Encore Casino Opening Day
Gullbrants said parent company Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) is exploring a four-day operating week at Encore. George it’s impossible to know how many people are going to want to visit a casino. 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.
In the three month period, it reportedly cost $1.45 million a day to run the casino.
Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee!
The Encore is spending a whole lot of cash keeping things running at the state’s newest casino.
In a conference call with its analysts this week, Wynn Resorts acknowledged that it costs roughly $1.45 million a day to pay its blackjack dealers, tend to its tens of thousands of flowers, polish the multimillion dollar Popeye statue and so on. In the three-month period ending in September, which is the first full quarter its been in operation, the casino says it lost about $41.7 million.
The day-to-day costs are likely too high, according to Wynn CEO Matt Maddox, who said, after its first full quarter since opening this summer, that the casino will be looking to cut costs, according to Commonwealth. Much of that he attributed to the growing pains of a brand new gaming facility, which hasn’t been around long enough to find efficiencies. That may mean it won’t need all of the estimated 4,800 people who currently work there.
“Clearly when you open a property you have more staff than you end up needing when you operate in a very efficient way,” Maddox said on the call. “I would think the $1.4 million will definitely be on a downward trajectory in 2020.”
In the three month period ending in September, the Encore reported $175.8 million in revenue, about $115 million of which came from gambling.
Maddox also addressed the fact that slots appear to be underperforming at the casino, but said he expected interest to trend upward over time, particularly once Encore gets a rewards and marketing program off the ground to entice slots gamblers to come back.
Still, the Encore, like the state’s other relatively new casinos, appear to be off to a slower than expected start, at least for now.
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.
The Encore Hotel will remain closed for the time being.
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.
Encore Casino Everett Opening Day
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.
Encore Casino Opening Day
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.