The Wynn Resorts, one of the notable casino operators in the industry, has made moves to entice local customers to its establishment. The famed casino is slashing prices at its casino in Massachusetts to increase their client base.
According to Calvin Ayre, the casino resorted to making this move when it became apparent that their focus on VIP bettors had alienated other gamblers.
On Thursday, the MGC (Massachusetts Gaming Commission) held its latest meeting. In this meeting, Wynn Encore’s president disclosed to the commissioners that the casino had reduced its minimum bets to $15 from $50. They also put an end to parking fees paid by customers of the casino.
In the second quarter of 2019, Wynn launched its casino in Boston, which cost them about $2.5 billion. It didn’t take long for the casino to become one of the cash cows for the state. In the past two months, fortunes have changed for the casino as revenue has been on a decline for two months.
A major problem the company is facing is the fact that local gamblers have shunned their services since its inception. This is one of the major reasons the President of Encore, Robert DeSalvio was ousted in October this year.
Gullbrants was elected as the new president, and he spoke to MGC about the Boston casino. He reiterated that they were shifting their focus from VIP’s and concentrating more on local gamblers. They seek to achieve this by launching several reward programs in 2020 which will be of great benefit to their alienated customers.
Encore is the only property of Wynn outside Macau and Las Vegas, and from the look of things, the company was entirely off the mark as regards their estimation of VIPs that would patronize their Boston Casino.
It cost Encore about 3 times what it cost of opening MGM’s Resorts Massachusetts casino. Fortunately for their counterpart, their revenue has been on the rise in recent months as it appears that they were able to survive the initial assault of Encore.
In other news, a federal judge dismissed the $3 billion lawsuit filed by Sterling Suffolk Racecourse (SSR), against Wynn Resorts this week. In 2014, they lost out to fierce rivals for a monopoly of casino license in the Boston.
SSR is the organization behind the defunct Suffolk Downs racetrack. They accused Wynn Resorts of conspiring to alter the bid for a license. This includes hiding the fact that the real estate on which Encore sits was bought from the former Chairman of MGC and a convicted felon.
SSR also accused Wynn of a number of civil violations of the RICO Act (federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations). On Tuesday, Patti Saris, a US District Court Judge, said the allegations of Suffolk did not meet the required standards for RICO violations.
Saris, on the other hand, stated that they would not relent and would take the matter to a state court. They also noted that the SSR
“has already had a fair opportunity to plead a viable set of claims but has failed to do so.” And because of that, her court “will not allow SSR another roll of the dice.”
Immediately after the ruling, SSR stated that they were considering their options and would make public any course of action they decide to take.
