Encore Boston Harbor faces lawsuit

Gamblers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the recently opened Encore Boston Harbor for holding part of their winnings.

US.- The Encore Boston Harbor recently opened and disclosed good financial results. However, they are facing a class-action lawsuit against the venue for allegedly retaining part of their winnings.

New York resident Richard Schuster says 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.

While the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is reviewing the suit, Wynn Resorts assured they follow state regulations in their operations.

First-week results

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has reported that the first eight days that Encore Boston Harbor was open in the state, it saw gamblers wager more than US$93.5 million on slot machines. Wynn Resorts also reported US$16.79 million in total revenue, which represents US$2 million a day approximately.

The 3,158 slot machines generated US$9.12 million in revenue and returned about 90.2% of the US$93.5 million that players put into them as winning. It also held 9.7% for the House. Moreover, the 242 table games generated US$7.6 million in revenue for the venue.

Encore Boston Harbor President Robert DeSalvio said last week on WGBH’s Greater Boston: “So far, so good. However, I will tell you that it takes a while to ramp up and build these properties up to full potential — you have to build a database — so for us, there’s an expectation that it doesn’t come automatically but it will come over time.”

DeSalvio did not disclose information on revenue, but he did comment on its estimations and said it was too early to tell if Encore Boston Harbor will meet the expectation of US$800 million in annual revenue.