EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - Part of an Encore Boston poker room was still closed on Saturday after a water leak prompted an evacuation of the area on Friday afternoon.
All of the games are up and running and the casino says they have plenty of room for other poker tables while a small portion of the room remains closed off.
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.”
The casino says the water leak was caused by a burst pipe.
“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.
Unaffected areas of the poker room were re-opened at 7:45 p.m.
The leak had no impact on any other part of the building.
The cause remains under investigation.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)