Wynn Everett Poker
Mass Gaming Commission praises resort on new misconduct policies
Meanwhile, the company has a fourth resort under construction: Wynn Boston Harbor (previously rumored as the Wynn Everett project), located in the city of Everett, Massachusetts (not really the city of Boston, but nearby), and expected to open in 2019. Interestingly, each destination of Wynn Resorts Holdings is as luxurious as it gets.
By JOSH RESNEK
In Las Vegas, a group of restaurants owned by Wynn Resorts is reopening this week with restrictions, a sure sign that some sense of normalcy is returning to the Strip.
Who and how many people will come to the restaurants are big questions as many of them cater to the millions of visitors that come to the desert for relaxation and fun.
Also, key are the business meetings and conventions held in Las Vegas which fill the restaurants with attendees, none of which will be happening any time soon – not at least until the end of the summer or later, according to reports in the Las Vegas Sun published this weekend.
May 22, 2019 Imagine a high-stakes poker game involving Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren, gaming commission chair Cathy Judd-Stein, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, and Springfield Mayor. Jun 10, 2019 Everett’s 33-acre casino-resort opens June 23 with 3,158 slot machines, 231 table games, and 800 trees more than 15 feet tall—to name just a few vital numbers. According to Wynn Resorts. Meanwhile, the company has a fourth resort under construction: Wynn Boston Harbor (previously rumored as the Wynn Everett project), located in the city of Everett, Massachusetts (not really the city of Boston, but nearby), and expected to open in 2019. Interestingly, each destination of Wynn Resorts Holdings is as luxurious as it gets. Some more numbers: Encore has 671 hotel rooms, 14 bars and restaurants (and a 24-hour Dunkin'), more than 3,000 slot machines and 144 table games and 88 poker tables. 3,000 - There are 3,000.
Much of the news and the speculation is the same for Encore Boston Harbor in Everett which has been closed since mid-March.
Encore and MGC officials have been communicating but no date for reopening has yet been discussed or set.
In the meantime, the MGC gave Encore and Wynn officials a mostly glowing report as it evaluated the operator’s efforts and policies to limit sexual misconduct at the Encore property in Everett and throughout the company.
This came as a result of the law firm Miller & Chevalier’s 127-page report being reviewed by the MGC at last week’s meeting. Miller & Chevalier lawyers spent close to three hours detailing the results of its report on the monitoring of Wynn CEO Matt Maddox and his team.
That report and its finding are partly the result of the $35 MGC million fine Wynn Resorts was forced to pay to get its license and further stipulations for the company to change its culture which the MGC insisted upon.
Encore Everett
The effort was intended to end the company’s complicity in covering up sexual misconduct allegations against founder and former chairman and CEO Steve Wynn.
To that end, a $500,000 penalty was levied against Maddox, along with the requirements that he and high-ranking executives be monitored by Miller & Chevalier at company expense. The year of monitoring resulted in a tab of $830,000, well above the original estimate of $575,000 to $775,000.
Upon agreeing to a monitoring program last year, Maddox appeared fine with it, saying that in the gaming business, someone is always watching, whether it’s customers, employees, or regulators.
The Miller & Chevalier monitoring submission wasn’t confined to Wynn’s efforts to prevent sexual harassment issues. It also included financial comments on the health of the Everett Encore property, noting that some executives are concerned about the venue’s slow start and the time it’s taking to fully ramp the property up.
Likewise, employees interviewed by the law firm are worried that the operator isn’t supporting Encore Boston Harbor the way it is its two Macau and two Las Vegas integrated resorts.
The property notched just eight full months of business before being shuttered in mid-March by the coronavirus pandemic. During that period, the company was earning about $50 million in gambling revenues per month. Before the casino opened, gambling analysts estimated that Encore would earn about $800 million a year or about $200 million less yearly than estimated when the casino closed down in March because of the virus.
Agent Carter Cast
Employees are concerned that Encore’s promise to pay them, which runs out at the end of May, will lead to layoffs, furloughing and to a much smaller staff. Massachusetts casinos remain closed, and while the MGC is reviewing plans to reopen those venues, the regulator extended the closure period three times. Industry observers are saying Bay State gaming properties will likely be the last to reopen in the US, as MGC isn’t giving a ballpark estimate as to when that will happen.
As part of its plans submitted to the MGC, Wynn said it will eliminate poker and only offer craps in the VIP area of the casino.