Encore Casino's Revenue Tops $175 Million For First Full Quarter

The Encore Boston Harbor resort and casino generated $175.8 million in operating revenue during its first full quarter of business, according to earnings numbers reported Wednesday by its parent company, Wynn Resorts.

According to the company, 65% of that revenue — $114.9 million — came from the casino, while the other $60.9 million came from non-casino revenue sources, including food and beverages, entertainment, retail sales and hotel rooms.

During the most recent quarter, which included July, August and September, Encore generated about $150 million in gross gaming revenue from slots and table games, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. So far, the commission reports, a 25% state tax has brought in about about $37.5 million.

At the current pace, the casino will fall short of the $800 million in revenue that the company previously estimated it could bring in during its first year.

On a conference call following the earnings release, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said revenue from the hotel and table games was "quite encouraging." He predicted that revenue from slots would take time to "ramp up."

"When we opened our doors, in our local database, we had zero customers," he said. "Fast forward 136 days, we have 250,000 people in our database."

With that database of customers, Maddox assured investors that the company is "tweaking" its messaging with the goal of generating more repeat customers.

"In order to compete in a high frequency market where people are coming multiple times a month ... you need to message to the customers what it is you're doing each week, and why they need to come into the property," he said.

Along those lines, Maddox also announced that, for the company's first time in North America, the company would be launching a customer loyalty — or "tiered card" — program early next year.

The $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor opened June 23, despite the gaming commission finding just weeks earlier that Wynn Resorts concealed alleged sexual misconduct by its founder, Steve Wynn. The commission voted to allow Wynn to move forward with its plans for the casino after imposing a multimillion-dollar fine.

The casino's president, Robert DeSalvio, stepped down last month. He was replaced by former hotel food and beverage manager Brian Gullbrants.

According to The Boston Globe, Encore employs approximately 4,800 people. During Wednesday's call, Maddox suggested that the number of workers would likely shrink during 2020.

"Clearly, when you open a property, you have more staff than you end up needing when you're operating in a very efficient way," he said. "You just get smarter."

Correction: An earlier version of this post included an incorrect figure for Encore's total cost to build. We regret the error.