Yeah this is what I was referring to for the "large backpack" part. I always use a small hiking day pack thing, and was in "discussion" with a red coat about what size is considered large versus small and/or allowed in the casino.

Sounds like a briefcase will be ok?

It seems like they are picking and choosing what to enforce from that list. There were backpacks visible on poker players chairs with a red jacket even pointing them out to me with a smile as if to validate his response that they were allowed when I asked him. I’ve walked past them with my own water one day and a Monster another as they smiled and welcomed me to Encore. However, on Monday a younger player I know was complaining that he’d been carded three times in his first afternoon at the casino. All we can do is keep passing on info from our experiences to help each other.

I was on the 1/3 list for five minutes on Wednesday and they were still calling my initials ten minutes after I'd been seated, so I'd take any impression that people on the lists are actually ghosting with a grain of salt. The brushes and floors are just busy and overwhelmed a bit still, imo.

I brought in a bag of food today. I brought it in the brown encore bag that they deliver food in, so maybe that’s the route to getting food past security.

My god the dealers are rough today. Very very very rough. Last dealer had 4 misdeals and his hands were shaking the whole time. The current one can’t follow the action and has burned and turned prematurely 2x
Maybe they started the new ones later in the week?

That's a rad angle shoot.

Maybe if you don't want riff raff in your casino don't build it in Everett? lmao.

Multiple 5-10 and 10-20 are running everyday. 25-50 was running yesterday (mid week!). Is this a joke?

Riff raff is going to riff raff to a degree but the vibe I got was that most troublemakers seem to be intimidated by this casino and its "eye in the sky." Last night half the room stood up to see what the commotion was in front of the cashier. When I saw everyone whipping out their phones I was expecting a nice arrest clip. Instead, it was Shaq making his way through the poker room and down the escalator with his posse.

Scenes like this will probably be fairly common as many stars and athletes in the area will be drawn to Encore for a night out.

Second trip report:
I went to the Encore for the opening to have a look at the property
Yesterday evening (Thursday), I decided to play a short session of poker.
I decided to give a try to public transportation to see how convenient it is. It took me only 30-40 minutes from south boston (red line, orange line until Wellington, then shuttle). Same convinience on the way back.
I own a car but can't think of a reason I would want to drive there.
(Last time I tried the water shuttle. Nice but slow).

I played a 3 hours session. I pretty much confirm what was said on this thread:
-Dealers are a hit or miss. Some are really bad. A few are good.
-Floor managers are very good.
-Getting chips and cashing out at the cage is a nightmare. I bought chips from someone in the line and sold almost all my chips when leaving.
-The backpack situation is annoying. I usually have all my cables, water, etc in my backpack but didn't bring it because of what I read. I am going to have to figure out what is acceptable and buy a small man purse :/

Altogether a pretty positive experience. Super easy to come from downtown and play a few hours. Way better than the days I had to dedicate a full day to drive to a casino in RI or CT, then play long enough to make the commute worth it. Pumped!

Next session on Sunday.

Good luck folks!

Speaking of stud. The cap in a multi-way pot here is 5 bets as opposed to the 4 bets we're used to.

Most of the restaurant menus are now online

Has 4/8 O8 run yet? See interest lists for it all the time on Poker Atlas sometimes with 9 people on it but never seems to be a table going.

Dealer said it ran on Wednesday

Honestly if today had been my first visit, I would never play here again. On two diff occasions, we didn’t have drink service at my table for almost 90 minutes. We had 3 dealers in a row that were absolutely horrendous New dealers supp took a $700 dealing course, if it were me, I’d ask for my money back. Yes, it was that bad.
The points you are accumulating cannot be used until .....? They had no date when the “systems would be integrated”
There was a line of 6 people at the check in desk when I arrived. The guy working was explaining all the games to a patron(for 10 minutes!) while a floor person just stood there staring at a screen.
The ****ing cage took several minutes per person
The shuttle now drops off behind the building and it’s a long trek to the poker room.
The restaurants refuse to give out their #s so you cant call and order a to go order
I’ve been gushing about and praising this place endlessly and now I feel like I’ve been conned.

Where do you play with 4 bets cap? Every live casino I’ve been to has had 5 bet cap.

I love that sign! I remember when selfie sticks first got popular some guy almost took my head off in front of the Venetian.

OK, if you are an attorney.😎

I snuck in 2 packages of Ritz peanut butter crackers (8 to a pack). Need to upgrade to an Encore bag. Thanks for the tip, Psychlady.😎

Good to know. Thanks.

WTF! 32 1/3 games going & 78 on the list per PA. Saw many former FW and NH personnel, working/playing here this PM, Mostly working (flooring & dealing). Lots of Chasers’ players in attendance, as well.

Had no problem with small backpack and then met with wife who had a messenger bag and workout bag and had no issues.

Cashier is pretty slow so I ended up cashing out in line to 3 people behind me, definitely the move to use the line to get chips and avoid waiting.

Dealers I had seem very good/quick. 2 misdeals in 3 hours, called a check incorrectly once, and didnt know hand value once.

They arent that fast about split pots and such but itll come with time. Betting/calling with exact chips as much as possible is the pro move right now as it keeps the game going at a better rate while some dealers are feeling a bit fresh.

Trip Report from Friday 4-9pm:

Drove (I live less than 3 miles away) to take advantage of free parking while still in effect. They had multiple people directing traffic, quickly went down a few levels and found a spot, there were tons of open spots both when I arrived and departed.

The place itself is pretty immaculate. Between the shiny newness and the general quality standard that the wynn brand commands, it's very impressive. I've probably played in about 50-60 worldwide and this is at the very top.

I had signed up for a few wait lists via Poker Atlas and was immediately seated. One of the games I signed up for was 20-40 O8 which was called but never got off the ground as only a few people showed despite a list of 18 (and didn't seem like it would be a great game with the lineup anyway). I did spot one local athlete playing, but I will not out them as I believe that's against the identification policies in these threads.

The dealers I had were all excellent. I was expecting a horror show after reading some of the reports here, as well as people coming out of the elevators complaining, but every dealer I had was excellent, in control of the game/action, zero exposed cards, and expedient. Some of them I recognized from Chasers and other New England rooms. Maybe I just hit a lucky run.

The tables themselves are really top notch, the phone chargers work (the 3 i tried across 2 tables and 3 seats) and the chairs are comfortable. The chips are of course, brand new. Nice cards. I really appreciate the spacing between tables, as well as the clear overhead signs marking which numbered tables are located down which corridor. Again, maybe I just had a lucky draw, but the waitresses were extremely attentive, often making the rounds and ensuring each player was aware of their presence. The floor people were very responsive in table changes.

Walking around I did see a lot of faces from Chasers, Foxwoods, and Twin River, but also tons and tons of people I've never seen, and the sheer number of tables and most every stakes should provide the opportunity to game select a little better if you land at a reg-infested table.

The cage is ungodly slow. It is beyond me how it can possibly take so long on either the buying or the selling of chips, especially since most people didn't have massive racks or lots of denominations. Having 6 windows open with a line of 15+ and growing and not being able to keep up is mind-boggling, but on the bright side this is something I expect to improve.

Can't comment on food as I didn't eat there. Excited this is finally open, plan on being there often, and on a personal note, broke it in with a solid win.

It's ok if the person is famous.