Turning Stone Resort Casino and two sister properties in upstate New York remained open but cash-only on Nov. 3 after a cybersecurity incident knocked out parts of Turning Stone Enterprises’ network and communications systems. Credit and debit cards were not accepted, ATMs were offline, and guests were told to bring cash.
The disruption began Monday morning. It affected Turning Stone in Verona, Point Place Casino in Bridgeport and YBR Casino & Sports Book in Chittenango, which were all operating under the cash-only restriction for a second day.
Bingo and the TS Sports betting operation did not open on Tuesday, while TS Rewards benefits were unavailable. The loyalty programme allows members to earn and redeem points for gaming, hotel stays, dining and retail purchases.
The Lake House at Sylvan Beach, Maple Leaf Markets and SavOn convenience stores were also limited to cash transactions. Syracuse.com reported that phone lines at the casino and the Oneida Nation’s health centre were down as well. The Oneida Nation is the largest employer in Oneida and Madison counties, with more than 5,000 people working at Turning Stone and other nation-owned businesses.
Turning Stone Enterprises, the Oneida Nation’s commercial arm, shut down selected internal systems as a precaution intended to protect guest information. It said it had found no evidence that confidential information had been accessed, but had not identified the cause of the incident or said whether an outside party was responsible.
The company was working with cybersecurity specialists to assess the incident’s nature and scope and restore operations, without giving a timeline for full service. It planned to issue an update each evening, as well as daily emails, until the issues were resolved.
The outage comes against a backdrop of persistent cyber risks for casinos. An FBI private-industry notification cited by Cybersecurity Dive warned that ransomware groups had exploited vendor-controlled remote-access systems and that third-party vendor compromises had led to frequent attacks on smaller and tribal casinos. MGM Resorts International estimated that a September 2023 cyberattack reduced its third-quarter earnings by about $100 million after disrupting reservations, casino transactions and other services across its US properties.
