The Encore Boston Harbor is a casino project in Everett, Massachusetts, scheduled to open in late June by Wynn Resorts. The casino cost $2.6bn (£2.0bn) to create and has faced scrutiny over the past few months. The property faced losing its license due to sexual misconduct allegations against the former founder of the company Steve Wynn. Nov 14, 2020 Wynn’s Las Vegas Operations had the second-least losses of any of Wynn’s international holdings, though they still suffered significantly, particularly when compared to Wynn’s Boston Harbor location. In Las Vegas, Wynn’s integrated resort-casino experienced operational revenue loss of $212.8 million in Q3.

[toc]The opening of the $2.4 billion Wynn Boston Harbor Casino in Massachusetts is still a year and a half away, but the property is beginning to take shape.

Located on the banks of the Mystic River in Everett, Massachusetts, Wynn Boston Harbor is being touted as America’s first urban five-star gaming resort. As such, visitors should expect to be wowed with the lavish décor and world-class amenities.

Here’s a glimpse at what the resort casino will have to offer.

A quick history of Wynn Boston Harbor

Wynn Resorts owns and operates Wynn Boston Harbor.

Even though it will be the last of the three approved Massachusetts commercial casinos to open its doors, Wynn will be the grandest and the most popular.

The Wynn project has a few things working in its favor.

Wynn Boston Harbor Casino Location Map

First, it’s located just outside of Boston proper. As they say,location, location, location.

Second, the company is investing a lot of money in its success. The casino will have a final price tag some 2.5-times forthcoming MGM Springfield Casino in western Massachusetts.

Wynn Boston Harbor was the most controversial of the three Massachusetts casinos. That is part of the reason it is the last to open.

In addition to the usual hullabaloo that accompanies any large scale building project, local lawsuits over revenue sharing and the land Wynn purchased for the property having ties to mobsters stalled the casino’s construction.

Despite the casinos travails, it’s been relatively smooth sailing since Wynn broke ground on the project.

Wynn Boston Harbor entertainment

At this point there are scant details about the casino’s on-site entertainment options.

The property will almost certainly boast some type of theater for shows, as well as live music in night clubs, bars, and perhaps the pool area.

However, Wynn might scale down some of its entertainment options, considering the casino’s proximity to Boston, and its plethora of theater and entertainment choices.

One thing we do know, Wynn Boston Harbor will have a 36,000 square-foot ballroom and meeting space that it will use to host special events like New Year’s Eve parties.

Wynn Boston Harbor restaurants

Wynn Boston Harbor will boast 13 restaurants, dining options, and bars.

In a March 2017 interview with the Everett Independent, Wynn Boston Harbor President Bob DeSalvio gave a few hints at the types of restaurants that visitors will be able to choose from.

The cuisines DeSalvio named included:

• An oyster bar
• An Asian fusion restaurant
• An Italian fine dining restaurant
• A casual Italian restaurant
• A craft brewery

Wynn Boston Harbor Construction

But with its opening still 18 months in the future, only a single restaurant has officially been linked to the property.

Sinatra

Wynn is bringing one of its top restaurant brands to Boston: Sinatra. There is already a Sinatra Restaurant in Wynn Encore Casino in Las Vegas.

According to a press release by Wynn Boston Harbor “the Sinatra menu will include many of Ol’ Blue Eyes favorite dishes such as spaghetti and clams and ossobuco.”

The décor at Sinatra Wynn Boston Harbor will feature plenty of Sinatra memorabilia, including his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in “From Here to Eternity” and his Grammy Award for “Strangers in the Night.”

Wynn Boston Harbor amenities

Hotel and grounds

Wynn Boston Harbor includes a 29-story hotel with 671 rooms and suites.

The casino will have a 3,000-space, four-story underground parking garage, as well as an additional 800 parking spots offsite.

The amenities offered at the five-star property include:

• A full service spa
• Fitness facility
• Outdoor space
• An indoor garden
• Harbor walk

Retail

Original plans called for over 56,000 square feet of retail space. After finding high-end tenants proved problematic, that number dropped to just 9,000 square feet.

Other than being ultra-high-end, little is known about what kind of stores the retail space will house.

The ballroom

As noted above, the property will have a 36,000 square-foot multi-use convention space. That will make Wynn Boston Harbor the second-largest convention space in Boston.

The ballroom was added late in the process, replacing some of the planned retail locations. DeSalvio explained the change to the Everett Independent in March:

“There is a real shortage of large ballroom space in our particular region. The largest ballroom available here is at the Convention Center (in South Boston). With this change, we would have the largest ballroom in the Greater Boston area.”

In addition to the main room there are also 10 smaller meeting rooms available.

Wynn Boston Harbor gaming

Gaming is central to any casino, but Wynn properties tend to rely less on gaming than its competitors, preferring non-gaming revenue.

That said, the casino will have a 200,000 square-foot casino floor that will house:

• 2,500 slot machines
• 150 table games
• A 90-plus table poker room

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