Encore - Boston

[Tedlark]

Ted, if you happen to go up that way again, Mohegan Sun is just under a 2 hour drive. I could probably arrange a mid week comp room should you be able to make it. You probably know already, traffic in and around Boston can be dicey sometimes. We do have lots of DDB and TDB multi line up here too. Even on nickels and dimes. I sometimes play the All Star 2 machines myself for a break.

I actually gave some serious thought to heading to MS, olds. I had to be in Portsmouth, NH early on Thursday morning after spending Wednesday in Boston. There's a good chance I'll be in the area again over the next year, so who knows, I may take you up on the chance.

Good luck to you and your wife and thanks.

[olds442jetaway]

anytime. If you do make it to MS, I think you will find it to be the cleanest and well managed ( for the most part ) of anywhere I have been. Plus still 98 and 99 percent machines which seem to be fading fast all over.

[rascal]

Years ago a relative who worked in corporate for a casino holding company told me that machine maintenance and equipment replacement is on a priority basis for many casinos. The higher the margin for the casino of the type of game, the higher the priority for keeping the machine humming. VP is not the most profitable game for a casino, not by a long shot. We have all seen over the years that many casinos give it a low priority, and it is getting worse by the day.

[olds442jetaway]

Agree. Fortunately, if I see a slot tech at Mohegan Sun or call for one, they still send someone over right away and try and fix the issue. Many times it is missing or broken button caps vs or the buttons or choices on the glass do not choose properly. I have no complaints in that area. One quick fix for sticky buttons in the bar area due to a spilled sugar drink that has turned into glue is to add a few drops of hand sanitizer all the way around the button. Work the button up and down fast and wipe off excess with a wash up or cloth. Has worked every time for me.
Also in a pinch if you are playing in the middle of the night like I do and nobody is around, I made up at home a few button caps from scrap plastic to fit the two button sizes most machines use. They work. Just used a pair of sharp scissors to make them. Sometimes the techs don’t have extra button caps lying around. The new machines are crap compared to the 20 year old ones that wear like tanks. If you don’t have a button cap on, the light will blind you even if you use the glass to play the machine. In a pinch, you can cut a small square from a coffee cup and cover the blinding light and if the button doesn’t work well, use the glass. Make sure to always carry your small Swiss Army knife with a scissors. Guess I’m used to fixing all kinds of stuff since I was a kid like repairing a 200 year old clock where I can’t go to Ace hardware and get parts.

[OTABILL]

Ted, hope you have a better outcome the next time.

[Tedlark]

Ted, hope you have a better outcome the next time.

Thanks OTA, but not ever stepping back into Encore, Boston, will be too soon for me, lol...

[olds442jetaway]

Never been. Never plan to go. All of the stories I have heard were not favorable.

[OTABILL]

The only reason I would revisit Boston would be to go to a ballgame at Fenway.

[FAA]

Not ever stepping back into Encore, Boston, will be too soon for me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Takers. There are definitely casinos in that very mold in AC for which I have the same disdain.

[Karl_EDT]

Never been. Never plan to go. All of the stories I have heard were not favorable.

Firstly, I am very sorry ted that you did not have any success. I have considered visiting encore but, like olds' observation quoted above, I have not heard any good stories at all of friends or relatives winning at encore's videopoker, or any other game for that matter. Can I ask ted, besides the all star 2 machines & games at the two bars what else did they have in their bar VP menu? also, the games that were down & offline when you visited, did you happen to note or see what those games actually were? I'm just curious in the event I find myself in Boston on a rainy day or night when you cannot enjoy the may other things the city offers.

I'd also be curious what Massachusetts Casino regs require casinos to payback to customers. I have read that the MGM casino in Springfield Massachusetts is up for sale due to the fact that it has drastically underperformed since it opened way back in 2017. These mid-size communities fall for the casino pitches everytime; MGM promised the whole region of western new england and upstate NY communities that it would be a boon for all of them. wrong.