ENCORE BOSTON HARBOR submitted a memorandum to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Wednesday trying to clear up confusion about concerts and other events held in its casino ballroom and its proposal to open a hotel and entertainment complex across the street in Everett.
Encore believes its proposed entertainment complex is separate and distinct from the casino and should not be subject to Gaming Commission oversight. It also tried to head off concerns raised by the nearby Chevalier Theatre in Medford that Encore has been violating state law by selling between 1,000 and 3,500 tickets to events in its Picasso Ballroom.
The Gaming Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday and its agenda indicates a vote could be taken on both matters. In its memo, prepared by Mintz Levin attorney Tony Starr, Encore sought to defuse both issues.
Starr and officials from Encore told the Gaming Commission on February 10 that the proposed development across Broadway had nothing to do with the casino. The project as currently envisioned features two hotels, bars, restaurants, an event venue, and a 2,900-space parking garage all connected to the casino by an elevated covered bridge over Broadway.
Starr’s power point on February 10 said “the hotels, restaurants, events center, parking garage, and utilities do not enhance Encore’s gaming area by making the entire facility a more attractive destination.” An Encore official said the parking garage would not be used primarily by casino visitors.
But five days later Craig Billings, the CEO of Wynn Resorts, told financial analysts just the opposite. He said the entertainment complex and the parking garage were key to Encore’s growth. “Parking, particularly on weekends, remains a constraint for us,” he said.
In his memorandum on Wednesday, Starr brushed aside the comments made by Billings and dialed back the earlier comments suggesting the entertainment complex and the casino would have nothing to do with each other.
“Encore does not debate that the Proposed Project will have an impact on Encore’s operations and growth,” Starr said in his memo. “Any development or connectivity in this area would have the same impact. For example, the proposed bridge connecting Assembly Row and Encore’s boardwalk is also anticipated to increase visitation to Encore Boston Harbor. As the area grows, in accordance with the City of Everett’s plan for Lower Broadway, Encore anticipates a positive impact to its business and visitation. However, this would occur whether Encore, an affiliate, or a third-party develops the area.”
Starr also tried to defuse claims made by officials associated with Medford and the Chevalier Theatre that Encore has been illegally holding concerts and other events with 1,000 to 3,500 seats in its Picasso Ballroom. The seating limitation was included in the gaming law to protect midsize theaters like the Chevalier, which also receives $100,000 a year from the casino as part of a so-called surrounding community agreement.
Most of the events held in the Picasso ballroom occurred pre-pandemic, but a mixed martial arts fight night is scheduled for next week. A Ticketmaster seating diagram for the fight night indicates more than 1,500 seats are available, but Wynn officials say only 999 tickets are actually for sale.
“While Encore understands that these events are important to the commenters, the events taking place in the Encore Boston Harbor ballroom are immaterial to the Commission’s analysis of whether the Proposed Project [the entertainment complex across the street from the casino] is part of the premises of the gaming establishment,” the Starr memo says. “Encore, however, would be pleased to review past usage of the Encore Boston Harbor ballroom, and will work with the Commission moving forward should the Commission take a different view with respect to these events.”
