Posted on: September 13, 2024, 12:06h.
Last updated on: September 12, 2024, 05:08h.
Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Southern Nevada has confirmed a data breach that leaked confidential information on more than 55,000 customers.
The Laughlin, NV, resort began informing state attorneys general and impacted consumers on Sept. 5 that it had detected a data breach. Security personnel with the casino believe the hack occurred on July 24, 2024.
The unauthorized party allegedly gained access to customers’ sensitive information, including names and Social Security numbers.
Upon discovery, Riverside immediately engaged forensic specialists in cybersecurity and data privacy to investigate further. Through this investigation, Riverside determined that an unauthorized third party potentially accessed and acquired certain files during this incident,” Riverside Assistant General Manager Matthew Laughlin wrote in a notification letter sent to impacted customers.
“Data security is one of our highest priorities. Upon detecting this incident, we moved quickly to initiate an investigation,” Laughlin continued. “We promptly disabled all relevant accounts and worked with our third-party specialists to confirm the security of our environment.”
No Misconduct Yet
Laughlin, one of the late Don Laughlin’s three adult children, said the resort has not fielded any reports of the sensitive information stolen being used for illicit purposes. But those who received the notification letter are encouraged to monitor their credit reports and scores for suspicious activity and to inform their banks and financial institutions about their personal information being compromised.
The data breach includes residents not only from Nevada but Arizona and California. Riverside sits along the Colorado River, which separates Nevada and Arizona. Laughlin is also just 10 miles northeast of the California border.
The hack’s repercussions extend to the East Coast where Riverside patrons residing as far as Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont also received the data breach notification. Riverside is offering anyone impacted free credit monitoring services.
The cyberattack is the latest to hit the U.S. gaming industry. The FBI has long warned tribal casinos that they have become prime targets for hackers, but cyber concerns in the casino industry escalated when hackers successfully penetrated MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last year.
Riverside did not disclose whether a ransom was demanded and/or paid. MGM refused to pay one, which led to operational losses upwards of $100 million. Caesars opted to pay a $15 million ransom to have its IT systems restored.
Riverside Story
Don Laughlin bought Nevada’s southern tip — then called South Pointe — in 1954 and built and opened Riverside in 1966. The original “resort” offered just eight motel rooms, half of which were occupied by Laughlin’s family, 12 slot machines, two table games, and an all-you-can-eat chicken dinner for 98 cents.
Riverside underwent many expansions in the decades since to today featuring more than 1,400 guestrooms, a dozen restaurants and bars, a 2,650-seat concert venue, a movie theater, and a 34-lane bowling alley. As for the casino, the gaming floor has over 1,200 slots, two dozen tables, a poker room, and a William Hill Sportsbook.
The Laughlin family continues to own Riverside. Don Laughlin died last October at the age of 92.
Laughlin wanted to name the remote Nevada town Riverside but the U.S. Postal Service opted for Laughlin instead. Today, the town is home to several other casinos, including Harrah’s, Laughlin River Lodge, Golden Nugget, Edgewater, and Tropicana.