The Charles Town 'casino' was just a horse track, then got slots added some time ago. Now they are just opening their table games. For just a day trip or whatever, I won't really have a reason to go to AC. Of course, AC hosts the big tourney's, and I don't see Charles Town having anything other than MAYBE the Heartland Tour come through. Specialties: With 2,700 slots, live poker, over 90 tables, live thoroughbred racing and 7 delicious dining options, the Hollywood treatment is yours for the taking.

The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town is a relatively new addition to a historic thoroughbred horse racetrack which brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Today the gaming facility at Charles Town Races features a full, vegas-style casino which includes table games and electronic games. In addition, it has a full on-site hotel resort and a racetrack. The racetrack at Charles Town was built in 1933 during the great depression, but the vegas-style casino here was just added a little over 10 years ago. The casino addition and expansion came about when Penn National Gaming bought the property and invested a reported $175,000,000 into the new facilities; much more than the $165,000 originally spent building the racetrack over 70 years ago.

Casino at Charles Town Races

The Hollywood Casino located at Charles Town Races features a large selection of slots and other electronic games such as video poker. It is also equipped with a poker room (learn more in next section) and various table games. The table games offered here include blackjack, craps, mini baccarat, roulette, let it ride, three card poker, big six wheel, pai gow, four card poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. Unlike some racinos in other states, the facilities in West Virginia generally offer full fledged table games (i.e. not electronic) which is the case at Hollywood Charles Town.

All in all, the casino here has roughly 2,700 slot machines and 100+ tables games which were added in 2010. The slot machines here have a nice range of denominations. When walking the casino floor you’ll come across penny slots, quarter slots and dollar slots. Within the high limit areas, slots are offered in denominations ranging from $5 to $100 which makes this casino great for high-limit slot enthusiasts.

On top of the sheer number of individual machines available, the casino at Charles Town also has a wide range of game types to choose from. This means you can find essentially every electronic game that exists today. Whether you are looking for high limit Wheel of Fortune or a favorite one-off slot, you are likely to find it here. There are well over 70o unique electronic games available, which you can find a complete list of on their website here.

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Racetrack and Charles Town Races

Because the racetrack is the sole reason behind a casino existing at its current location, Charles Town Races is a top notch facility which commonly runs over two hundred races per year. It is considered one of the finest in the country, and rightfully so. The track is comprised of a six furlong thoroughbred course that stretches for 1 1/18 miles. Each year it is host to many prestigious races including the notorious Charles Town Classic which often features a purse well over $1 million.

Player Program

The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town is part of the Marquee Rewards Program which I believe is a part of Penn National Gaming, Inc. Aside from the location at Charles Town, they also have many other facilities across the United States, including additional “Hollywood” properties along with other notable facilities like The Tropicana in Las Vegas. If you are a seasoned gambler, it will do you well to sign up for a card here. This will enable you to receive promotions, free-play and other perks. That’s not to mention if you ever visit vegas you can use the marquee card at one of their other properties.

Restaurants and Bars at Hollywood

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town does have an O.K. offering of food options. It is not amazing in this respect, but it does certainly offer up enough variety to satisfy you for a few days. Below is a full list of restaurants located here. It is worth noting that you must be over 21 years old to enter the Epic Buffet, Final Cut Steakhouse, Skybox Sports Bar, Food Court and 9 Dragons.

9 Dragons: Offering Asian-style food from Sushi and Seafood to Barbecue.

Epic Buffet: The Epic Buffet offers everything a buffet should, from seafood and ribs to salads and other healthy options.

Final Cut Steakhouse: Your standard fancy steakhouse.

Skybox Sports Bar: Has tons of televisions and is a great place to eat, drink and watch sports.

Skyline Terrace: The Skyline Terrace has views of the racetrack and offers seafood, and more American style foods.

Food Court: Many “fast-food” options for quick bites.

Hotel, Resort and Amenities

When you compare the hotel facilities at Charles Town Races to other resort-style casinos across the country, they do not have much space. The hotel at Charles Town offers up just 150 rooms, which compared to many other casinos is not much at all. The hotel, along with much of the casino and racetrack is however located beside the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Shenandoah Valley which can make for a relaxing weekend getaway. Free “continental breakfast” is included with hotel stays as well which is a plus. It is worth noting, however, that the Inn at Charles Town Races is located on the premises but is not directly attached to the racetrack or casino. They do have shuttles running on a regular basis for transportation however.

