Encore Boston Harbor Opening Officially Approved
EVERETT (CBS) -- Encore Boston Harbor's President Robert DeSalvio made the announcement from a podium on the floor of his new Casino, saying gaming officials were there past midnight Thursday
"Encore Boston Harbor has received its operating certificate from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, and we will open at 10 a.m. Sunday morning."
In anticipation of the grand opening, Encore officials took news crews on tours of the facility, showing some of the resort's top-shelf options. Tours passed a $28 million Popeye statue on the way to a restaurant that sells a $68 lobster roll. Some hotel suites run more than $10,000 per night. There are more than 3,100 slot machines, 231 gaming tables and 15 establishments for eating, drinking and dancing.
"The thing that I'm most proud of are the 5,000 plus employees that we have been able to hire. It's over $3 million in payroll that's coming to this community right now. It's a new day for a lot of people, it's a new start. And when you walk around, you're going to see a lot of smiling faces," said Maddox. "Our people are our asset."
He said he hoped the number of employees would go up to 5,800 in the near future.
About 7,400 construction workers helped build the site, 7 percent of which was female, said Maddox, the largest percentage at any construction site of that size in the U.S.
"I know [this] is one of the most anticipated resort openings on the planet. I was in China a few weeks ago, everyone was talking about Massachusetts," said Wynn CEO Matt Maddox. When he and other casino executives spoke at a Friday news conference, it was the money the resort is pumping out to the community that they focused on. "The 5,000 plus employees that we were able to hire. It's over $300 million of payroll that's coming to this community right now."
Mayor Carlo DeMaria called the city's relationship with Encore Boston Harbor a "true partnership."
"To think about it. Think about it. They spent 70, 80 million dollars to clean up. It was a disaster. It was polluted. It was leaching into the Boston Harbor," DeMaria said. He is banking on the fact that all that money rolling in and out of the new casino could change the face of Everett.
"We were defined for many years as a gritty, industrial city that had tough guys that played football. We're still tough guys that play football but we're no longer a gritty city. We're a city that's on the move," said DeMaria.
Maddox also said the company has purchased 11 acres across the street from the casino and plans to work with the city to create an "entertainment district."
