Encore Casino Everett Opening Date
- Encore Casino Everett Ma Opening Date
- Encore Casino Everett Opening Date
- Encore Casino Everett Ma Opening Date
Gambling amid the coronavirus pandemic won't look the same as it did before. People fill the casino floor at Encore Boston Harbor during its grand opening, June 23, 2019. –Jessica Rinaldi / The. — Encore Boston Harbor has officially reopened its doors to the public on Sunday, July 12, nearly four months after the casino closed its doors amid the worldwide coronavirus.
Encore Boston Harbor shared some good news and some bad news on Monday afternoon – stating they would look to begin re-opening procedures no sooner than July 6, but also that they would have to furlough up to 3,000 employees to be able to open this summer.
Encore Casino Everett Ma Opening Date
The news comes just one week after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) voted 5-0 on June 23 to accept the opening procedures for its casino licensees, including Encore. Casinos in Massachusetts will be opening in Phase 3 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s re-opening plan, and that will come no sooner than July 6. The casino plans to re-open the casino gaming floor, and supporting food and beverage outlets around the casino – though both will be at a much smaller capacity due to social distancing restrictions.
There will be no craps games, roulette games, poker games, poker rooms, and the numbers of slots will be reduced. While about 1,500 to 2,000 workers on the rolls will return for trainings and guidelines about opening that portion of the casino resort, another 3,000 will have to be furloughed.
“Pending final approval, Encore Boston Harbor plans to re-open the casino gaming area and supporting food and beverage outlets around the casino,” read a statement from the casino. “It also plans to open the hotel on a limited basis. When it re-opens, Encore Boston Harbor will bring back its employees in a thoughtful and measured protocol. Some employees working in the re-opened amenities and restaurants will return to work. Employees, who worked in areas for which a re-opening date is uncertain due to current restrictions, are being placed on furlough until further notice.”
Already, approximately 11 percent of the Encore workforce had been placed on furlough June 1. Prior to that – since the voluntary closing of the resort on March 15, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox had made the decision to continue paying all employees and tipped employees. That was extended through the end of May, though properties at Las Vegas and Macau opened to the public and Encore Boston Harbor remained closed.
Encore had come up with an extensive health and safety program in May that was developed in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University – and was also used at their other properties. Encore said it would use that as a road map, as well as the new guidelines from the MGC passed last week.
“In addition to the previously released Health and Safety Program, Encore Boston Harbor supports and will adhere to the additional directives aimed to reduce the risk to public health set forth by the MGC, including reductions in available gaming capacity,” read the statement. “As a result, the resort will re-open with amenities appropriate to the new rules and in support of the anticipated number of guests.”
The gaming industry has been a big question mark as COVID-19 restrictions lift and operators from China to Las Vegas to Everett wonder if customers will return in the numbers that were previously hosted. This has been often pondered in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings from Wynn Resorts over the several months.
Encore officials said while many employees will be furloughed, it doesn’t mean their jobs are lost. They will be brought back thoughtfully, he said, as time goes by and restaurants, nightclubs and the full hotel can open.
Mayor Carlo DeMaria said he had confidence the casino would make good in rehiring all of the furloughed employees once the casino is up and running – and more areas are safe to open to the public.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, Encore has made a good-faith effort to keep employees on the payroll with full benefits,” he said. “While it is unfortunate that they have to furlough many employees because they have generated zero revenue, I’m optimistic that once the casino re-opens they will be rehired.”
City Councilor Michael McLaughlin – who represents the area – said it shows no one, not even Encore, is immune to COVID-19.
“Hearing that 3,000 of those long promised and dreamed of careers have been furloughed is not pleasant news,” he said. “The time is now to stand up and work together to help regain our careers and businesses that call Everett home. I am sure for the 3,000 workers furloughed this week this news doesn’t come lightly to you and your families. I hope that we all can come together to support the families across our region that have negatively been hurt by this unfortunate situation.”
BY JOSH RESNEK
If everything goes according to current plans, Encore Boston Harbor Casino could be opening again on June 29. Last minute changes and additions to health and safety standards by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, all part of the new normal caused by safety measures the state is imposing, could cause the reopening to be put off a few days or even a week or two.
The MGC is also weighing occupancy limits, an issue the licensees have raised issues about.
At a fraction of occupancy, Encore, and the other casinos operating in Massachusetts, cannot possibly generate the income needed to meet their obligations and to turn a profit.
Encore’s question to the MGC: “Will reduced capacity include taking into consideration employee counts?”
Short term, this is not the end of the world.
Long term, it is a business killer.
Limiting the number of people gaming inside the casino at any given time raises a big issue with management because so many employees are inside the casino to begin with.
Also, the MGC’s requirement that plexiglass shields be installed at all gaming tables is another matter that will likely cause serious negative cumulative effects on doing business.
At least a week before reopening, Encore and each licensee will be required to submit its own plan detailing “the steps and measures the licensee will take to achieve compliance with the guidance and protocols” to the Gaming Commission, and each facility will have to be fully cleaned and disinfected.
Encore Casino Everett Opening Date
Upon arrival, gamblers will be told not to enter if they have recently had any COVID-19 symptoms, casino staffers will hand out masks or face coverings if guests do not have their own, and hand sanitizer will be made available. Players will be required to wear something that covers their nose and mouth upon entry and while in the gaming area.
The casinos will be asked to limit how often players touch cards or chips and will have to develop a protocol for chip sanitization so that all chips have been sanitized before they are issued. Each facility will also have to come up with a plan to replace cards based on volume and frequency of play.
Encore Casino Everett Ma Opening Date
The Encore Hotel will remain closed for the time being.
Restaurants inside the casino and hotel will also remain closed and when reopened, will remain subject to restrictive health and hygiene standards imposed by the state.
Wynn Resorts stock has fallen about $6 a share since last week. The price this week was in the range of $87 per share.
The market cap, that is, the value of all the outstanding stock was $10 billion last week. It begins this week at $9.36 billion.
Wynn’s cash cow is its operation in Macau, China. Since reopening there some weeks back, gross gaming revenue was about 25% of its historical run rate, according to Barron’s.
Wynn’s Las Vegas operation opened two weeks ago. Figures have not yet been released. However, there is a great wave of relief among Wynn officials that the doors are again open, and people are coming inside to gamble.