Encore Misses Second HCA Payment Date

City officials confirmed Encore Boston Harbor did not make more than $12 million in Host Community Agreement (HCA) payments by June 30 as it said in April it would do, and City officials are working with the company to get payment by July 15.

“Encore did not pay us today,” said City spokesperson Deanna Devaney on June 30. “They will pay us on or before July 15. There are no penalties. The City is committed to working with them considering there have been no revenues coming in for them.”

In the wake of closing on March 15, Encore had a scheduled 3rd Quarter payment of just more than $6 million per the HCA. Being closed, it was not able to make that payment, but assured the City it would pay by June 30 along with the 4th Quarter HCA payment. It amounted to a payment of about $12.5 million.

However, the lockdown and closures have continued on and Encore has yet to re-open, though Las Vegas and Macau properties have opened within the Wynn group.

The confirmation of missing the third and fourth quarter HCA payments comes after Encore was late in paying the first payment in September as well by several weeks. That meant that the casino had been late in paying its HCA obligations three out of four quarters – and that in its first year.

However, it has been more than a rocky year for the company. While the casino opened with great fanfare last June, the restaurant portions and hotel didn’t immediately take off as expected. While the casino gaming did very well in Everett, the food and beverage was slow to catch on through the first year. Having to close completely in March was another difficulty for the company, which it has not yet resolved.

City officials were confident they would get the payment very soon, but looming layoffs at City Hall make the news all that more intense.

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