No food service yet, social distancing, hotel closed for now
BY JOSH RESNEK
Now $181 (Was $̶2̶4̶8̶) on Tripadvisor: Encore Boston Harbor, Everett. See 438 traveler reviews, 234 candid photos, and great deals for Encore Boston Harbor, ranked #2 of 2 hotels in Everett and rated 4.5 of 5 at Tripadvisor. Here are 12 photos from the grand opening of Encore Boston Harbor Thousands of visitors showed up for the Sunday opening of the $2.6 billion hotel and casino.
If everything goes according to the plan as approved this week by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Wynn Boston Harbor Casino will be opening on or around June 29.
Thus, will end an extraordinary closure of the casino which began on March 15 when the Coronavirus began hitting us with full force.
Since March 15 neither the casino nor the Encore Hotel has produced a dime of revenue.
The hotel will not be reopening on the 29th, according to Wynn company officials.
The hotel may reopen but on a limited basis, according to company reports.
The casino however will be reopening with a full litany of social distancing and hygienic requirements.
Temperatures will be taken. Hand washers will be everywhere. All employees will be wearing masks.
It is expected that many customers will do the same although the requirement is not absolute.
Encore Casino Boston Opening Day
It is not yet entirely clear which restaurants will be reopening and in what capacity.
Encore Casino Boston Open Today
The buffet, which has been reopened in Las Vegas, will not be reopened here.
In the casino itself, card games have been eliminated and many other table games have been introduced.
Ending card games eliminated the need for dealers.
They have all been laid off.
With $3.4 billion in liquid assets, or enough to last the company for 1 1⁄2 years at the present burn rate, Wynn company president Matt Maddox is confident the comeback will be strong and over time, everything will come back to normal.
“We are confident that travel and tourism will recover in both the US and China, and our industry leading assets, fortress balance sheet and talented team members position the company to thrive in the years ahead,” Maddox affirmed.
The casino operator posted operating revenue of $953.7m for the period ending 31 March, a fall of 42.3 percent compared to the same period in 2019.Wynn closed its Strip operations on 17 March. In Las Vegas, Q1 operating revenues were $323.8m, a 19.3 percent decrease from $401m for the first quarter of 2019. Operating revenues at Encore Boston Harbor came in at $140.9m.
In Asia, the company’s subsidiary Wynn Macau reported a nearly $154.2m net loss for the first quarter.
Wynn’s Macau interests generate about $75% of the company’s income. The closing of Beijing because of a recurrence of the virus will impact business in Macau which is a new worry for Wynn Resorts.
With air travel and tour- ism to Boston remaining extremely slim and limited, it is difficult to predict how the casino reopening will go.
Company officials in statements to Wynn employees say they are raring to go, a sentiment shared by a great many employees who have been paid by the company throughout the ordeal.
It is believed that pent up demand for customers to go out again and to gamble will
be enough to bring respectable crowds back to the casino.
As of Tuesday, Wynn stock was traded at $92.00.
Its 52 week high was $153.00. The 52 week low, $35.00.
The dividend has been suspended.
The market cap, that is, the value of the company’s stock in the hands of all its shareholders is about $10 billion.Wynn presently owes the city of Everett for in lieu of tax payments – an amount believed to be about $12 million.
It is expected that money will shortly be paid to the city.
The city will be without substantial income generated by hotel room fees for the near future.
EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - As companies try to come up with a plan to reopen after the pandemic, many know it will not be business as usual.
This includes casinos — and the Encore Boston Harbor is no different. The company has been putting the finishing touches on its plan to keep people safe once the stay-at-home advisory is lifted.
“What we do know for sure is it will not be as simple as unlocking the doors and switching the lights back on,” said Mass. Gaming Commission Chair Cathy Judd-Stein.
The goal is to make every person visiting and working in a casino feel safe.
Wynn, the company that runs Encore, has developed a program for its properties in Las Vegas aimed at that very thing.
Encore officials told 7NEWS the plan will be similar here.
So, when guests come back to Encore, they will likely see:
- That valet services won’t be available
- That they’ll have their temperature taken before entering
- That they’ll get a bag with masks and hand sanitizer to use on the property
- All bell carts getting sanitized in between each use
- Only four people allowed in an elevator at a time
- Inside each room, a spray bottle of sanitizer and wipes
On the casino floor, there will be changes too:
- Things like opening every other game table
- Removing chairs from tables to limit the number of people gathering.
- Moving slot machines so they are 6-feet apart.
“Plans understandably continue to evolve as new information and data becomes available,” Judd-Stein said. “Whatever these plans will require a robust public education campaign for customers and employees.”
Right now, there is no set date for reopening but, when it does happen, the casinos will look different than when they closed.
Officials are also working on plans for the restaurants, retail stores, and housekeeping.
Those who got to the resorts will be asked to briefly lower their masks so they may be identified.
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