Reality Catches up to Optimism

John and Kristina watching a race at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, OhioJohn and Kristina watching a race at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. May 2021

The twelfth day of our trip is when optimism met reality. The trip had been moving smoothly up until this point, but the time zone change, early mornings, long days of driving and late bedtimes finally caught up

Day 12

We started early to plan for our long day of driving. We grabbed breakfast at Waffle House on the way to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. The casino theme changes from the standard Hollywood casino décor to a Western theme. No races were being held, so there was no access to the racetrack. A walk through a blocked off parking lot gave me a chance to take a few pictures of the track.

It was the only time that I was stopped by security during the trip. Luckily, I already had the pictures that I wanted when I was booted from the closed parking lot.

The exhaustion hit quickly after leaving the casino. We decided to find a place to call it a day and get a full day of nothing but rest. We were able to find a hotel room in Clear Spring, MD. A recommendation from the front desk led us to have a good dinner at Al’s Restaurant Pizzeria & Grill. With a day of rest, came the opportunity for laundry. I used the prepacked detergent pods and dryer sheets to run a couple loads of laundry.

The eventThe original plan The reality
Start time9 am8:08 am
Drive time11 hours2 hours 52 min
Casino visits21
Ending locationElizabeth, INClear Spring, MD
Hotel Check-in Time10 pm11:55 am
Total casinos visited4948

Day 13

The sudden exhaustion led us to rework the original plans into an option C. We had intended to travel to Gary, IN, but decided to visit on a future trip instead. We were flying out of Cincinnati in three days. It seemed like a bad idea to possibly find ourselves too tired and too far out to drive back safely. 

We headed out around 5:30am after a great day and night of rest. After being on the road for over 3.5 hours, there was a major accident that shut down the highway. The detour gave us the opportunity to see parts of rural West Virginia on a road that was not even a full two lanes in width. 

Court jester statues greet guests entering the Mardi Gras Casino. The greyhound racetrack was not running any races during our visit. We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel on our way back towards Columbus, OH. We visited Scioto Downs and Hollywood Columbus before checking into our hotel. After the day’s early start, we were ready to check in by 3:45 pm.

Days 14 & 15

Our last two days were spent heading towards and staying around the Cincinnati, OH area. We decided to get a hotel near the airport for the last two nights. On our way from Columbus to Cincinnati, we visited Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, Miami Valley Gaming, Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati and Belterra Park Cincinnati. 

The Hollywood at Dayton Raceway had a fun horse racing theme throughout. Miami Valley has a large simulcast racing area, but had no active races during our visit. We grabbed a bite to eat at Hard Rock Cincinnati. There were areas of the casino under construction for a smoking patio and more restaurants. Our last opportunity to bet on live horse racing was at Belterra Park Cincinnati. This was the only thoroughbred race we caught during our two weeks of travel. 

The last day was spent driving a loop from our hotel and back. It covered Hollywood Casino & Hotel Lawrenceburg, Rising Star Casino Resort and Belterra Casino Resort. Standing on the Indiana riverboat casinos was an interesting experience. Standing outside Hollywood Lawrenceburg, the riverboat was clear. Rising Star had a model of the riverboat in the casino with access to the deck. A passenger ferry is available to and from Rising Star. Belterra also had a model of the riverboat.

We were back to the hotel by 3 pm. This gave us a chance to unwind, grab a filling dinner, repack our suitcases and get a good night’s rest before our early flight out the following morning. 

The eventThe reality of Day 14The reality of Day 15
Start time9:17 am10:57 am
Drive time3 hours 14 min2 hours 15 min
Casino visits43
Total casinos visited5558

About the Author

Kristina Mehaffey
Kristina was a math teacher for the Clark County School District before joining John with the websites in 2020. While she is not much of a gambler, she enjoys Deuces Wild, Fortune Pai Gow Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. She prefers the aesthetics of casinos, something shown in the details of the pictures on our sites. When not managing data or writing about casinos, she can be found at her local Las Vegas library, enjoying on one of her many crafting hobbies, or catching a laugh with her husband at a local comedy club.