This is all still due to the law that they'd have to rehire furloughed employees at their former salary until the end of 2021.

Nope. They won't be able to hire dealers at their pre-covid salaries, the market has gone up.

That's true. NH rooms are hiring people with zero experience and training them. Tournaments are being capped because there aren't enough dealers to handle the tables.

With the direction virus protocols seem to be heading, Encore is making the right decision in keeping the Poker Room closed, both from a business and a safety point of view.

By that logic, they should be closing everything but slots (but they won't)

NH rooms have been doing that since the rock.

Don't call it the EncoreBet.

Where on the property is this going to be located ?

I'm guessing the former Buffet area ?

Yes.

Maybe betting will be allowed by the Super Bowl

You're talking MA. They'll make sure it comes into play AFTER the super bowl.

The date for the sports bar preview event has been changed to September 10th.

Even after the superbowl is optimistic for a Massachusetts timeline.
We are talking about a state that took 9 or 10 years to open a casino after it was legalized.
It took 2 years to open it's first dispensary after weed was legalized and there still isn't near enough dispernsaryies 5 years later.
Things move at a snails pace in Mass.
Lot's of politicians and others in power need to be greased and this takes time.
I'd guess we'll be lucky to see legalized sports gambling in Mass before 2025.

Pardon my ignorance here, but I thought once sports betting was approved then you could legally bet on sports in Mass. No ?

Do we have to wait for whole licensing thing to go thru as well ?

Not a sports bettor, but what good is a sports bar in a casino if you can't bet on sports ?

The way I understand it, is the House has passed sports betting, but the Senate hasn't acted yet, and they're on summer recess.

Even if passed, there's a good chance there will be no betting on college sports.

Why would there not be betting on college sports? Maybe not on MA schools like how NJ doesn’t post Rutgers lines and Nevada doesn’t post UNLV (or at least didn’t in the past), but what is the purpose of not allowing wagering on any college sports?

I think it goes back to Boston college basketball betting scandal and they're using that to justify it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978...having_scandal

This. I'll go out on a limb and guess that if college sports are included in the bill, Baker will veto.

Ernie Cobb was over 40 years ago. If this is what they are discussing that is crazy talk. Are these suits that disconnected to not understand that what happened at BC was due in some part to their NOT being a legalized watchdog system in place? Good god.

All true. But that argument could be used by both sides.

Ernie Cobb was not the original cog in the wheel; a AA Pro baseball player named Rick Kuhn was. Now, Rhody Guy- as me, a PC grad of the 1970s remembers it, the first "fixed" game was against Providence, and the scheme failed as BC was a 6Pt or so favorite, but ran PC off the court early and blasted them by 19. Kuhn couldn't control the spread; it was then that the syndicate recruited others, namely Cobb and Sweeney (allegedly) to aid in the spread control.

Of course, it unravelled a few years later in a plea bargain deal on another case. Kuhn served 2.5 years in jail, and the other players were tainted but served no time, and faced no charges.

Knowing baker he will just delay a vote on it forever. Do they even have a dispensary near south station yet?

Can't wait to see what dumbass stuff the new mayor tries to do.

All to "protect" the revenue of the most successful state lottery in the states.

Did anyone else with the Hero Tier cards get the $25 Visa gift card offer for Saturday?

Regardless of the sports betting situation, the rumor here was that this sports bar will have some poker tables. Soon we will see whether or not that rumor pans out.

I’m sure it is more than a rumor. MGM announced it would have 10-12 tables following the Gaming Commissions pow-wow after they were bombarded with complaints and it sounds like it will be a clown show with a dozen or so tables. The 90-second meeting probably went something like, “Guys, wtf you’re killing us. You have to get SOME poker back in these casinos, capisce?”

Rumor going about the Boston Billiards of Nashua (was the name Nashua Billiards taken?) is that Encore will bring back poker but only spread 5/10 and above. If true, that means all that bad beat money (is it a few million?) will go to people who already have more money than they know what to do with.