Rolling the Dice

Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum

September casino revenues lackluster

Encore on pace to take in $600m over course of year

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Oct 15, 2019

ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR reported $150 million in gross gaming revenue from July through September, putting the Everett casino on pace to bring in roughly $600 million over its first full year of operation if current trends continue. The new numbers released on Tuesday suggest Wynn Resorts has a long way to go to reach its(...)

Encore dispenses with self-parking fees

With casino traffic manageable, hefty charges eliminated

By Bruce Mohl Casinos, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 7, 2019

ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR is now letting its customers self-park for free at the Everett casino, dispensing with the hefty charges that had been in place since its June opening — $22 for the first six hours and $42 for up to 24 hours. In a statement, Encore Boston Harbor President Robert DeSalvio characterized the introduction of(...)

What casino traffic?

The feared congestion at Encore hasn’t materialized

By Bruce Mohl Casinos, Transportation 0 Comments Oct 1, 2019

FIVE YEARS AGO, when the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded a license to a proposed casino on the banks of the Mystic River in Everett, traffic was one of the most pressing concerns. The area was already heavily congested, and the conventional wisdom was that plunking a huge casino down near Sullivan Square would make matters(...)

Slots slip, table game revenues keep rising at Encore

Overall, Everett casino sees 8 percent gain

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Sep 16, 2019

SLOT MACHINE REVENUES at Encore Boston Harbor remained lackluster in August, while revenue from table games continued to surge. Numbers released by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Monday indicated gross slot revenues at Encore were $20.2 million in August, down 4.4 percent compared to July. Assuming 3,100 slot machines at the casino, the daily revenue(...)

Chicago casino magnate: “You lose me.”

Gaming commission delivers blow to Brockton casino proposal

By Colin A. Young Brockton, Gaming Commission, Neil Bluhm, Region C, Rush Street 0 Comments Sep 12, 2019

THE BILLIONAIRE CASINO developer who has been pushing for years to build a casino in Brockton suggested that he will drop his efforts after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission determined Thursday that it will not reconsider its 2016 denial of his Brockton casino bid. Neil Bluhm, the chairman of Mass. Gaming and Entertainment, told the Gaming(...)

Wareham gaming proposal gets cool reception

Local senator not on board; Rosenberg urges caution

By Bruce Mohl Casinos, Massachusetts Legislature 0 Comments Aug 20, 2019

A QUINCY DEVELOPER with an interesting Wareham racino proposal called on the Legislature to revisit the state’s gaming statute, but early feedback from Beacon Hill and one of the drafters of the law suggested the idea was unlikely to gain any traction any time soon, if at all. Thomas O’Connell, a developer who previously built(...)

Encore eating into Conn., Rhode Island gambling revenue

Everett casino pulls in nearly $50m in first full month

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments Aug 15, 2019

THE ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR casino brought in close to $50 million during its first full month of operation, and the lavish riverfront gambling facility already appears to be taking a bite out of the New England casino market while also setting a new standard for table game revenue. July revenue figures released by the Massachusetts(...)

SE Mass. deserves casino gambling discussion

Economic stimulus badly needed in the region

By Thomas Norton Casinos 0 Comments Aug 11, 2019

THE ROAD TO CASINO gaming in Massachusetts has been long and winding, but nowhere as much as the place where it began – southeastern Massachusetts. It’s been nearly eight years since the state authorized up to four gaming facilities in Massachusetts – three so-called category 1 casinos allocated by region and one category 2 slots-only(...)

Wynn fielding calls on adjacent land

Maddox on arena, other proposal: ‘We’re not in a rush’

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Aug 6, 2019

THE CEO OF WYNN RESORTS said on Tuesday that his company has been approached by firms looking to partner on an arena or boutique entertainment ventures on land the company has purchased across the street from the Encore Boston Harbor casino. Matt Maddox said just before the opening of the casino in June that he(...)

Encore/ Gaming Commission/ Janet Sanders/ Mohegan/ Wynn

Mohegan’s “all or nothing” challenge to Encore dismissed

Judge rules open meeting violations don’t warrant license revocation

By Andy Metzger 0 Comments Jul 19, 2019

RELATIVELY MINOR VIOLATIONS of the open meeting law by state gambling regulators shouldn’t invalidate Encore Boston Harbor’s casino license, a state judge wrote in dismissing a court challenge brought by a handful of Revere residents. The three residents’ open meeting law challenge was part of a larger suit that Encore’s rival, Mohegan Sun, is pursuing(...)