Casino Company Forced to Stop Operations Amid Technical Failures

Saratoga Casino Holdings still does not have control of certain casino operations that were rendered useless due to a technical glitch discovered last week.

The company owns Saratoga Casino Black Hawk in Colorado and Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez, Mississippi. Both facilities were forced to close operations once the issue was realized, and both are yet to reopen.

There is no immediate timeline on when the properties will reopen their doors to the public.

Unexpected shutdowns

Saratoga Casino Holdings is headquartered in Saratoga Springs, a city in upstate New York. The company is named after Saratoga Casino Hotel, which also resides in Saratoga Springs.

Although the details of the informational glitch are unclear, they have already forced two of the company’s three casinos to halt operations for days. 

“Our IT team has made progress on resolving the issue and we hope to open as soon as possible,” the Saratoga Casino Black Hawk said on its Facebook page. “Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

“Magnolia Bluffs will remain closed,” the Magnolia Bluffs Casino said, also via Facebook. “We will continue to update you as progress is being made to resolve the issue.”

Saratoga Casino Hotel in New York did not close amid the shutdowns, although it did experience issues related to the glitch. Patrons were unable to access certain parts of typical patronage, including their rewards cards and promotions.

The company also shared a post over the weekend that encouraged guests to visit the casino during the extra hour afforded by daylight savings.

What caused the issues?

It’s unknown if the technical glitch was a result of internal errors or an external attack. When  provided with the opportunity, a Saratoga official did not elaborate.

“All properties were impacted in some way,” said Amy Brannigan, Saratoga Casino Holdings’ marketing director. “Unfortunately, we have no update on a timeframe for reopening.”

Casinos have been a popular target for computer attacks. MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, both of which are substantially larger than Saratoga, fell victim to a cyber-hacking group linked to the infamous Scattered Spider.

The criminals used social engineering, or tactics designed to talk their targets into granting them access to privileged areas, systems, or information. 

Caesars agreed to pay roughly half of the $30 million demanded by the criminals, while MGM lost about $100 million as a result of its attacks. 

Saratoga Casino Holdings purchased Magnolia Bluffs and its hotel in April 2022, and its Black Hawk location in 2013.

The Saratoga Casino Hotel in New York first opened in 1941. It was expanded in 2004 and joined by a hotel in 2016.