Encore Boston Harbor Casino Taking Bite Out Of Twin River

PROVIDENCE, RI — Twin River Casino is feeling the pinch of new Massachusetts gambling options with the Lincoln casino bracing for possible layoffs in the face of competition from Encore Boston Harbor Casino. Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc., which operates the casino, has seen its stock slump more than 38 percent since is April high with staff reductions possible as Twin River tries to wait out the initial push of the glitzy new resort to the north.

"We are effectively staffing to the present volume of business on the table games," Twin River spokesperson Patti Doyle told WJAR-TV. Doyle said up to 30 table game supervisors could be impacted in the cutbacks with the company exploring voluntary hour reductions to reduce layoffs.

Encore Boston Harbor opened with a bang in June as it raked in $16.8 million in revenue its first week alone. While the towering Everett casino has not had the overwhelming impact on traffic and parking that some expected in its first summer, the addition of the newest casino to a Southern New England landscape that now also includes MGM Grand Springfield, Plainridge Park Casino just over the border in Massachusetts, as well as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, is taking a hit out of the take in Rhode Island.

Despite the summer struggles, however, there may be a silver lining in Lincoln with Casino.org reporting Tuesday that Stifel analysts Brad Boyer and Steven Wieczynski had put a "buy" rating on the stock.

"Call us crazy," said the analysts, "but we are sticking with our 'buy' rating."

The Stifel analysts noted that Twin River historically sees revenue drops in the summer months.