62 fewer tables than pre-pandemic
Encore Boston Harbor, one of just two resort-style casinos in Massachusetts, finally reopened its poker room on Monday, January 31. It was a long wait for eager poker players, as the state’s casinos closed – along with most casinos around the U.S. – in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They finally reopened with serious restrictions in the summer of 2020, but the poker rooms stayed closed. So after all this time, poker players have got to be happy about this week, right? Maybe not.
The casino had announced that if it reopened the poker room, “it will likely be at a reduced capacity.” And reduced capacity it is. Before the pandemic, Encore Boston Harbor had 74 poker tables. Now? Just a dozen.
As such, there were long wait lists to get a seat. As of this writing (early evening ET), according to Poker Atlas (which handles the wait list registration for Encore Boston Harbor), there are eight tables of $1/$3 No-Limit Hold’em, two $2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em, and one each of $5/$10 No-Limit Hold’em and $2/$2 Pot-Limit Omaha. The wait lists are 41, 24, six, and four, respectively.
Hours are limited, rake is punishing
Most of those on the wait list right now will never get a seat because another thing that has disappointed players upon the poker room’s reopening is its hours. According to the casino’s website, the poker room is only open Monday through Thursday from 10:00am to 8:00pm.
No late nights (not even the primetime television hours) and no weekends is going to put quite the cramp in poker players’ styles. One would guess the casino has other plans for the space during the down times, but boy, that stinks.
And then there is the rake. It is not published on the casino’s website, but according to players, it is 10% up to $10 per hand, which counts the lowest stakes. A rake that high makes the game impossible to beat. Short term, sure, you could win a big hand or two and walk away happy, but for anyone planning on the daily grind, that sort of rake just isn’t going to work.
Players lay into Encore
Players are making their voices heard, tearing Encore Boston Harbor a new one. Chase Bianchi, who finished ninth in the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event said he isn’t going back:
Over in the comment section of Poker Atlas, most reviews of the poker room since yesterday’s reopening are scathing.
“Seems like Encore is trying to turn away the poker community,” someone named “malinsky said. “Based on the number of tables, high rake, and laughable hours I wouldn’t even consider coming here to play. Have destroyed a quality poker room.”
“TrittoMark” wrote, “Closing at 8:00 pm and not operating on weekends is disgusting. No recreational player who is employed could possibly play any meaningful hours here. It will attract retired people and pros. Although most pros wouldn’t pay the outrageous 10%, max $10 per hand rake. They should just be honest and say that they do not want a poker room.”
It is entirely possible that Encore Boston Harbor is having trouble finding enough poker dealers to support more tables, but 12 is a suspiciously large drop from 74. It could maybe explain the limited hours, too, but one would also think that the casino would want to spread games during popular hours, not when most people are working. The rake, though, it’s tough to find a justification for that besides trying to make up for money the casino lost when it was closed.
Image credit: EBH – Barbara Kraft