© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Elaine Wynn, the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts, made an appearance at the opening of Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett,on opening day on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Everett’s new Encore casino may have made millions in its opening week, but a lawsuit filed Monday alleges that some of those funds were acquired through someless-than-legal means. View all Job at Encore Boston Harbor. Search, apply or sign up for job alerts at Encore Boston Harbor Talent Network.

The definitive guide to the 15 restaurants and bars at Encore Boston Harbor Everett's new casino resort aims to celebrate the best of New England's culinary scene. © Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. On Sunday, June. The casino is set to open at 10 a.m. Encore Boston Harbor President Robert DeSalvio says the casino will be offering a range of transportation options to ease congestion, including water.

Encore Boston Harbor announced Thursday that the Everett casino intents to reopen to the public on Sunday, July 12.

The reopening date comes after Gov. Charlie Baker announced that casinos will be allowed to reopen as early as Monday as part of Phase 3 of the Massachusetts reopening plan.

Encore Boston Harbor will open its doors at 9 a.m. July 12, pending approval from state gaming officials.

The decision comes after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a slew of reopening requirements last week.

The new guidelines include rules and recommendations for screening guests, including a requirement to make hand sanitizer available and a suggestion to conduct temperature checks. Social distancing guidelines for slots include a requirement that casinos turn off every other slot machine and remove chairs, and to either ensure a minimum of 6 feet between slot positions or install 6-foot-tall plexiglass dividers.

There are also reduced occupancy limits based on a formula for total patrons and employees. Commissioners believe the formula will reduce each facility’s capacity to about 25%.

Encore casino everett opening date

Other requirements for reopening guests at Encore Boston Harbor include:

Thermal temperature scans at all guest and employee entrances. Anyone, guest or employee, with a temperature of 100.4 or more will not be allowed inside.

Face coverings are mandatory for all employees and guests. Face masks will be available for guests as needed.

Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of public spaces throughout the day.

Opening Of Encore Casino Everett Mass

Hand sanitizer stations and disinfecting wipes available throughout the property.

Signage at each point of entry and at prominent locations throughout the gaming area to remind guests of safe practices including frequent hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, proper wearing of masks, and to go home if sick.

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park were ordered to shutdown in mid-March. Casino operators previously said they will need 10 to 14 days notice in order to ramp back up.

Following the shutdowns, thousands of casino workers were furloughed.

Wynn Resorts, the casino’s parent company, put off furloughs after closing on March 15 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, paying the roughly 4,200 employees who work at the $2.6 billion Everett casino. The company spent $3 million a day, or roughly $220 million between mid-March and May, to continue paying its employees, the company said.

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

MGM Springfield told state labor officials in May that it will lay off as many as 1,887 employees at the end of August.

The Springfield casino had just over 2,000 employees earlier this year.

In a letter obtained by MassLive in May, Acting Chief Executive Bill Hornbuckle said the company is in the midst of “the most challenging period ever faced” by the company.

Hornbuckle said when employees were first furloughed in March, MGM hoped a significant portion of its operations would “bounce back” by the summer.

“However, we are realistic in our understanding that domestic and international travel will remain limited for some time,” Hornbuckle said. “We believe that demand for travel will be significantly decreased for the remainder of 2020 and could continue through the early part of next year.”

Amid operational shutdowns, MGM furloughed nearly 63,000 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew of its roughly 70,000-person staff in the United States.

Employees will remain furloughed through the end of August, when their employment will be end if they are not rehired by Aug. 31. Hornbuckle did not specify how many of its furloughed workers would be laid off.

“We now believe that some of our colleagues may not return to work this year,” Hornbuckle wrote. “And, given the continued uncertainty facing our industry, we simply don’t know just how many employees will return to work within the coming months.”

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

All furloughed employees enrolled in the company health plan will have their benefits extended through August 31 with no employee contributions for premiums.

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Massachusetts casinos will be among the final in the nation to reopen following coronavirus shutdowns.

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Plensa's 'Secret Garden' artwork pieces are on display outside Encore Boston Harbor in Everett on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

In neighboring Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe reopened Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun at the beginning of June. Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island opened on Tuesday. Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York, remains closed.

Casinos in Las Vegas were allowed to reopen as early as June 4.

