Encore Boston Harbor Faces Revenue Setback as Strike Enters Second Month

Encore Boston Harbor recorded gross gaming revenue of $46.1 million for September 2026, marking the lowest monthly total for the property in more than five years, and data from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission shows the decline coincided with a labor action that began on September 4.

The strike involved roughly 1,350 unionized employees represented by UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25, and the casino, operated by Wynn Resorts in Everett, saw slot coin-in drop more than 20 percent to $354.4 million while the state received $11.5 million in tax revenue compared with $14.8 million the previous September.

Strike Timeline and Workforce Impact

Workers walked off the job on September 4, 2026, and the action continued through the end of the month, which meant the property operated without its full complement of staff during peak fall periods, and observers note that table games and hotel services faced the most immediate reductions in available personnel.

Negotiations between the unions and management remained ongoing into October, yet the revenue figures released at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting on October 22 already reflected the full-month effect of reduced operations, and the commission’s monthly report placed the property’s performance against historical benchmarks stretching back to 2021.

Revenue Figures in Detail

September 2026 gross gaming revenue of $46.1 million represented a 22.1 percent decrease from the $59.1 million posted in September 2025, and slot coin-in fell from $445 million the prior year to $354.4 million, a decline that accounted for the bulk of the overall drop, while table games revenue also softened but to a lesser degree.

The state’s share of taxes and assessments declined in lockstep, dropping from $14.8 million to $11.5 million, and those funds flow directly into the Commonwealth’s general fund as well as designated accounts for host communities and problem-gambling programs.

Comparison With Other Massachusetts Properties

Plainridge Park Casino adn MGM Springfield reported steadier month-over-month results for September 2026, and both properties avoided labor disruptions during the period, which allowed them to maintain normal staffing levels and marketing calendars, while Encore Boston Harbor’s figures stood apart in the commission’s statewide summary.

Commission analysts presented the data without attributing causation, yet the timing of the strike aligned precisely with the revenue shortfall, and industry observers tracking the Massachusetts market noted that no comparable external factors such as weather events or major regional festivals occurred during the same window.

Historical Context for the Property

Encore Boston Harbor opened in 2019 and quickly became one of the higher-performing casinos in the state on a per-square-foot basis, yet September 2026 marked the first time since the property’s early operating months that monthly gross gaming revenue fell below the $50 million threshold, and the five-year low underscores how sensitive the operation remains to staffing levels.

The September 2026 casino revenue report issued by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission provides the complete dataset for all three casinos, and those figures allow direct comparison across properties and across time periods stretching back to the pre-pandemic era.

Conclusion

The September 2026 results illustrate the direct correlation between operational capacity and gaming revenue at Encore Boston Harbor, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will continue to release monthly updates that track whether the property recovers once the labor dispute reaches resolution, while the other two casinos in the state maintain their more stable trajectories.