Peek inside the highly anticipated $2.6B Encore Boston Harbor casino
Beach Plum flowers bloom along the banks of the Mystic River in front of the Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett, Mass., Friday, June 21, 2019. (AP)
The highly anticipated Encore Boston Harbor casino is slated to open Sunday just over the city line in Everett, Mass.
The glitzy gambling, hotel and entertainment complex, which cost an estimated $2.6 billion, brings Las Vegas opulence to a largely industrial waterfront, home to a subway train repair yard, a water and sewer agency facility and a power plant. The 33-acre waterfront development, which involved environmental cleanup of a former chemical plant site, is one of the biggest private developments in state history.
The Wynn Resorts' casino has a $28 million statue of Popeye by artist Jeff Koons and a colored carousel sculpture made of tens of thousands of fake flowers and jewels that will greet customers as they make their way into Encore Boston Harbor. Five-star hotel rooms will begin at about $650 a night. The resort has 15 dining and lounge rooms, a spa and a 210,000-square-foot casino.
Here's a look inside the lavish casino:
The carousel greets visitors as they walk inside the lobby of the Encore Boston Harbor casino. (AP)
The poker room fits 88 tables. (Encore Boston Harbor)
A spa room at the casino which is slated to open on Sunday, June 23, 2019. (Encore Boston Harbor)
A two-bedroom hotel room at the Encore Boston Harbor. There are 671 rooms and suites. Rooms were said to be equipped with an iPad for lighting and an Amazon Alexa. (Encore Boston Harbor)
The casino floor at the Encore Boston Harbor. (Encore Boston Harbor)
The buffett dining room at the Encore Boston Harbor. (Encore Boston Harbor)
The Popeye sculpture by Jeff Koons displayed in a corridor at the Encore Boston Harbor casino. (AP)
The casino offers table games such as Blackjack, roulette and Three Card Poker. Drinks will be served at the resort until 2 a.m. but for those who are actively gambling, beverage will be served until 4 a.m.
Paul DeBolle, a professor at Lasell College in Newton, Mass., told The Associated Press he and experts predicted the resort will pull in around $600 million in revenues from gambling, short of the more than $800 million the casino predicted for its first year. State lawmakers have taken a similarly conservative view, projecting it will generate about $540 million from gambling. The state will collect 25 percent of the casino's gambling revenues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.