Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Southern Nevada has announced a data breach that revealed private information for over 55,000 customers.
The Laughlin, Nevada, resort started notifying state attorneys general and affected customers on September 5 about a discovered data breach. Casino security staff suspect that the breach took place on July 24, 2024.
The unapproved individual reportedly accessed confidential customer information, such as 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 Wrongdoing So Far
Laughlin, a grandchild of the late Don Laughlin, stated that the resort has not received any reports of the stolen sensitive information being utilized for illegal activities. However, individuals who got the notification letter are urged to keep an eye on their credit reports and scores for any unusual activity, and to notify their banks and financial institutions regarding their personal information being breached.
The data leak involves individuals from Nevada, Arizona, and California. Riverside is located by the Colorado River, which divides Nevada from Arizona. Laughlin is located only 10 miles northeast of the California state line.
The consequences of the hack reach the East Coast, with Riverside customers living even in states like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont also getting the data breach alert. Riverside is providing free credit monitoring services to all those affected.
The cyber assault is the most recent event to impact the US gaming sector. The FBI has repeatedly cautioned tribal casinos that they have emerged as main targets for hackers, but worries in the casino sector intensified when hackers managed to breach MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last year.
Riverside did not reveal if a ransom was requested and/or settled. MGM declined to make a payment, resulting in operational losses exceeding $100 million. Caesars chose to pay a ransom of $15 million to recover its IT systems.
Riverbank Tale
In 1954, Don Laughlin purchased the southern tip of Nevada, previously known as South Pointe, and he launched Riverside in 1966. The initial "resort" had merely eight motel rooms, with half occupied by Laughlin's relatives, along with 12 slot machines, two table games, and an unlimited chicken dinner for 98 cents.
In the years that followed, Riverside experienced numerous expansions and now includes over 1,400 guest rooms, twelve dining establishments and bars, a concert venue with 2,650 seats, a cinema, and a 34-lane bowling center. The gaming area of the casino features more than 1,200 slot machines, two dozen table games, a poker room, and a William Hill Sportsbook.
The Laughlin family still possesses Riverside. Don Laughlin passed away last October at the age of 92.
Laughlin intended to name the isolated Nevada town Riverside, but the US Postal Service chose Laughlin instead. Currently, the town features a number of additional casinos, such as Harrah’s, Laughlin River Lodge, Golden Nugget, Edgewater, and Tropicana.
