Sports betting began Tuesday in Massachusetts; Encore leads way

Encore Casino

Special to Leader Herald

Five months after legalization, the first three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in Massachusetts opened Tuesday. Sportsbooks at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park took their first bets at 10 a.m., and each location featured a Boston sports celebrity as part of its opening day ceremony.

Massachusetts lawmakers approved legal sports betting on Aug. 1, 2022, and 10 days later, outgoing Governor Charlie Baker made it law. Tuesday marked the start of multiple launches in the state, as live digital wagering is set for early March and two more physical sportsbooks, one each at the Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs horse-racing facilities, are expected later in 2023.

The new law allows for five retail locations and up to 15 digital platforms. Every major operator will be in the state, including Boston-based DraftKings and rival FanDuel, both of which have initial approval for standalone digital betting licenses.

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Property tax bills soar

We have heard from many taxpayers that their property tax bills have soared.

Not only homeowners are complaining but business owners are complaining as well.

The complaints are not really heard by city hall.

They are largely ignored, scored up by our leaders as a distasteful but necessary part of life in the city of Everett.

There was a time, and it was not so long ago, when the city leadership touted the coming of the casino and hotel as the medicine to fix all of the city’s income and tax problems.

As good as the marriage has been between the city and Encore, it is simply not good enough.

Last month, Encore took in almost $70 million, an incredible sum of money that doesn’t begin to detail the full cash flow pouring into the casino owners pockets.

At that rate of income, Encore might very well be poised to take in almost $1 billion in a year sooner rather than later!

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Encore Boston Harbor sued over alleged “bait and switch”

From the Boston Globe

Encore Boston Harbor is being sued by a frequent patron, Jason Turley, who says the casino used a “bait and switch” tactic when it promised him – and hundreds of other patrons – a $300 gas card to come to the casino on April 23. Turley and “hundreds of other regular players” at the casino received an e-mail two days earlier in which Encore said Speedway gas gift cards would be handed out between noon and 6 p.m. on April 23. “No other conditions or requirements were provided in the email,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Middlesex Superior Court on Dec. 15. Turley and “hundreds of other regular patrons” showed up, but received $300 “free pay vouchers” instead of gas cards, the suit says.

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Encore gaming income drops about $3.5 million in November over October

By Josh Resnek

Just when it appeared that gaming figures were reaching new heights at Encore, a modest slowdown in November put a mild damper on the extraordinary income flow that has been produced there for the past six months.

October revenues came in at about $62 million.

November’s was $59 million.

That being said, the implementation of sports gaming to be allowed at the casino in the next quarter is certain to cause a quantum leap in gaming income for Encore.

Exactly how much in gaming revenue will be generated remains a mystery until the electronic sports gaming component at Encore is activated.

It is expected sports gaming will be up and running by mid-January.

Industry sources claim sports gaming revenues could add tens of millions of dollars to the monthly take at Encore.

The New England sports betting mania is well known across the nation.

For decades, bettors used local bookmakers to make bets on sporting events.

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