Encore Boston Harbor Squeezing Other Regional Casinos

Encore Boston Harbor impact

Following the passage of its casino expansion act in 2011, there was a great concern that casinos in Massachusetts would take a toll on the existing New England casinos in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Up until the opening of Encore Boston Harbor, the impact was limited to Connecticut casinos. Following the opening of Encore Boston Harbor, that erosion has hit the entire region.

Plainridge Park Casino opened its doors in 2015, and despite its proximity to Twin River in Lincoln, Rhode Island and the tribal casinos in Connecticut, the slot parlor in small-town Massachusetts had a minimal impact on gaming across the region.

MGM Springfield was a different ball of wax. The billion-dollar resort casino just over the Connecticut border and created a northern choke point for Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Revenues certainly declined, but the two tribal casinos weathered the MGM storm, and Twin River was virtually unaffected.

Encore Boston Harbor is proving itself to be a more formidable opponent for all involved. Not only for the Connecticut tribal casinos but also for Twin River and the other Massachusetts casinos.

What the Massachusetts Revenue Numbers Tell Us

Encore Boston Harbor opened its doors on June 23, and its impact was immediate. The property has generated at least $45 million in gross gaming revenue from July to November. By comparison, monthly GGR at MGM Springfield routinely falls between $20-$25 million, and Plainridge Park historically generates between $12-$15 million monthly.

In November, Plainridge Park had its worst month in its four-year history. And that isn’t an outlier. In terms of GGR, the last three months rank as three of the four worst months in the property’s history.

MGM Springfield is several hours away from Boston and has avoided a pronounced drop in revenue since the opening of Encore Boston Harbor. Still, MGM Springfield had its second-worst month to date in November.

Damage Was Already Done in Connecticut

Connecticut’s tribal casinos have been in decline for years, long before the arrival of Massachusetts casinos.

So it’s not surprising that revenues at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun haven’t been overly impacted since the opening of Encore Boston Harbor. More impactful was the opening of Plainridge Park in 2015, MGM Springfield in 2018, and before that, the continued expansion efforts that have taken place at Twin River.

That points to the Connecticut casinos having reached their floor. Meaning, they already lost customers to the other casinos and their current clientele is loyal to the casinos. So, rather than Encore pulling more customers from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, Encore is pulling former Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods customers from the other casinos in the region.

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Twin River Takes a Hit from Encore Boston Harbor

On the other hand, Twin River went largely unaffected by Plainridge Park and MGM Springfield. However, revenue has taken a serious hit since the opening of Encore Boston Harbor.

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Bottom Line

There are two takeaways from the recent New England casino numbers:

  1. Connecticut casinos may have already hit their floor.
  2. The closer your casino is to Encore Boston Harbor the bigger the (negative) impact.

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