We walked all the way down Storrow Drive, Memorial Drive, by Bunker Hill it was crazy. They were heading home to Revere when the idea struck to wait a few more hours for the casino’s grand opening. Erin Clark for The Boston GlobeĪfter a night of drinking, Jake Noftle, 21, walked all the way from Storyville nightclub in the Back Bay with his friend Richie Pragnell, also 21, to the Encore. By the time he arrived, at 3 a.m., he was fourth in line, he said.Įncore Boston Harbor's ferry carried casino-goers on Sunday. Sunday and picked up drive-through breakfast from McDonald’s on the way there. Matt Capozzi, 28, drove from Wilmington with his mom, dad, girlfriend, and a friend for the grand opening.

Many people traded hours of sleep on a weekend for the prospect of being among the first to enter the Encore. “I’ve been watching this for five years on the Orange Line!” said Deb Foti, who grew up in Everett, as she stood amid the thousands of flowers and trees that now line the shore. The spectacle of opening day drew many locals, who have seen the property be transformed from a wasteland.

“It’s an international resort that will attract people from all over the world to Everett and to the Commonwealth.” “It’s more than a casino,” the Everett Democrat said, smiling widely. DiDomenico said that when he voted for the expanded gaming law in 2011, he never imagined having this type of property in the state. People walked up the steps of Encore Boston Harbor for the first time Sunday morning. He “was pleased to spend time with some of the more than 5,000 new Encore staffers,” said spokesman Brendan Moss.

Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, had a scheduling conflict, a spokesman said, and instead privately visited the casino resort on Friday. The future of the casino industry went to the statewide ballot in 2014, and voters affirmed they want casinos here.īut no prominent statewide elected officials showed up for the launch event. In 2011, state lawmakers passed a sweeping, expanded gaming act that was signed into law by then-governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat. The state government will collect 25 percent of the casino’s gambling revenue in taxes. Encore sits in what is expected to be Massachusetts’ largest and most lucrative gambling market. Erin Clark for The Boston GlobeĮncore is the state’s third casino, coming after the MGM Springfield casino, which opened last year, and the Plainridge Park Casino slots parlor, which opened in Plainville in 2015. The Encore, enveloped in fireworks and smoke.

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