New Restrictions Not a Major Impact on Encore Right Now

New restrictions for occupancy by the state will likely not affect Encore Boston Harbor, a spokesman said over the weekend.

Restrictions in place and announced on Friday were not expected to have a significant impact on the resort, but if there were further upticks, Spokesman Eric Kraus said they would abide by any new restrictions.

“If the governor and the state have to roll back, we will roll back,” he said. “No one wants to have an uptick in positive results. We will do whatever we can to help the state reduce any increases. The best thing we can do is provide a safe environment to have a safe experience.”

Kraus further said they have no plans to furlough any workers right now, responding to rampant rumors around Everett that the casino was having to pull back on employment.

“We have no plans for a furlough at this time,” he said. “We still have 1,400 on furlough and would love to bring them back. Everything is dictated by business demand. If there is demand, there will not be furloughs.”

Kraus said the safety program put in place one month ago for their opening has been working remarkably well.

“It really is very effective,” he said. “We’re seeing more volume on slots and we’re starting to see people come back to the tables. Day-to-day performance is what we expected – no surprises.”

Encore will be before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on Thursday, Aug. 13, to discuss the possibility of bringing in Roulette and Craps games through a piloted device created at Encore for socially distanced standing games.

The MGC will also talk about the prospects of returning poker to the casinos potentially.

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