.

The property’s location near Nitro puts it just outside Charleston, the state capital, and within easy reach of Huntington and the I-64 corridor that runs east into Virginia. That positioning makes Mardi Gras the most central casino in West Virginia: a 20-minute drive from downtown Charleston and roughly 80 minutes from Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is not the right framing because the two sit at opposite ends of the state, but for residents of central and southern West Virginia, Mardi Gras is the closest serious casino. Live greyhound racing still runs on the property, one of only a handful of US tracks where greyhound meets continue.

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Mardi Gras Casino and Resort

Nitro, West Virginia

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Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Nitro, West Virginia

Games, Poker, and Greyhound Racing

The 30-table pit at Mardi Gras spreads blackjack (standard and Double Up), craps, roulette, Big 6, Mississippi Stud, Let It Ride, 3-card poker, four-card poker, double draw poker, and a wheel-of-fortune novelty table. The 24-table poker room is the property’s signature feature: cash games run across 7-Card Stud, Limit Hold’em, No-Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo Split, and Pot-Limit Omaha. Live greyhound racing on the in-house track is paired with year-round simulcast wagering on greyhound and thoroughbred meets across North America. The 900-machine slot floor mixes traditional reel and video themes with electronic table-game positions.

Resort Amenities

Mardi Gras runs as a resort destination despite the absence of an on-site hotel in our records. The amenity stack covers a buffet, multiple restaurants, a pool, spa services, valet and self-parking, and complimentary WiFi across the property, with around-the-clock operations on all fronts. The buffet has historically been one of the property’s most-asked-about features, and dining outlets rotate menus tied to the racing and promotional calendar.

★ Editor take

Central West Virginia's poker home, with a working greyhound track

Mardi Gras Casino and Resort earns its identity on two strengths: the 24-table poker room (the largest in the state) and the active greyhound racing operation that ties back to the property's history. The resort amenities (buffet, pool, spa) work as supporting cast rather than as headline draws. For anyone in Charleston, Huntington, or the central I-64 corridor, this is the closest serious casino and the default poker venue. Players looking for a sportsbook should plan accordingly, because that is not the strongest piece of the Mardi Gras stack.

All Nitro casinos → West Virginia gaming directory

Rachel Mendoza

Editor, California Cardrooms

Location and Access

The property sits at 1 Greyhound Drive in Cross Lanes, physically inside the Nitro city limits, just off I-64 about 20 minutes west of downtown Charleston and roughly 35 minutes east of Huntington. The I-64 corridor makes the casino accessible from the Virginia state line to the east and from the Ohio and Kentucky borders to the west. The drive from Charleston is direct: take I-64 west to the Nitro exit and follow signs to the property.

Regulation

The West Virginia Lottery Commission regulates casino gaming, pari-mutuel wagering, and sports betting across the state, including operations at Mardi Gras Casino and Resort. Sports wagering is legal under West Virginia law. The minimum gambling age across slots, table games, poker, and greyhound wagering is 21.