Nine Things You Didn’t Know about Encore Boston Harbor

Courtesy photo by Barbara Kraft

With just a few days left before the casino’s grand opening, the folks at Encore Boston Harbor are finally showing off what they’ve been working on all this time. On a tour of the property before its debut on Sunday, we got a sneak peek at all the Vegas-style glitz and abundance gamblers can expect when a new era of gaming in Massachusetts begins.

Here’s some of what we learned.

They have a $68 lobster roll

Courtesy photo by Barbara Kraft

Yep, that’s right. At the Rare Steakhouse, which specializes in certified-authentic Japanese Kobe beef, you’ll also find an over-the-top lobster roll that is definitely not for the traditionalist’s palate. It comes tossed in black truffle aioli, served in a black truffle brioche, topped with heaps of caviar and… even more black truffle.

The giant Popeye is for sale

Courtesy photo by Roger Davies

Encore bought this shiny likeness of the cartoon character, made by the ultra-famous artist Jeff Koons, for a cool $28 million. Good news if you fall in love with it during your visit: It’s for sale. “Price available on request,” a placard next to the statue reads. You’ll have to dig deep, but that’s a hell of a souvenir.

The seats are red for a reason

Courtesy photo by Barbara Kraft

Casinos, as you may know, are all about subtly making you feel more comfortable (and therefore more likely to part with cash at the blackjack table). Apparently even the upholstery was chosen with that in mind. A tour guide tells us the red hue of the seating at its card tables is meant to evoke feelings of warmth in our relatively colder climate. At Wynn’s Vegas casinos, for the opposite reason, the chairs are blue.

Those red chandeliers are straight from Vegas

Courtesy photo by Barbara Kraft

If you’ve been to the Encore Las Vegas, you may recognize them. There are about a million red chandeliers dangling above the gaming floor, each of which were detached and sent here from the similarly named resort casino out west.

They have scratch tickets, too

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Just in case the thousands of slot machines and scores of table games aren’t doing it for you, we spotted at least one machine dispensing Massachusetts State Lottery scratch-offs. You do you.

There’s a flower-encrusted carousel

Courtesy photo by Roger Davies

The handiwork of designer Preston Bailey, the extremely Instagrammable carousel inside the Encore atrium is made with 83,000 “permanent botanical” flowers. Keep your eyes peeled for a floral Ferris wheel, which we’re told can be swapped in whenever Encore feels like it.

The Dunks has marble floors

Courtesy photo by Roger Davies

The Art Deco Dunkin’ is cool, sure. But at the Encore Dunkin’, you can grab an iced regular while traipsing across black-and-white marble flooring. That’s Vegas, baby.

Shaq might be your DJ

Courtesy photo by Barbara Kraft

He has a residency deal with Wynn Resorts, so he’ll be dropping in every now and then to perform at the in-house nightclub Memoire. His first appearance is on Thursday night.

You can take in the Boston skyline while you jog

Courtesy photo by Roger Davies

At the guests-only gym, which looks out over the Mystic and a gigantic flower garden. If you’d rather work out than hit the slots, this is a pretty decent place to do it.

Read more about how to have the most fun possible at the Encore Boston Harbor Casino