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Massachusetts is now home to a large and successful casino industry. One of the best is Encore Boston Harbor, owned and operated by Wynn Resorts. This week, the slots at Encore Boston Harbor were briefly shut down due to a computer issue.
It’s always scary when a casino suffers some type of issue with its computer system. Today, we’re going to look at what caused the slots to shut down. We’ll also look at how the Encore is performing against some of the other casinos in Massachusetts.
Let’s get into it!
History of Massachusetts’ Casino Industry
Just a decade ago, almost no legal gambling options were available in Massachusetts. Lawmakers in this state worked hard to actively ban most forms of wagering. In 2012, residents here decided to officially legalize land-based casinos.
Over the next few years, lawmakers here began coming up with specific regulations for this new industry. The state’s gambling commission was tasked with issuing gaming licenses. In 2018, MGM Resorts International opened the first casino here.
This venue, called MGM Springfield, was expected to be hugely successful. Unfortunately, this has not necessarily been the case. In 2019, Wynn Resorts opened Encore Boston Harbor in the city of Everett, near Boston.
Massachusetts’ casino market is still growing. As of now, only three gaming venues are operating in the state. It’s likely that more will begin opening here over the next couple of years.
Encore Boston Harbor is without a doubt the most popular casino in the state right now. Unfortunately, it suffered a computer issue this week that affected players.
Slots at Encore Boston Harbor Fail Due to Computer Issue
There are nearly 3,000 different slot machines inside Encore Boston Harbor. These games help to bring the casino millions of dollars in revenue every single month. An issue popped up this week, causing these machines to temporarily shut down.
According to Boston 25 News, a system outage this week caused the slots at Encore Boston Harbor to fail. This left hundreds of gamblers without money after depositing cash into the slot machines. Obviously, it caused an uproar inside the venue.
Officials within Encore Boston Harbor commented on the news to the media late Friday night.
“We experienced a brief system outage with our slot ticketing system in which we reverted to hand-paid jackpots. The issue has been resolved and we are paying all winners,” the statement said.
Customers claim that the casinos began operating again at around 9:30 pm.
This is the last thing this casino needed right now. Recently, revenue at this gaming venue began to drop. Is this a sign that MGM Springfield is beginning to take over?
MA Casino Revenue Begins to Fluctuate
Not long after Encore Boston Harbor opened to the public, it became the most popular venue in the state. It captured a huge share of the state’s gambling market and earned significantly more revenue than any other casino.
In January, things took a slight turn. That month, it was the only casino in the state to experience a revenue drop. The Encore earned $6 million less than what it brought in the month before.
Interestingly, MGM Springfield’s revenue surged. Reports indicate that the Springfield casino earned $21 million in January, up $2 million from December. For many, it was surprising to see revenue here begin to increase.
MGM Springfield has been a major disappointment for MGM Resorts over the past couple of years. The casino has generated significantly less money than initially expected. MGM continues to invest money here, though, and it now appears that the company’s hard work is paying off.
The slots at Encore Boston Harbor are back up and running. Officials at Wynn Resorts will want to ensure this does not happen again.
Encore Boston Slot Winners
Stay tuned for more Massachusetts casino news over the next few months!