Belterra Park Cincinnati Racino
Belterra Park Cincinnati is one of seven racinos in Ohio. It is also one of the most prestigious. The gambling property opened as a racetrack in 1925, and many legendary horses and jockeys have made an appearance on the track in its near-century of operation. However, thanks to a 2010 change in the law, Belterra acquired the ability to offer slot gaming onsite. Thus, it became a racino.
However, the racing portion of Belterra’s business has always been its primary focus. The slot gaming always plays second fiddle to the ponies. Still, you’ll find a decent selection of video slot machines, so let’s discuss all the things that Belterra Park Cincinnati has to offer.
Belterra Park Cincinnati
- Address: 6301 Kellogg Road, Cincinnati
- Phone number: 513-232-8000
- Hours of operation: 24/7
- Games available: Slots
Ohio Casinos in the News
The casino at Belterra Park Cincinnati
It’s no secret that the casino floor at Belterra Park isn’t the largest one in Ohio, as it only occupies approximately 48,000 square feet of gambling space. There are roughly 1,200 machines within this area, but don’t go expecting table games or a poker room. The facility is only permitted to offer slot gaming. In fact, technically, the machines are not slots, but rather video lottery terminals. However, from the player point of view, they are slots, so that’s what we’ll call them.
Slot machines
Slots at Belterra Park in Cincinnati bear titles from popular providers such as IGT and Scientific Games. The games provide a variety of budgetary options, ranging from penny slots to more expensive options.
Some of the titles you’ll find in this section are Wizard of Oz, Three of Wealth: Rich Traditions, Lightning Link, Buffalo Grand, Crazy Money Deluxe, 88 Fortunes, Buffalo Gold, Crush Conquest & Dynasty, Dragon Link, Dancing Drums, Buffalo Inferno, Lightning Cash, Tarzan, Wheel of Fortune and Marilyn Monroe. Out of these games, here is more info about some of the most popular options:
- 88 Fortunes — This is an iconic slot inspired by Asian culture and tradition. Shuffle Master developed the original land-based game for Bally, and it allows bets that go as low as $0.88. On the other end of things, the maximum bet is $88. The slot has been around for a long time and has a decent return-to-player rate — 96%.
- Buffalo Grand — This game is part of the Buffalo slots series, a popular option at land-based casinos. This version features a huge concave screen towering above the player as lifelike animations of buffaloes start rushing toward you. The slot has a non-standard grid setup — 4-5-5-5-4. On top of that, it has a great bonus round and potential for a hefty jackpot.
- Dancing Drums — Dancing Drums is another Shuffle Master creation, quite similar to 88 Fortunes, due to its Asian-inspired theme and five-by-three grid. Moreover, it comes with a couple of interesting features, including a free spins round where the grid can expand to five-by-six and increase the number of available paylines.
- Crazy Money Deluxe — From Incredible Technologies, this popular game is the third installment in the Crazy Money series, offering all the features that made the previous two options hits among players. What makes this game stand out is the big wheel that you can spin when triggering the bonus for a chance to win prizes.
Visitors will find several progressive jackpot options where they can win more than $100,000 if they’re extremely lucky. The most popular progressive games are Cash Wheel, Dragon Rising, Wild Encounters, Hot Shot Blazing 7s and Lock It Link.
Table games and Poker
Belterra Park doesn’t offer any table games or poker. However, in addition to the parimutuel wagering on horse racing and the slot gaming, visitors can also cash out Ohio Lottery tickets at the facility.
B Connected rewards program
Boyd Gaming operates Belterra Park. Boyd is a US hospitality company based in Nevada with dozens of land-based properties under its wing. This makes Belterra Park a part of the B Connected rewards program. Once you enroll in the program, you can accrue points and progress through the program’s tiers as you play at Belterra Park or other Boyd locations around the country. Each tier brings additional benefits to loyal players.
You receive one tier credit for every $5 you spend on slots. Here’s how many credits are necessary for each tier:
- Ruby: 0 to 749 tier credits
- Sapphire: 750 to 14,999 tier credits
- Emerald: 15,000 to 49,999 tier credits
- Onyx: 50,000 to 199,999 tier credits
- Titanium: 200,000 tier credits or more
Players who reach the highest tier receive benefits such as free cruises and annual gift packages. However, tier credits expire every year on Dec. 31. In other words, each new year means that you will have to accrue your tier status all over again.
You can also get B Connected points that you can later redeem for discounts when playing games or dining at a Boyd property, including at Belterra Park. You collect these points at a rate of one per $1 that you bet on video slots. You can exchange them at a rate of 600 points for a $1 discount on dining options in all Boyd-related restaurants across the US.
Will Belterra Park operate a sportsbook?
Sports betting is set to debut in Ohio no later than Jan. 1, 2023. Once sports betting debuts, Belterra Park figures to be one of the primary locations to offer retail sports betting.
In terms of online wagering, Boyd Gaming has a longstanding sports betting partnership with top sportsbook brand FanDuel. FanDuel operates both retail and online sportsbook options at Boyd locations. So, a FanDuel debut in Ohio might well involve Belterra Park.
Belterra Park history and ownership
Belterra Park opened in 1925 in Cincinnati as Coney Island Race Track, making it one of the oldest such properties in Ohio. In fact, its debut occurred the site of an even older racetrack, Old Oakley Race Course, and the opening of the older course is what some Ohioans consider to be the site’s true beginnings. The property has been a popular racing venue for nearly a century. Famed horse Seabiscuit ran two races there in 1936, finishing third both times.
The track reopened as River Downs in 1937 after a flood wiped out much of its existing infrastructure. After the state allowed for simulcasting in 1996, River Downs Clubhouse soon became one of the most popular racebooks in Ohio. Visitors could watch harness and thoroughbred racing from all over the US on more than 500 TVs – a cutting-edge feature for the time.
In more recent years, the track has changed hands multiple times. Pinnacle Entertainment purchased it in 2011 and changed the facility’s name to Belterra Park. Boyd Gaming purchased Belterra from Pinnacle in 2018. Two years later, Boyd transferred ownership of the property to Gaming and Leisure Properties but immediately leased it back. At present, Gaming and Leisure Properties owns the physical plant of Belterra Park, but Boyd Gaming maintains the site’s operating license and operates the gaming activities that occur there.