Cheating Accusations Cool Encore Boston Harbor's Hot Start

EVERETT, MA — Encore Boston Harbor raked in $16.8 million in its first week of business, nearly catching MGM Springfield's monthly haul, but a lawsuit filed Monday tossed cold water on the newly opened casino's promising start. The class action suit, filed in Middlesex Superior Court by the Law Offices of Joshua N. Garick, claims Encore is cheating blackjack players and withholding slot machine winnings.

The lawsuit came the same day as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's June Revenue Report, which included figures from Encore, MGM and the Plainridge Park casino. According to the report, Encore made nearly $7.7 million from table games and $9.1 million from slot machines from its opening June 23 to June 30. With three more weeks of business, MGM generated just $4 million more in revenue.

But less than a month in, the casino is already facing a legal battle. The lawsuit accuses Encore of intentionally paying customers "odds of 6 to 5 when a player is dealt a 'blackjack,' when Massachusetts law clearly and unambiguously states that a player who is dealt a 'blackjack' shall be paid at odds of 3 to 2."

This would result in $30 million in additional revenue for the casino each year, the lawsuit claims.

Encore denies any wrongdoing, writing in an email to Patch, "since opening, Encore Boston Harbor follows the Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulations for blackjack payouts." The casino cited state gambling rules, which mention 6 to 5 payouts.

The lawsuit also alleges Encore fails to refund the entire amount of slot winnings to its customers.

"When a slot player cashes out his or her winnings at a ticket redemption machine positioned throughout the casino, these machines only pay out in whole dollar amounts, without paying change, and without instruction on how to obtain the balance," according to the lawsuit. "The unredeemed change, therefore, is never returned to the player and is simply added to Encore's coffers."

The suit seeks to return the "millions of dollars Encore has brazenly stolen and will continue to steal from its customers unless and until it changes its practices to conform with Massachusetts law."

The $2.6 billion resort and casino opened June 23.