Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chastises Encore Boston Harbor for Initial Response to Oversize Hotel Party
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Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) officials have scolded Encore Boston Harbor after an oversize party took place in a hotel suite earlier this month. The crowd size violated state safety guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
During Thursday’s (August 27) meeting, the MGC reviewed the casino’s response to August 17 to 18 late-night get-together which attracted over 110 guests, most of whom were not wearing face masks. The crowd size was far more than the 25-person indoor-limit now in place in Massachusetts.
An Encore butler notified his colleagues about the crowd size that night, but the conditions were not fully addressed until some three hours later.
What was most egregious for me was that happened, and our licensee got notice over three hours. And at least one employee, the butler, did exactly the right thing and went and notified his fellow employees to have action taken,” MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said during Thursday’s commission meeting.
In response to the incident, Commissioner Enrique Zuniga suggested that other guests at the party — not just the renter of the suite — be issued a $500 citation.
“Might hopefully be a deterrent,” Zuniga said. “It takes many people to act foolishly.”
MGC Deputy Director Loretta Lillios responded that expanding the number of partygoers who get fined could be considered.
MGC Commissioner Gayle Cameron added that “certainly this is much more serious than just being disturbed by noise. Whatever measures they [Encore] had before were obviously not effective enough.”
Commissioner Eileen O’Brien further warned that “if we would need to take any further action, we could.”
The MGC issued a notice of non-compliance to Encore Boston Harbor for the incident, Lillios said. The renter of the suite not only got the $500 fine but was charged with disorderly conduct.
In the past year, the Encore Boston Harbor was the scene of multiple arrests. Among these were charges of disorderly conduct and assault.
MGC Praises Encore Boston Harbor for Subsequent Steps
O’Brien and several other MGC commissioners did compliment Encore Boston Harbor for subsequent actions staff did take in response to the party and the prevention of future violations.
“They appreciate the severity of the lapse that happened….,” O’Brien said. Among the new rules at the Encore are restricting capacity in hotel rooms to four guests or eight guests in a hotel suite.
They’re getting this under control,” MGC Investigations and Enforcement Bureau Assistant Director Bruce Band said. “Encore seems to be holding fast to their new rules, really sticking to their guns.”
As a result of the new rules, multiple guests already canceled their reservations. This month, guests in eight different rooms also were evicted for breaking the casino hotel’s new rules. They were also fined, Bond said.
“Flaunting of the safety measures is unacceptable to the property. And they [Encore] have put significant action and resources behind it,” Lillios said.
The Encore itself issued a $3,000 fine against the August 17 renter of the suite, Lillios said. Any damage reimbursement would be above that.
“To put it plainly, the stakes are too high for anything but full compliance with those safety standards,” Judd-Stein said.
In a statement provided to Casino.org, Encore Boston Harbor said that effectively immediately all supplies taken to guest rooms are monitored to ensure there are no party materials or excessive quantities of food and beverages. Also, hotel hallways and elevator banks are getting monitored to ensure physical distancing and room occupancy rules are followed.
If parties are held with higher than allowed attendance in rooms or suites, the hotel will issue a $3,000 fine and the crowd will be dispersed.
Expert: Encore Failed to Completely Implement Policies
When asked for comment on the Encore incident, the Rev. Richard McGowan, a finance professor at Boston College who closely follows New England gambling trends, told Casino.org that “It sounds as if Encore had the correct policies but failed to implement [them] completely.
“Encore Boston Harbor has some magnificent suites and they were rented to groups who obviously [had] … taken no notice of COVID-19 restrictions for [that] … size of a group,” McGowan said. “One would hope that everyone is concerned with stopping the spread of the COVID virus. Large gatherings are breeding grounds for the virus.”
The post Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chastises Encore Boston Harbor for Initial Response to Oversize Hotel Party appeared first on Casino.org.
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