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Terese Gray holds up a sign while waiting in the front of the line to get into Encore Boston Harbor on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Encore Casino Opening Everett Ma 02149

MGM reopened Mandalay Bay and Aria on Wednesday. The company requires all employees and guests to wear masks inside public spaces at every MGM property across the U.S.

Grand Opening Encore Casino Everett Ma

“As part of our work to continually update and evolve our health and safety policies, we are now requiring masks for all guests and visitors inside public spaces,” the company said in a statement released last week. “If a guest is in need of a mask, we will provide one. We hope that our guests will do their part to help the collective efforts to curtail the spread of the virus. Guests who do not wish to comply will be asked to leave the property.”

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria kissed his wife after the ribbon-cutting to open Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

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Visit MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass. at www.masslive.com

© Kristin LaFratta kristin.lafratta@masslive.com/masslive.com/TNS Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion casino and resort in Everett, opened with a fireworks show around 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

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Encore Boston Harbor shared some good news and some bad news on Monday afternoon – stating they would look to begin re-opening procedures no sooner than July 6, but also that they would have to furlough up to 3,000 employees to be able to open this summer.

The news comes just one week after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) voted 5-0 on June 23 to accept the opening procedures for its casino licensees, including Encore. Casinos in Massachusetts will be opening in Phase 3 of Gov. Charlie Baker’s re-opening plan, and that will come no sooner than July 6. The casino plans to re-open the casino gaming floor, and supporting food and beverage outlets around the casino – though both will be at a much smaller capacity due to social distancing restrictions.

There will be no craps games, roulette games, poker games, poker rooms, and the numbers of slots will be reduced. While about 1,500 to 2,000 workers on the rolls will return for trainings and guidelines about opening that portion of the casino resort, another 3,000 will have to be furloughed.

“Pending final approval, Encore Boston Harbor plans to re-open the casino gaming area and supporting food and beverage outlets around the casino,” read a statement from the casino. “It also plans to open the hotel on a limited basis. When it re-opens, Encore Boston Harbor will bring back its employees in a thoughtful and measured protocol. Some employees working in the re-opened amenities and restaurants will return to work. Employees, who worked in areas for which a re-opening date is uncertain due to current restrictions, are being placed on furlough until further notice.”

Already, approximately 11 percent of the Encore workforce had been placed on furlough June 1. Prior to that – since the voluntary closing of the resort on March 15, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox had made the decision to continue paying all employees and tipped employees. That was extended through the end of May, though properties at Las Vegas and Macau opened to the public and Encore Boston Harbor remained closed.

Encore had come up with an extensive health and safety program in May that was developed in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University – and was also used at their other properties. Encore said it would use that as a road map, as well as the new guidelines from the MGC passed last week.

“In addition to the previously released Health and Safety Program, Encore Boston Harbor supports and will adhere to the additional directives aimed to reduce the risk to public health set forth by the MGC, including reductions in available gaming capacity,” read the statement. “As a result, the resort will re-open with amenities appropriate to the new rules and in support of the anticipated number of guests.”

The gaming industry has been a big question mark as COVID-19 restrictions lift and operators from China to Las Vegas to Everett wonder if customers will return in the numbers that were previously hosted. This has been often pondered in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings from Wynn Resorts over the several months.

Encore officials said while many employees will be furloughed, it doesn’t mean their jobs are lost. They will be brought back thoughtfully, he said, as time goes by and restaurants, nightclubs and the full hotel can open.

Mayor Carlo DeMaria said he had confidence the casino would make good in rehiring all of the furloughed employees once the casino is up and running – and more areas are safe to open to the public.

Encore Casino Everett Opening Day

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, Encore has made a good-faith effort to keep employees on the payroll with full benefits,” he said. “While it is unfortunate that they have to furlough many employees because they have generated zero revenue, I’m optimistic that once the casino re-opens they will be rehired.”

City Councilor Michael McLaughlin – who represents the area – said it shows no one, not even Encore, is immune to COVID-19.

“Hearing that 3,000 of those long promised and dreamed of careers have been furloughed is not pleasant news,” he said. “The time is now to stand up and work together to help regain our careers and businesses that call Everett home. I am sure for the 3,000 workers furloughed this week this news doesn’t come lightly to you and your families. I hope that we all can come together to support the families across our region that have negatively been hurt by this unfortunate situation.”

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