Encore Boston Harbor
Encore Boston Harbor great casino near Boston
Yesterday I spent six hours at the new Encore Boston Harbor . It was a fun day in Massachusetts newest casino. The Hotel/Casino officially opened on June 23, 2019.
Here's some notes on my experience.
General Notes
- Nothing for kids - no game room, pool or activity area. Really nothing for kids to do while the adults gamble - Definitely not a place for anyone under 21.
- There is a Dunkin Donuts on site which offers the complete Dunkin menu. (A large hot coffee cost $3.99. )
- You have to pay for self-parking unless you use the Membership card which gives you free weekday parking.
- The casino is easy to get to from Boston. Getting back to Boston was a bit tricky during rush hour. If you're not familiar with the area, you might want to use water transportation.
Buffet Notes
- Lots of great options in the Buffet - Seafood, American Fare, Chinese, and Salads.
- The Clam Chowder was really good - highly recommend.
- The line moves pretty fast. Don't be discouraged if you see a long line when the buffet opens. We noticed that at 1pm the line was much smaller.
- Buffet is in the main casino- so kids are allowed.
Casino Notes
- There are supposed to be drink servers around the casino - but I rarely saw them. This could be that we were there at an off time.
- We arrived at 9 and noticed it was very quiet around the casino. It started getting busy around 11.
- Lots of Slot machines- many of them are penny slots. (No you can't just put pennies in - you need to use a cash voucher.)
- When we got there the Blackjack table minimum started at $5, but by 2 pm most tables were $25 or $50.
- They do not sell "used" cards. You can buy souvenir dice ($14 for a pair) at the DrugStore - near the main Casino entrance.
- There are lots of ATM machines around the casino floor.
- You can buy Massachusetts Lottery Scratch tickets at some Lottery machines.
- Most of the slot machines were electronic machines - like playing on a computer. There weren't many "one-arm bandits." I didn't see my favorite - Haywire.
Overall it's a fun casino. Certainly, a fun way to spend an afternoon.