Encore Boston Harbor Sued Over Blackjack, Slots

Jul 2019

Dustin Jermalowicz | POSTED IN Blackjack | NO COMMENTS

It’s only been open a month, but gamblers are already suing the Encore Boston Harbor, alleging that the resort is using blackjack payouts that defy Massachusetts law while also not refunding slot credits when a player cashes out.

The class-action lawsuit claims that the Encore is not offering 3:2 payouts for blackjack, which goes against state law, which states: “a player who is dealt a blackjack shall be paid at odds of 3 to 2.”

The lawsuit claims that by not following the rules, the casinos would generate an additional $30 million in revenue annually, and wrote in their brief: “In casino gaming, it is said that the house always wins. With the odds so drastically in its favor, it is unfathomable that a casino would intentionally resort to cheating so as to increase its statistical edge over the player.”

In addition to the blackjack issue, the lawsuit alleges that credits aren’t being refunded to players when they cash out from slot machines. According to the suit, “When a slot player cashes out his or her winnings at a ticket redemption machine positioned throughout the casino, these machines only pay out in whole dollar amounts, without paying change, and without instruction on how to obtain the balance. The unredeemed change, therefore, is never returned to the player and is simply added to Encore’s coffers.”

It’s not currently known what kind of damages the Plaintiffs in the case are looking for. Online Blackjack News will keep on this story and update readers as we learn more.