This weekend turned violent at Encore Boston Harbor, and it can’t even be blamed on a full moon. The Wynn Resorts-owned property saw a couple of embarrassing incidents that required law enforcement to be called in to restore order. According to local media, however, the police presence at the casino didn’t work to immediately diffuse the situations, and three police officers were ultimately injured in the ensuing melees.
On most days, or nights, the Boston, Massachusetts-located property would be relatively calm. However, media outlet WCVB reports that early Saturday morning had casino workers and patrons enjoying some extra, unexpected excitement. In the first of two incidents to occur that day, casino security personnel called in the big guns when they needed some assistance in throwing out an “unruly patron.” State Police troopers working the graveyard shift rolled on in at around 2 AM, most likely expecting a relative mundane escort off the premises.
Things wouldn’t be that easy, though. Incensed at being asked to leave a poker room by casino personnel, the individual, 25-year-old Brandon Wangnoon, was already in the middle of a temper tantrum when the officers arrived. They tried to take the rowdy customer into custody, but Wangnoon began a violent attempt to evade their efforts. Ultimately, one of the officers broke out his stun gun and zapped the out-of-control individual into submission.
At least, that was what the officers thought. As he was being escorted out of Encore, he resumed his antics, but was able to be subdued by the two officers. A prisoner van from the Everett Police Department was brought in to transport Wangnoon. During the turmoil, one of the officers hit his own head hard enough that he was forced to seek medical attention at a local hospital. Whatever he hit left its mark, though, and the officer suffered a concussion. The other officer was also injured, complaining of back problems. Both officers, though, are recovering.
Since Wangnoon likes to gamble, he can make a winning bet on the odds of his ever being allowed inside a casino in Massachusetts, possibly the country. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, with state police planning on throwing in charges of assault and battery on a police officer for good measure.
That wasn’t the end of the excitement at the casino, though. A couple of hours later, police were back on the scene in order to break up a fight. This time, it was the Everett Police Department that responded and, when one of the two involved in the brawl wasn’t ready to come down off his adrenaline rush, he resisted the officer’s attempts to take him into custody, leaving the officer with unspecified injuries. The suspect was ultimately subdued, though, and is now charged with assault and battery on a police officer.
