Rolling the Dice/ Arts and Culture/ Gambling

Encore says 999 seats available for fight night

Number is one less than gaming law restriction

By , 0 Comments

ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR says only 999 tickets are being sold to a mixed martial arts event being held next week in its grand ballroom, which would mean the fight night is in compliance with a state law restricting the number of seats the Everett casino can make available.

Theater operators have been raising concerns that Encore was in violation of a state law restricting event seating to less than 1,000 or more than 3,500 seats. The law was designed to protect medium-size theaters from casino competitors capable of using gambling revenues to subsidize their entertainment offerings.

Citing a number of concerts held prior to COVID and Ticketmaster seating diagrams showing more than 1,500 seats available for the Combat Zone Mixed Martial Arts event on March 17, local theater operators urged the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to fine Encore and reaffirm the policy on seat restrictions. The commission declined to weigh in at a meeting last week, awaiting input from Encore.

An Encore spokeswoman told CommonWealth in an email that only 999 seats are being made available for the mixed martial arts show.

It was unclear why more than 1,500 seats and their prices were shown on the Ticketmaster website if only 999 were available for sale.

A screen grab of the Ticketmaster website on February 21 for the March 17 Combat Zone 75 show. Blue dots indicate seats for sale and gray dots are seats that are unavailable. All of the seats had pricing information.

Theater owners who raised concerns about the event said they welcomed Encore Boston Harbor’s apparent admission that the law restricting event seating at casinos applied to events at the casino’s Picasso ballroom.

Kenneth Krause, the treasurer of the Friends of Chevalier Theatre in Medford, said he was gratified to see that Encore now recognizes that the state law covers events held inside its grand ballroom.

“It seems clear that Encore Boston Harbor now acknowledges that the gaming regulations governing the number of permissible seats at its live entertainment events applies to those held in its Picasso Ballroom,” said Krause. “Going forward, Encore Boston Harbor coming into compliance with the regulations will help ensure that municipal, nonprofit, and independent live entertainment venues like Chevalier Theatre can remain competitive, which was the intention of the language in the law.”

Meet the Author

Bruce Mohl

Editor, CommonWealth
Bio » Latest Stories »

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

The legality of the Encore events is coming under scrutiny at the same time Wynn Resorts is proposing a new development across the street from the casino with hotels, an entertainment venue, a parking garage, and bars and restaurants. The Gaming Commission is expected to decide later this month whether it should regulate the new development as an extension of the existing casino, or whether the project should be free from the commission’s purview.

Wynn Resorts officials have argued that the new development should not be placed under the jurisdiction of the Gaming Commission, but Wynn officials in Boston and in Las Vegas have offered conflicting viewpoints on whether the project will stand alone or is intended to augment the casino operations across the street.

Tagged in: /