Massachusetts’ Encore Boston Harbor’s recent donation of medical supplies and food is helping the gaming property to promote goodwill during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now temporarily shuttered, the Encore gave surgical masks, toilet paper, and gloves to a local hospital and other needy organizations in Massachusetts. The Wynn Resorts venue contributed 46,000 surgical masks, 3,000 N95 masks, 4,000 gloves, four pallets of toilet paper, and six pallets of water to charitable causes.

A local hospital is getting 1,000 N95 masks, one pallet of toilet paper, and 2,000 gloves, the Boston Business Journal reported. The donations come as health-care facilities and first responders get priority nationally for personal protective equipment.

Once their needs are met, members of the public are also looking to wear masks, gloves, and other protections to reduce the risk of transmitting or catching the sometimes-fatal virus. Masks are increasingly seen as worthwhile safety precautions in the coronavirus pandemic.

Beyond that, the Encore donated three dozen pallets of frozen and perishable food to Massachusetts food pantries. It also sent sanitizer to Boston-area charities.

The Rev. Richard McGowan, a finance professor at Boston College who follows gambling trends in New England, told Casino.org the donation does not come as a surprise.

Casinos need to retain the public’s goodwill if they are going to retain their licenses,” McGowan explained. “So, any action that meets with public approval helps their cause.”

But there is a limit how much gaming properties can contribute, given grim financial conditions associated with the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Given the current downturn, I doubt that the casino industry is in a position to make continuous contributions,” McGowan said. “The Wynn corporation happens to have funds to use yet for these good causes.”

Overall, casinos, like lotteries, try to benefit the public good in the communities and states in which they operate, McGowan said.

“In general, gambling enterprises — lotteries, casinos — have to make the case that the funds that they generate for government are utilized for good causes,” McGowan said. “So, Massachusetts lottery proceeds are used to support local towns and cities.”

“Casinos also give a portion of their revenues to their host communities. For gambling to be tolerated, the good end then justifies the means.”

Wynn Resorts Donations in Las Vegas

In Nevada, the Wynn Las Vegas contributed 1,000 meals a day to Catholic Charities representing 14,000 meals. The food will help the needy.

Also, Wynn Resorts is donating 240,000 N95 equivalent respirator masks, 600,000 surgical masks, 500,000 pairs of medical gloves, and thousands of medical gowns to Nevada hospitals. Both nursing homes and law enforcement agencies got thousands of gloves and surgical masks from Wynn.

In total, Wynn donated 175 pallets of food worth about $750,000 to 15 food banks in Las Vegas and Boston. The Wynn Employee Foundation additionally contributed $100,000 to the Three Square food bank in Las Vegas, as well as $25,000 to the Bread of Life food bank in Boston, the company said in a statement.

Filling Gaps in Supply Chain

“Our support will only continue to rise as we identify new ways to fill financial and supply chain gaps in our home communities,” Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said in a statement.

We are working together with the medical community and charitable partners to ensure we are providing meaningful help where it matters the most,” Maddox added.

As of Thursday, Massachusetts saw 8,966 cases of COVID-19. There were 154 fatal cases.

In Nevada, there were there 1,463 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday. Thirty eight coronavirus cases led to patient deaths in Nevada.