The final stages of Encore Boston Harbor’s becoming were accompanied by one of the highest-profile Me Too scandals, with Wynn Resorts’ founding father and former boss Steve Wynn being accused of a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct.
Several regulatory investigations, a stream of criticism over why the company’s management had not addressed workers’ allegations properly, and two hefty fines later – a $20 million one by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and a $35 million one by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission – Wynn Resorts hoped that it could turn over a new leaf and grand-open the $2.6 billion luxury resort in the Greater Boston area with no more issues.
However, there was just a short-lived absence of trouble for Encore Boston Harbor. While the property opened to much fanfare on June 23 and hailed a successful first week of operation, during which it generated gaming win of $16.8 million, it now faces accusations of cheating its patrons to reap financial benefits and boost its revenue.
A class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week in the Middlesex Superior Court claims that there are practices deployed at Encore Boston Harbor’s casino floor that rip players off and violate the Massachusetts’ gaming law. The suit represents A. Richard Schuster, a New Yorker who played at the gaming facility last week.
The Lawsuit
Schuster said in the lawsuit that he played blackjack and the slots at Encore Boston Harbor’s gaming floor. Of his experience at the casino’s blackjack tables, he said that he should have been paid out at 3-2 odds, but was eventually paid out at 6-5 odds.
In traditional blackjack, a player is paid out at 3-2 odds when they hit blackjack. Under Massachusetts’ gaming regulations, the state’s two commercial casinos can pay players at 6-5, but only if certain requirements are fulfilled by the properties so that they ensure that the playing field between a patron and the house is leveled.
Schuster argued that at Encore Boston Harbor the 6-5 payout rule was coupled with additional rules that increase the house’s edge against the player. The casino thus had an advantage well beyond what the state permits, Schuster’s lawsuit reads.
Under state gaming regulations, 6-5 payout blackjack games should be played with 1-2 decks instead of 6-8 decks and a player must be dealt two facedown cards that they can look at. According to the recently filed lawsuit, Encore Boston Harbor was running foul of the rules, using eight decks and dealing face-up cards to players that they are not allowed to touch. The suit estimates that the practice causes players to lose around $35.60 per hour on $50 bets.
Schuster also pointed out that when playing the slots at the casino floor, the machines paid out in whole dollars, withholding the change.
The casino denied the recent allegations, stating that it follows the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s rules and the terms of its license from the regulator.
Encore Boston Harbor is the state’s second commercial casino resort. The property’s gaming floor features 3,100 slot machines, 143 table games, and an 88-table poker room. The casino is expected to generate $800 million in annual gaming revenue, a quarter of which it is set to contribute in gaming taxes to the state’s coffers.
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