Published on: November 4, 2024, 11:33h.
Last updated on: November 4, 2024, 11:44h.
Saratoga Casino Holdings experienced a technical issue last week that caused disruptions at their three commercial casinos. Currently, the casinos in Colorado and Mississippi are still closed three days later.
Headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Casino Holdings owns Saratoga Casino Hotel, a horse racetrack and casino with 1,200 video lottery terminals and electronic table games. Additionally, the company operates Saratoga Casino Black Hawk in Colorado and Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez, Mississippi. Over the weekend, the company confirmed the closure of the Colorado and Mississippi properties due to IT issues.
The IT team is working on resolving the problem, and we aim to reopen as soon as possible,” stated a message from the Saratoga Casino Black Hawk Facebook account. “Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Magnolia Bluffs also issued a similar statement.
Magnolia Bluffs will remain closed. Updates on the progress to resolve the issue will be provided,” explained a Facebook post.
As of noon on Monday, both Saratoga Casino Black Hawk and Magnolia Bluffs were still closed.
Apart from the casinos, Saratoga is part of a group seeking a casino license for an integrated resort in Coney Island, New York.
Customer Concerns at Saratoga Casino
While the Colorado and Mississippi casinos were closed due to technical issues, Saratoga Casino Hotel remained open as of Monday. Patrons expressed frustration on social media about the limited operations, including disabled rewards cards and promotions.
“We just left. The system is still down. No free play and no points earned,” commented visitor Sharon Gates.
Some customers questioned if they would receive compensation for missed rewards and not being informed about the IT problems until arriving at the property. While Saratoga Black Hawk and Magnolia Bluffs posted about the operational challenges on social media, Saratoga Casino Hotel encouraged guests to enjoy the extra hour from daylight savings to “try your luck and maximize every minute.”
“That extra hour could result in a jackpot!” the casino suggested.
Source of Issue Unknown
Saratoga Casino Holdings has not disclosed the cause of the IT problems or whether a hacking incident was involved.
All properties were affected in some way,” said Amy Brannigan, the marketing director of Saratoga Casino Holdings. “Unfortunately, there is no update on when we will reopen.”
Casinos have been targeted by hackers and ransomware groups in recent years.
MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, two major US casino operators, were both victims of hacking last year by a group that used “social engineering” to breach their computer systems.
MGM suffered losses exceeding $100 million after refusing to pay a ransom. Caesars acknowledged paying $15 million to the hackers to restore their systems with minimal disruption.