After years of preparation and controversy and just over a week ago receiving approval from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s (NASDAQ: WYNN) $2.6 billion casino, hotel and entertainment complex, Encore Boston Harbor, officially opened its doors to the public at 10am on Sunday, June 23, 2019.
Thousands of visitors were reportedly on hand for the grand opening, some arriving as early as 3am to be among the first to enter the doors of the 3.1 million sq ft waterfront property. Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony complete with daytime fireworks, were dignitaries and a handful of the approximately 5,000 new workers of what is the state’s third casino.
Located on 33-acres of land along the historic Mystic River in Everett, Massachusetts, owner-operator Wynn Resorts Limited, responsible for Wynn and Wynn Encore Las Vegas, along with Wynn Macau?and?Wynn Palace Cotai properties via its Wynn Macau Limited subsidiary, expected 50,000 to visit on Sunday and some 8 million annually.
The five-star luxury resort features a 27-story tower showcasing 671 guest rooms and suites with a variety of floor plans ranging from 650 sq ft to 1,350 sq ft suites, along with 3,350-square-foot two-bedroom residences and two 5,800-square-foot villas.
Stunning inside and out, the property boasts art from around the world, including the famous 2,000-pound “Popeye” statue by famous artist Jeff Koons, purchased at a Sotheby’s auction by Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn for $28.2 million, and the Preston Bailey-designed floral carousel with 83,000 flowers and 11,000 jewels, while guests share their rooms with notable Roy Lichtenstein works.
Other amenities include 15 casual and high-end dining and lounge venues, a boutique nightclub, a five-star 26,000 sq ft spa with 17 treatment rooms, 10,000 sq ft of luxury retail shops, 50,000 sq. ft. of divisible meeting space featuring a 37,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom with unobstructed views and the six-acre Encore Harborwalk, which features a 21,000 sq. ft. outdoor waterfront event lawn, picnic and public viewing areas.
The casino’s 210,000 sq ft of gaming is situated on two levels and is home to more than 3,100 slot machines, 144 table games, including private gambling salons and high-limit gaming rooms, and an exclusive 88-table poker room.
Alongside Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Chief Executive Officer for Wynn Resorts, Matt Maddox, recalled standing together some seven years ago on the site previously used for industrial purposes where there was nothing.
According to WCVB-TV, channel 5, Maddox said…
“Now there’s a thousand mature trees, 50,000 flowering plants, tens of thousands of shrubs and a living shoreline for the first time in 100 hundred years.”
The news agency further reports that Maddox also recently told The Associated Press that ‘he envisions Encore Boston Harbor becoming a template for the company’s future and the casino industry more broadly as Wynn Resorts continues to extend its reach to other cities.’
It has been projected by state lawmakers that in its first year of operations, what Wynn Resorts has described as “the largest private single-phase construction project in the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” would generate $540 million in casino revenue, and within the first fiscal year, approximately $98 million in tax revenue.
Courtesy of the 2011, Massachusetts government enacted Expanded Gaming Act, which permitted Las Vegas-style gaming in the New England state and established three territories, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission issued a full casino license to Wynn Resorts in Everett, MGM in Springfield, and a “slots-only” license to Penn National Gaming’s Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville
The project was announced in 2015 as Wynn Everett, and later renamed Wynn Boston Harbor after in 2018, attorneys for both Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts asked that the 76-year-old’s name be removed from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s qualifier list.
Recently, fines of $35 million and $500,000 were issued to and paid by Wynn Resorts and Chief Executive Officer Matt Maddox respectively, for failure to adequately respond to sexual harassment allegations against the company’s former Chairman and CEO over several years. While Steve Wynn has denied all of the allegations, in February 2018, he subsequently resigned from the Las Vegas Strip-headquartered company he founded in 2002.
Bordering the City of Boston and approximately five miles from Logan International Airport, Encore Boston Harbor was, on June 12, 2019, given the green light by state gambling regulators to open.
Transportation services to and from the property in include Encore created motor coaches, shuttles and an all-season water ferry system, Encore Premium Harbor Shuttles. Direct rides from the T and other Boston-area locations are also available and if you plan on driving, both onsite and offsite parking, as well as valet services, are also offered.