Encore Boston Harbor's new sportsbook - take a sneak peek
BOSTON - The Encore Boston Harbor sportsbook is a money printing behemoth about to awake from a long slumber of delays and debate. Sports betting will go live in Massachusetts on Tuesday, January 31 at 10 a.m.
A 123-foot video wall towers above a semi-circle of tables, chairs and betting kiosks at the new WynnBet Sportsbook at Encore Boston Harbor.
Jenny Holaday is the president of Encore Boston Harbor which is counting down the minutes to the start of what might be the closest thing to a sure bet.
"It's only ours to mess up. Are you kidding? The only place to place a bet in the Greater Boston area in advance the Super Bowl," Holaday said.
The sports betting goes far beyond the sportsbook area. There are 120 kiosks sprawled across the casino. You can put money on a game parked on a sofa or somewhere else.
Right now, Encore is the only casino with a license for what is basically drive-thru betting. Inside the garage, there are spaces for 15-minute parking. You will be able to park your car, run into the Express Sportsbook, make a bet, jump back into the car and head out.
Is something like drive-thru betting too easy?
"I think that that actually becomes a bigger consideration with mobile," Holaday said. "It doesn't get any easier than being able to place a sports bet from the comfort of your own home."
Mobile betting is a few months off. So, the casinos are the only game in town.
Alan Berg is the man who will set the betting lines at Encore, deciding who's the favorite and the underdog. He expects a lot of casual bettors who will put money on the local teams which are red hot.
"The biggest challenge is we are going to have plenty of Celtics money, plenty of Bruins money, so when they do well, we'll probably have a tough night," Berg said.
State lawmakers have projected that sports betting will bring in about $60 million in tax revenue per year. However, the state treasurer has said it may be more like $35-50 million.