Casino Landscape Expanding in Massachusetts
By Josh Resnek
The Wampanoag Indians have the right to open a casino and that dance has begun at the tribal level.
The Martha’s Vineyard Indians have the same right. They have been trying to for some time to develop a casino but the project remains mired in court.
Two new casinos will change the Massachusetts gaming world but will not greatly effect those already doing business in it.
Everett’s Encore Boston Harbor Hotel and Casino has no peers in the casino gaming world in Massachusetts.
Nothing compares to the ability of Encore to generate huge sums of money on its gaming floors.
In addition, no hotel in the region outdoes the Encore Hotel for luxury, size of its suites and aesthetic detail.
Many Bostonians do not care for or take an interest in the Encore crescent shaped bronze faced edifice but the quality of its rooms and appointments is unparalleled.
Until last month’s dramatic revenue dip, Encore had been heading for casino cash cow stardom – and its hotel on the weekends had been packed.
Now comes the new surge in the virus and the attendant drop in revenue figures which are as much seasonal as they are caused by a rise in infections among the general population.
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, the two Connecticut behemoth casinos that predate Encore by about 15 years, have faithful legions of followers who spend enormous sums of money gaming and entertaining themselves with weekends spent at their hotels and shopping and gambling at those two facilities.
Encore was expected to put Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun out of business.
That never happened.
The business models of the two Connecticut locations and Encore are entirely different, so too is the outlook of its management.
The Wynn Resorts people are on a different plain than those at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. They can and they are compared but the comparison is not fair.
Wynn Resorts folks are the top of the heap when it comes to casino gaming and entertainment. This may not be so in Everett, yet, but that day is coming.
Encore’s desire to expand is notable, and it is real, and the company has the money to make new development happen in a big way.
The new theater and sports and music entertainment auditorium that is going to be built across the street from the casino and hotel is a master stroke aimed at buttressing what Encore already has going for itself.
Such a development will enhance the casino experience at Encore and will contribute to its bottom line in a big way.
Challenges to its right to exist will not stand up, not in Massachusetts. Encore’s economic viability is much more important to the state economy than restricting its ability to grow.
In addition, Wynn Resorts is apparently considering buying the Exxon property and the Exelon property.
Those would end up being multi-billion dollar economic revivals of land long ago given over to the dirtiest and most polluting industries know to man.