The MGM Grand and several of MGM’s Las Vegas properties came under cyber attack this past Tuesday.

The cyber attack was widespread and affected many systems including slot machines and hotel room keys. Cyber attackers were able to disrupt slot machine play leaving slots idle and forced hotel guests to wait in unusually long lines to be reissued room keys.

What Happened?

Honestly, no one really knows. Or at least no one outside MGM or the hackers.

As the attack developed, MGM began shutting down many hotel systems to stop the spread. Like many, I’ve been to Vegas and visited several MGM hotels and have never seen this:

@ezlifeslotjackpots All slots down at MGM properties #lasvegas #mgm #casino #outage ♬ original sound – EZ Life Slot Jackpots

I’ve never been on the floor of any Vegas casino and seen this much silence. You’d have to go to Atlantic City for that action. MGM reported their facilities were “operational”, but slot machines and online booking systems were being shutdown.

What Was Affected?

A short list of things not working were:

• Slot machines
• Many electronic games
• Room access
• Room reservation systems
• Websites

This is the second time MGM has reported a major attack. The last attack occurred in 2019. That breach saw 10 million customer profiles being stolen by hackers. Not many details are known about the size and scope of the attack, nor stolen data.

This story is still developing.

-MJ