The recent global IT outage has caused chaos for banks, airports, hospitals, and businesses worldwide, but Las Vegas casinos have largely been spared from the disruption. Reports from the infamous gambling capital of the world are mostly positive, especially when it comes to the casinos themselves.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Green Valley Ranch was the only casino in the area that experienced significant issues during the outage. All of its slot machines were down on Thursday night, while Las Vegas Strip and downtown casinos continued to operate without any major problems. Some video screens at Red Rock Resort in Summerlin did display the dreaded Microsoft Windows “blue screen of death,” but the casino was otherwise unaffected.
However, the online sportsbook BetMGM was not as lucky and its app was impacted by the global systems crash, remaining down at the time of reporting. The outage has caused widespread disruptions at airports, including Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. Major airlines have been affected, leading to 225 delayed and 81 canceled flights on Friday morning alone. Thousands of flights have been canceled across the US since Thursday night, leaving many travelers stranded at airports without accommodations.
The root cause of the global computer outage has been attributed to a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike that contained a “defect” which crashed systems running Microsoft Windows worldwide. Unlike a cyberattack, this situation is more complex to resolve and cannot be fixed simply by rebooting computers or rolling back updates.
Overall, while the global IT outage has caused significant disruptions in various industries, Las Vegas casinos have managed to escape the worst of the chaos. With the exception of a few minor incidents, the city’s gambling establishments have continued to operate smoothly, providing a small silver lining amidst the widespread technological turmoil.