This Massachusetts man waited 17 hours to be the first guest inside Encore Boston Harbor

Glenn Reynolds

Reynolds, 65 of Quincy, was first in line for the Encore Boston Harbor opening June 23.

Thousands of guests lined up early to get inside Encore Boston Harbor Sunday, but few showed the tenacity of Glenn Reynolds who parked himself on the AstroTurf 17 hours before the casino doors would open.

Reynolds, 65 of Quincy, is no stranger to a long line. He’s waited for hours outside of Fenway Park on opening day for 30 years and has a designated meal for his stake outs - pretzels and water. Though on Sunday he was sticking to Brisk iced tea and lemons.

“With [Encore] when I saw it and I said ‘I’m going to take it up a notch,’” Reynolds said. “I’m going to make a nice sign, come here and enjoy this casino.”

Reynolds carried a white sign with the Encore logo drawn in black marker. Beneath it was a pop-art style sticker that said: “Great!” alongside a gold star and an American flag.

He said he began his trek from Quincy at about 3 p.m. Saturday - taking the MBTA’s Red Line from Quincy and the Orange Line to Everett. It took about 2 hours, he said.

Reynolds said he sat outside the casino beginning at 5 p.m. - waving to drivers and giving interviews with whoever wanted one.

“I didn’t sleep at all,” Reynolds said. “I had a fan club come by and beep their horns at me so that killed a little bit of time.”

By opening time Reynolds was at the front of a line of thousands of visitors that wrapped around the Everett casino’s Harborwalk.

He dismissed the “young kids” who showed up a mere three hours before the doors would open.

“You have to show up like I did,” he said. “I’ve done 17 hours.”

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