Encore Boston Harbor: How Wynn Got a $2.6B Casino Built on a Toxic Waste Site
Encore Boston Harbor opened June 2019 on a former Monsanto chemical site in Everett, MA. The $2.6B build was Steve Wynn's last project — and he was forced out before it opened. A casino with a complicated origin.
Encore Boston Harbor opened June 23, 2019 in Everett, MA — Boston's industrial neighbor. The site was a former Monsanto chemical-waste plant; Wynn spent $30M on environmental remediation alone. Total project cost: $2.6B. Wynn was forced out of his own company in 2018, before the property opened. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission almost revoked the license over the harassment allegations but ultimately allowed the opening. It's now Wynn Resorts' only US property outside Vegas.
Encore Boston Harbor is the Wynn property most Americans haven't been to. Located in Everett, Massachusetts (a working-class city across the river from Boston), it's the only full-scale casino resort in eastern Massachusetts. The path to opening it was unusually difficult.
The Massachusetts gaming legalization
Massachusetts legalized commercial casino gaming in 2011 — the last major Northeast state to do so. The legislation authorized one resort casino license each in three regions: Western, Central, and Eastern Massachusetts.
Multiple operators bid for the Eastern license: Mohegan Sun, Caesars, Wynn, and others. Mohegan Sun was initially considered the frontrunner (because of their Connecticut track record). Wynn outbid them on a controversial site selection.
The Monsanto site
The site Wynn picked was the former Monsanto Chemical Plant in Everett, MA. The plant had operated 1929-1969 producing sulfuric acid, plasticizers, and other industrial chemicals. The land was contaminated with arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals.
Wynn spent $30M+ on environmental remediation — excavating contaminated soil, capping the site, monitoring groundwater. The MA Department of Environmental Protection certification took 18 months.
The Everett city council backed the project (the property tax revenue and jobs were transformational for a struggling small city). The Boston city government opposed it (concerned about traffic, crime spillover).
The Steve Wynn ousting
In January 2018 the Wall Street Journal published its harassment investigation. Wynn resigned within weeks. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission opened its own investigation specifically into the Encore Boston license — could a casino be operated under the Wynn name if Wynn himself was disqualified?
The investigation took 14 months. The MGC's final ruling: the license could remain with Wynn Resorts (the corporation) but came with a $35M fine and a requirement to upgrade compliance, governance, and harassment-prevention training across the company.
The casino was allowed to open. Wynn himself was permanently barred from any operational role.
The opening — June 2019
Encore Boston Harbor opened June 23, 2019. The property:
- 671 hotel rooms (smaller than typical Wynn)
- 210,000 sqft casino floor
- 3,158 slot machines
- 143 table games
- 16 restaurants
- A harborfront with views of Boston
The property was an immediate success — within 6 months it was the highest-grossing casino in New England, exceeding Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
The Boston metro had no Vegas-style luxury casino before Encore. Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are 90+ minutes south in Connecticut. Encore captured the entire Boston-Cambridge demographic that previously crossed state lines or skipped destination casinos entirely.
What's distinct about Encore Boston
Three things distinguish Encore Boston from typical Vegas Wynn properties:
- Smaller scale. The hotel is 671 rooms vs Wynn LV's 4,748 rooms. Massachusetts regulators required the smaller footprint to manage traffic and community impact.
- No high-roller infrastructure. Massachusetts gaming regulations prohibit some high-roller marketing practices common in Vegas (e.g., aggressive comp targeting based on rated play above thresholds). Encore Boston operates more like a regional casino than a destination property.
- Convention-light. Massachusetts didn't approve major meeting/convention space. The property is leisure-and-restaurant focused.
Wynn Rewards integration
Wynn Rewards covers all three Wynn properties: Wynn Las Vegas, Encore Las Vegas, and Encore Boston Harbor (plus Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace internationally). Tier credits are pooled across all properties. A Boston player can build status that's recognized in Vegas; a Vegas player gets recognition in Boston.
For Boston-area players: Encore is the closest Wynn-tier property by 2,500 miles. The status reciprocity is a real benefit if you're a Wynn fan who can't fly to Vegas often.
The future
Wynn Resorts has been pursuing additional licenses: a New York downstate license, a UAE Ras Al Khaimah license (announced 2022, opens 2027). Encore Boston was Wynn's last US build under Steve Wynn personally. The future of Wynn's US footprint will be built by the post-2018 management.
For our take on Wynn's broader story: how Steve Wynn reinvented Vegas twice.
Topics
- encore
- boston
- wynn
- history