'We were ready for something like this,' Mayor Carlo DeMaria said last week, putting forth a vision of a thriving waterfront district of hotels, restaurants and shops. Massachusetts leaders hope the resort and its curved, bronze-toned hotel tower - echoing the company's distinctive properties in Vegas and Macau - transforms the city's reputation as an industrial afterthought. The $2.6 billion gambling, hotel and entertainment complex brings Las Vegas opulence to the unlikeliest of places: a largely industrial waterfront home to a subway train repair yard, a water and sewer agency facility and a power plant.

(Michael Dwyer/AP File Photo)Īfter months of turmoil and uncertainty, Wynn Resorts' flamboyant Encore Boston Harbor casino opens June 23 just over the city line in Everett, Massachusetts. is scheduled to open June 23 transforming a contaminated property into what is billed as a waterfront oasis. The $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Mass.

Five-star hotel rooms starting at about $650 a night. A $28 million statue of Popeye by the artist Jeff Koons.

Encore boston casino opening