Two Encore Fitness Center passes per day. Unlimited local and domestic long-distance calls. VIP line pass to Wynn and Encore nightclubs for tickets purchased through Wynn Concierge. VIP line pass to The Buffet at Wynn for up to four guests. Guaranteed best available show tickets when purchased through Wynn Concierge. — Encore Boston Harbor has officially reopened its doors to the public on Sunday, July 12, nearly four months after the casino closed its doors amid the worldwide coronavirus.

BY JOSH RESNEK

If everything goes according to current plans, Encore Boston Harbor Casino could be opening again on June 29. Last minute changes and additions to health and safety standards by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, all part of the new normal caused by safety measures the state is imposing, could cause the reopening to be put off a few days or even a week or two.

The MGC is also weighing occupancy limits, an issue the licensees have raised issues about.

At a fraction of occupancy, Encore, and the other casinos operating in Massachusetts, cannot possibly generate the income needed to meet their obligations and to turn a profit.

Encore’s question to the MGC: “Will reduced capacity include taking into consideration employee counts?”

Short term, this is not the end of the world.

Long term, it is a business killer.

Limiting the number of people gaming inside the casino at any given time raises a big issue with management because so many employees are inside the casino to begin with.

Also, the MGC’s requirement that plexiglass shields be installed at all gaming tables is another matter that will likely cause serious negative cumulative effects on doing business.

At least a week before reopening, Encore and each licensee will be required to submit its own plan detailing “the steps and measures the licensee will take to achieve compliance with the guidance and protocols” to the Gaming Commission, and each facility will have to be fully cleaned and disinfected.

Upon arrival, gamblers will be told not to enter if they have recently had any COVID-19 symptoms, casino staffers will hand out masks or face coverings if guests do not have their own, and hand sanitizer will be made available. Players will be required to wear something that covers their nose and mouth upon entry and while in the gaming area.

The casinos will be asked to limit how often players touch cards or chips and will have to develop a protocol for chip sanitization so that all chips have been sanitized before they are issued. Each facility will also have to come up with a plan to replace cards based on volume and frequency of play.

Encore Casino Boston Opening Day 2020

The Encore Hotel will remain closed for the time being.

Encore Casino Boston Opening Day 2019

Restaurants inside the casino and hotel will also remain closed and when reopened, will remain subject to restrictive health and hygiene standards imposed by the state.

Wynn Resorts stock has fallen about $6 a share since last week. The price this week was in the range of $87 per share.

The market cap, that is, the value of all the outstanding stock was $10 billion last week. It begins this week at $9.36 billion.

Wynn’s cash cow is its operation in Macau, China. Since reopening there some weeks back, gross gaming revenue was about 25% of its historical run rate, according to Barron’s.

Wynn’s Las Vegas operation opened two weeks ago. Figures have not yet been released. However, there is a great wave of relief among Wynn officials that the doors are again open, and people are coming inside to gamble.

Massachusetts’ three casinos — MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park — are working to reopen with Encore using June 29 as its target with the understanding that the date could change.

Each operator also told state regulators Thursday that they’ll need at least two weeks to reconfigure the gambling floor to spread out slot machines and ensure gamblers at table games are far enough away from each other to insure social distancing. Employees will also have to be brought back and retrained.

MGM Springfield stayed away from a specific target date, only saying it is working to welcome its guests.

And, as Massachusetts Gaming Commission Interim Executive Director Karen Wells said Thursday, two weeks from June 29 is just a few days from now, Monday June 15, giving the casinos just a few days to find out the specifics of how their operations will have to change in the COVID-19 environment. And Massachusetts Gaming Commissioners worked toward a reopening plan, but didn’t finalize it Thursday.

The commission’s focus is on social distancing, health, hygiene, safety and reporting measures for each casino.

The three casinos have been closed since March 15 with most employees furloughed.

Meanwhile casinos are opening up all over the country. In neighboring Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe reopened Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun at the beginning of this month. Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode island is open by invitation only.Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York, is still closed.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Thursday it needs more guidance from the state about the need for six-foot distancing between slot machines and if that’s dependent on on other barriers being in place or if that distance can be lessened of other barriers are not in place.

Commissioners reached a consensus on requiring Plexiglas barriers for blackjack and for similar games, but stopped short of requiring the shields for poker, craps and roulette because the shields — common in groceries and retail locations — might prove too cumbersome to use effectively.

There was also much discussion of mask requirements and if hand sanitizer should be mandatory or just available. Commissioners discussed the dangers of handling cards and passing them back and fort.. What about chips handled and lost by one gambler getting paid out as winnings to the next gambler almost immediately?

“What we are trying to do is to layer as many provisions as are feasible in order to minimize the overall risk,” said commissioner Enrique Zuniga. “We are not going to bring down the risk to zero. Let’s face it. That’s true for every other industry. What we are left with is the workability of each precaution.”

Brian Gullbrants, president of Encore Boston Harbor, said said Encore’s already started making prepartions with plans to install barriers on all regular blackjack games but not on other games and not on the casino 's high roller games.

MGM Springfield executives said they’d planned to install Plexiglas at some, but no all games so it would be the patron’s choice whether to play with or without a barrier.

Even under the most strict rules under consideration by the commission, slot gaming positions at MGM Springfield would be reduced to 589 out of 1,768 before the restrictions. That would allow for two disabled machines between each operating machine.

Allowing for only one disable machine, MGM Springfield would have room for 884 slot players out of 1,768.

Slot capacity at Encore goes to 935 out of 2,804 with two disabled machines between each operating machine. It’s 1,402 out of 2,804 at Encore every other machine to be disabled.

Slot gaming positions at Plainridge are calculated at approx. 440 out of 1,320 allowing for two disabled machines between each operating machine. A six foot minimum distancing between slot machines allows for a total of approx. 385 slot positions. There is room for 660 out of 1,320, operating machines with which every other machine to be disabled, according to the gaming commission.

The commission is considering reducing the number of roulette players at MGM Springfield to 24 if there are three players maximum per roulette table but there could be as few as nine roulette players if there are just three allowed per row in order to keep them distanced.

There was also discussion about how how best to pay off winners. Should cash be counted into the hand? On to a table or surface?

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Timothy Sheehan, the city;'s chief development officer, said they’ve been kept up to date on MGM Springfield’s reopening plans.

Sheehan said MGM Springfield is working with an epidemiologists, making sure its precautions mesh with the latest science .

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