State regulator says Encore Boston is in compliance
The Encore Boston Harbor faces a lawsuit but the state gambling regulator said the casino is in compliance.
US.- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said on Thursday that a preliminary investigation shows that the new Encore Boston Harbor is in compliance. This comes after a class-action lawsuit against the venue for allegedly retaining part of their winnings.
The state regulator said that Wynn Resorts appears to be in compliance with the state gambling regulations for blackjack payouts. It also said the casino is not rounding down payouts from slot machines.
New York resident Richard Schuster argued the casino is paying out less for certain winning hands at blackjack. Furthermore, it accused the Encore Boston Harbor of rounding down payouts from slot machines. He filed the lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court.
However, the state regulators noted that the casino’s redemption machines for slot winnings don’t dispense coins. Gamblers must go to casino cashiers for winning less than US$1. Encore Boston Harbor said that they will consider adding redemption machines that dispense coins.
Encore Boston Harbor President Bob DeSalvio said that the claims in the lawsuit are false and unfounded. He spoke to reporters on Thursday after he talked to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The president said that the casino followed all state gaming regulations on blackjack payouts and never rounded down winnings for slot players.
“Every single customer gets every dollar and every dollar and every penny that they have coming down to them,” he told commissioners. “Rounding is not part of the equation,” he added.
Joshua Garick, an attorney representing Shuster, expressed his disappointment with the commission’s interpretation, MassLive reported. “This is why we intend to present our claims in a court of law,” he said. “Because frankly, our reading of the regulations are very different than what Encore has stated.”
