Wheeling Island, WV: What kind of person would want to spend New Years here?

Gambling and casinos are not the first thing that you would think of when you think of West Virginia. Believe it or not, Wheeling Island Casino and Gambling Resort is actually kind of a happening place during the turn of the new year. But why? Perhaps its that there is nothing else to do within a 30 mile radius of the dingy run down town of Wheeling, WV. Feeding dollar bills into one armed bandits and pretending to know what you're doing while betting on greyhound dogs is satisfying...Right?

Gambling Tips

Well, I read this sign (pictured left) after I emptied my wallet. It seems that they strategically placed this sign behind the escalator on the way out of the casino.

The thing is, with betting on greyhounds, everyone has a system. My wife's system is cutest dog name and significant dog birth dates. It works remarkably well. My system, is to come up with a system after I've slammed a few drinks. It does not work well at all. I tried to do math, compare win percentages of dogs and come up with numbers. I would get into it more, but all we have to know is that in the morning, I'd realize it was a severely flawed system. As in, it does not even make sense logically. It also didn't make me any luckier.

Free Drinks!

You're usually not going to be a winner when you mix booze and gambling. But if you do it on New Years, you can add some free alcohol to the mix.  At the casino, they offer you as many rounds of apple juice champagne as you can handle between midnight and 12:30. I managed to drink four?

Wife and I enjoying the atmosphere

What else goes on at the casino during new years?  Well not too much, but there was a band. The average band member was about 50 years old, which is okay if you don't mind a little CCR or Tina Turner.

When the countdown happened, the atmosphere at the slot machines is really exciting... NOBODY BLINKS. I wish I would have gotten that on video, it was an amazing thing to see. The slot machine zombies just keep pulling levers and pushing buttons. It's a sad existence if you ask me. I don't mind a little shameless gambling, but I hope being a slot machine zombie is not in my future!

Overall, it was better than a sharp stick in the eye. The dogs are good fun to watch. Make sure you check the schedule ahead of time on their website. I would recommend the casino, if you're in the area sometime, but not necessarily New Years Eve.