The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Thursday that a preliminary investigation found that Encore Boston Harbor’s casino operations were compliant with state gambling laws after a class-action from earlier this week claimed that the gaming facility was cheating patrons at its blackjack tables and slot machines.
The suit represented A. Richard Schuster from New York who played at the Boston area casino last week.
MassGaming’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau conducted a preliminary investigation of the issues raised by the lawsuit. Bruce Band of the commission’s investigation arm told the regulator’s five-member board on Thursday that they have “preliminary found Encore to be in compliance with the commission’s rules and regulations for paying out blackjack wins.”
One of the claims listed in the lawsuit stated that Encore was adopting practices that significantly increased the house’s edge against patrons.
Schuster said that while playing blackjack at the recently opened casino, he expected to be paid out at 3-2 odds, but was eventually paid out at 6-5 odds. Traditional blackjack pays players out at 3-2, but under Massachusetts’ gaming laws local casinos are allowed to pay players at 6-5 odds as long as they fulfill certain other regulatory requirements.
According to the class-action lawsuit, the change of odds can reduce payouts by more than $85,000 a day, which translates to around $30 million in annual profits for the casino.
MassGaming’s investigation team said Thursday that the majority of Encore’s blackjack tables – 64.5% – are with 3-2 payout odds, while the rest are with 6-5 payout odds.
Completely Without Merit
Bob DeSalvio, President of Encore Boston Harbor, told reporters after Thursday’s meeting that he felt the lawsuit was “completely without merit.” The casino official took particular interest in another portion of the lawsuit that claimed that the slot machines at the casino paid out in whole dollars, withholding the change.
DeSalvio said Thursday that the allegations that Encore was rounding to its favor were “completely, utterly false” and that “every customer gets every penny that they deserve.”
Schuster’s lawyer, Joshua Garick, attended Thursday’s meeting, but did not speak before regulators. He told reporters that he was disappointed that the commission’s investigation team decided to “expedite its presentation to the commission with less than twenty-four hours notice.” Garick added that investigators never contacted his firm or his client to discuss the serious allegations leveled against the casino.
The lawyer went on to say that they would pursue their claims in a court of law because their reading of Massachusetts’ gambling regulations was very different from what Encore has stated.
Encore Boston Harbor opened doors on June 23 as Massachusetts’ second commercial casino resort. According to June revenue data released by the Gaming Commission, the property took in $16.8 million in gaming revenue during its first week of operation. Encore is projected to generate $800 million in annual slot machine and table game revenue, a quarter of which it is required to contribute to the state in tax revenue.
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