Encore Boston Harbor Notches $48.5 Million in July Revenue, More Than Double That of MGM Springfield

Posted on: August 15, 2019, 12:09h. 

Last updated on: August 16, 2019, 12:42h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Encore Boston Harbor, the first Wynn Resorts US gaming property not located in Las Vegas, is off to a fast start. The Everett, Mass. casino, which opened on June 23, posted July gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $48.57 million, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).

Encore Boston Harbor’s fast start has nearby rivals feeling the heat. (Image: Boston Globe)

Encore Boston Harbor’s July GGR haul was more than the revenue generated by the Bay State’s other two gaming properties – MGM Springfield and the slots-only Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) – combined. MGM Springfield and PPC had July GGR of $20.39 million and $12.53 million, respectively.

PPC, a category 2 slots facility, is taxed on 49% of GGR. Of that total taxed amount, 82% is paid to Local Aid, and 18% is allotted to the Race Horse Development Fund. MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor, category 1 resort-casinos, are taxed on 25% of GGR,” said the MGC in a statement.

The three gaming venues combined for $23.38 million in tax receipts for the state last month, with the Wynn property accounting for more than half that tally at $12.14 million.

A Tale Of Two Casinos

After being open for just eight days in June, July was the first full month of operation for Encore Boston Harbor. But the venue quickly contributed, albeit modestly, to Wynn’s second-quarter results. The company said the Massachusetts casino chipped in $18.8 million in revenue and $100,000 in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter ending June 30.

In those eight days in June, Encore Boston Harbor had GGR of $16.78 million compared to $19.95 million for MGM Springfield, which was open the entire month.

While July was better than June for MGM’s Massachusetts property, the seventh month of the year was the third-worst full month for the casino. Excluding August 2018 when it was open for just nine days, MGM Springfield’s three worst GGR months since launch all occurred in the first seven months of 2019 – January, June and July.

As of the end of July, that integrated resort has generated $252.82 million in GGR since opening, putting it well behind the estimated $400 million in first year gaming turnover MGM and Massachusetts were expecting when the property debuted.

Conversely, if July proves to be an accurate indicator, the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor will easily surpass state expectations of first year GGR of $540 million.

New England Giant

Encore Boston Harbor, widely viewed by Wall Street as essential to Wynn’s efforts to diversify its revenue stream away from Macau, is already proving to be a regional giant. In about 40 days of business, the casino notched GGR of $65.35 million, more than the combined May through July sum for MGM Springfield.

The MGM property isn’t the only one being crimped by the Wynn casino. Earlier this week, Twin River Worldwide Holdings, the operator of Rhode Island’s two casinos, said it’s laying off 30 workers at its namesake property in Lincoln, R.I. amid competitive pressure from the new Massachusetts gaming venue.