Dating back to 1933, the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is less than an hour’s drive from both Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and it welcomes more than 2.5 million visitors per year.

The race track

The Hollywood Casino offers one of the most complete horse racing calendars in the country with a total of 162 days of live racing on schedule for 2018. This includes the $1.2 million Charles Town Classic, one of 20 stakes races scheduled, which has handled as much as $4.8 million in action.

Other special racing days on the calendar are the Race for the Ribbon day run annually in September and the West Virginia Breeder’s Classics.

The wagering options for the live races vary based on the number of races on schedule, which ranges from an eight-race program up to a 13-race program. The wagering menu includes win/place/show, exactas, trifectas, superfectas, daily doubles, pick 3s, and $0.50 pick 4s (depending on which race you begin your bet).

In addition to the 162 live racing dates annually (running from January through December), the casino also offers a complete season of simulcast horse and dog racing across the country, 365 days a year – from Saratoga in New York to Del Mar in San Diego.

The live racing at Charles Town is typically a 7 p.m. start, but with the simulcast racing starting at 1 p.m. or sometimes earlier, a truly full year of racing is offered.

Other gaming options

The casino boasts a full spectrum of table games, including blackjack, roulette, craps, pai gow, and baccarat, as well as an 18-table poker room and more than 2,500 slot machines.

On September 1st, it also added the one ingredient still missing from its fully formed casino – a sportsbook. The newly opened sportsbook facility is run by William Hill US and accepts bets on football, basketball, hockey, soccer, baseball, golf, tennis, auto racing, rugby, cycling, boxing and MMA, and cricket.

Additionally, Hollywood Casino partnered with DraftKings Sportsbook for online sports betting. The popular mobile sports betting app launched on Aug. 28, 2019.

You can also participate in the full spectrum of wager types, including straight bets, parlays, match-ups, futures, props, and the increasingly popular in-play betting.

With 24 odds-displaying monitors and 50 feet of wall space dedicated to television viewing, the presence of William Hill, the largest operator of sports gaming in the United States, is clearly felt on site.

Other facility amenities

Hollywood Casino touts itself as so much more than just a casino or race track. As an entertainment destination, it features two bars – H Lounge and Skybox Sports Bar – and two award-winning restaurants, Final Cut Steakhouse and 9 Dragons.

It also has a 1,200-seat events center that hosts comedians like Jay Leno and Jeff Foxworthy and musical guests ranging from the Grammy-winning Clint Black to 1989 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Temptations.

Also just a short and free shuttle ride away is the 153-room The Inn at Charles Town, which features 18 suites overlooking the race track.

Promotions and rewards

The variety of nightly promotions offered by the casino changes each month. The current promotions include Ricochet Rewards, which guarantee a total of $25,000 of free slot plays offered on Wednesdays.

There is also the night of 1,000 winners when for each hour over a 10-hour stretch, 100 winners will receive $100 in slot play. The Lucky Table promotion offers a $10,000 grand prize, and the Hot Summer Dreamin’ promotion gives away a Jeep, a Camaro, and $20,000.

That last promotional night is only for members of Marquee Rewards, the free rewards card that provides benefits to 24 gaming locations across the country. Points are earned on money wagered at all video and table games, as well as any money spent on dining and retail.

The most basic of rewards are complimentary (comp) points that can be bundled to provide free plays. Higher-tiered rewards members can get discounts on rooms, parking, and event tickets, with prizes all the way up to airline ticket reimbursements and complimentary cruises.

The casino’s past and future

Gambling officially made its way to West Virginia in 1933, when the race track at Charles Town first opened its doors.

An up-and-down history involving a number of ownership changes over the years appeared to have finally taken its toll by the 1990s, when the track was on its last financial legs.

It regained its footing in 1996, when a vote allowed the track to install video lottery machines, which evolved into slot machines. A vote in 2009 led to the addition of table games and a poker room. Now, 85 years after it took the very first pari-mutuel bet in the state of West Virginia, the casino is leading the way for gaming in the region.

Due to its new partnership with William Hill, Penn National Gaming (the owners of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races) seemed prime to launch an online and mobile version of its sportsbook in West Virginia. It’s what William Hill has done recently with its ventures in New Jersey, and it’s what it is best known for around the world.

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What the final version of its online sportsbook looks like remains to be seen. What that will ultimately mean for the online gaming market in West Virginia and the region at large is also unknown.

Considering the hard charge into the market following the Supreme Court’s ruling in May, drastic changes are expected.