With Poker games seemingly in no position to return to Massachusetts casinos any time soon, many former Poker dealers at Encore Boston Harbor have begun to train for other permitted games like Blackjack.

In fact, after dedicating more than 23,000 square feet of precious space overlooking the casino floor, Encore Boston Harbor is fully expecting its cutting-edge poker room to eventually become one of the busiest venues in the U.S. 429 reviews of Encore Boston Harbor 'I made a reservation for a conference I will be attending in September. I was charged the first night (367.15) in May. I'm not familiar with luxury hotels charging the first night.and so far into the future. CBSN BostonWatch Now No Poker Or Roulette: Massachusetts Casino Reopening Plan Would Dramatically Change Gambling Experience By Colin A. Young, State House News Service June 18, 2020 at 9:46 am.

Encore Spokesman Eric Kraus said that 70 Poker dealers at Encore have participated in a new program offered by the company to train for other permitted games, those mostly being Blackjack.

“Because we shut down the Poker Room and furloughed several of those Poker Room employees, we have started training those Poker dealers and others with game experience in dealing. We are offering them to train on Blackjack dealing mostly. We don’t like furloughing employees. They are family members. So, we tell them about all open positions and see if anyone furloughed is a good fit for those positions. If they’re furloughed and would be a good fit, we can bring them back to open positions. We invest a lot in our employees, whether finding them, training them and keeping them. We don’t want them to leave during a furlough.”

He said there are approximately 70 dealers of Poker that are or have re-trained for Blackjack, one of the only table games now allowed in the state.

At the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) meeting last Thursday, the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) gave one of its first updates on the possibility of returning Poker, and the long and short of that is Poker is currently not possible.

The IEB explained that Poker requires many people at the table to be worthwhile and profitable for the casino, and at the moment the best that can be done is four players at a time.

“In order to make Poker a safe game, we could put only about four people at a table,” said one of the members. “In discussions with operators, this would mean Poker would not be profitable. At this point, we wouldn’t recommend Poker until we can get more players at the table and do that safely.”

The IEB indicated some other states with gaming are returning Poker and allowing many people at a table. With COVID-19 restrictions as they are, it isn’t a course the MGC is willing to forge.

“That’s not what I would consider a safe situation for employees or players,” he said. “Poker at its heart is a marginally profitable game for casinos. We would at best get four players at a table and that’s a very, very low profit, it at all a profit, for casinos.”

At Encore, the Poker Room and Poker areas have largely been repurposed to accommodate more Blackjack tables at greater distances.

EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - A water leak in an Encore Boston Harbor poker room prompted an evacuation of the area Friday afternoon.

Cellphone video shows water pouring down from the ceiling and people running away. Poker players said a tournament had just started when the waterfalls began, and gamblers in the packed room quickly fled.

“We sat down for poker and all of a sudden there was chaos, people running,” said poker player Nathan Abbott. “I looked up and water was coming from four or five different spots.”

“All of a sudden, like, it’s raining from the ceiling,” said poker player Nicole Straight. “I was like, ‘I better get my chips because who knows, chips are cash.'”

Straight said the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas will have artistic flourishes inside, and initially she thought this might be a similar event.

“I said wait, this is actually water falling down here, this is not a water feature,” Straight joked.

A spokesperson says the leak was isolated and has since been contained.

Unaffected areas of the poker room were re-opened at 7:45 p.m.

The leak has no impact on any other part of the building.

The cause of the leak remains under investigation.

This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

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