Day gambling @ Encore Boston Harbor

[Pegmeister]

So we headed off to Encore yesterday morning via motorcoach for an estimated 90 minute ride (Boston traffic). We lucked out an arrived in 35 minutes!!!’

Encore is a beautiful casino hotel with a definite Vegas vibe. I wish they hadn’t made it look so much like Wynn Las Vegas though. It would have been nice to see a more unique property. For those who have never been to Vegas this is a wonderful sneak peak. They have the same carousel made of flowers and some of the same restaurants.

The property is two floors with the casino on the first floor where there are over 3,000 slot machines. There is a nice selection of video slots, as well as class slots including a fair number of video poker machines. I only saw one video poker bar though. Something else that seemed missing, although I may have missed it, was a craps table. The second floor has a huge poker room that overlooks the casino. There are also a couple restaurants on the second floor.

So... what did we think? It was fun. The employees we interacted with were phenomenal, friendly and helpful. I would have liked to see one of the higher end restaurants open for lunch for a better variety. We weren’t interested in the buffet. It was busy and a huge line so we stopped at the Burger Deck. The bartender was great and the food good. Prices were Vegas style at $17 per glass of wine and $18 to $21 for a burger or sandwich.

Would we stay there? Probably not. Other than gambling there’s not much else to do. The immediate area outside of the hotel property is not really appealing. The hotel does not have a swimming pool which I totally don’t understand and it’s not convenient to the Boston tourist sites although you can take the water ferry to get to along Wharf where there are plenty of options.

The results... Tom broke even which is a win to me and I well .... lost....way too much!!

We grabbed the motorcoach back home which fortunately is rather luxurious as endured the Boston traffic. We just barely made it back in 90 Minutes! Traffic was horrendous. At least we didn’t have to drive in it.

[Andrea J.]

terrific!
I wish that you both had won, although breaking even is a win.

[Pegmeister]

A few photos. Sorry if they come in sideways!

[Pegmeister]

Forgot to mention that Encore is completely NONSMOKING!!! A huge deal for a lot of us.

[mvosilla]

At least one of you broke even!

I haven't made the trip over there yet, but a lot of people I know have to mixed reactions. Some love it, mostly those who have won, some say it is to expensive and that the table minimums are too high, and some would rather take the trip to Foxwoods/Mohegan.

I live in the city in Brighton, so on a good day it's about 25 min away, on a bad day, I would say probably an hour or so.

Everyone does say it is beautiful inside, and that there isn't much else there in the neighborhood.

[Pegmeister]

We’re in Quincy so we drove to Rockland for the motor coach. My feeling is if you have never been to Vegas you will be thrilled with Encore because it feels like Vegas. Prices in restaurants are very high. Drinks are free while gambling and while I didn’t order anything they did keep coming around. The biggest draw for us is that it isnonsmoking. We both have medical issues that make it in our best interest to avoid smoke.

[Pegmeister]

Looks like we’ll be going back sooner than I thought. Shortly after I posted, my phone rang. Since I didn’t know the number I didn’t answer. They called 2 more times so I gave in and answered. It was Encore they had a ticket from a machine I played that had $76 on it! They can’t mail it so I need to pick it up.

’I know exactly when it happened. I had cashed out from a machine and it didn’t give me a ticket so I asked a floor attendant. He pointed out that it said 0 cash so I second guessed myself and walked away even though the ticket receiver was flashing. Pretty cool that they track it down and call me though

[WaltVB]

So you got closer to even! That's great customer service!

[mvosilla]

It's nice to know that they tracked you down. That is exceptional customer service!

Looks like we’ll be going back sooner than I thought. Shortly after I posted, my phone rang. Since I didn’t know the number I didn’t answer. They called 2 more times so I gave in and answered. It was Encore they had a ticket from a machine I played that had $76 on it! They can’t mail it so I need to pick it up.

’I know exactly when it happened. I had cashed out from a machine and it didn’t give me a ticket so I asked a floor attendant. He pointed out that it said 0 cash so I second guessed myself and walked away even though the ticket receiver was flashing. Pretty cool that they track it down and call me though

[Pegmeister]

I thought it was exceptional as well. One thing I can say about the employees is they were all wonderful. Even when we were leaving to board the motor coach. It was raining and an employee came and held an umbrella over us!