All eyes on Oyo
Oyo Hotel & Casino Las Vegas is back in the limelight just a week after rumors the India-owned casino was to shutter its live dealer table games.
A lawsuit filed in New York against Oyo’s parent company Prism has revealed that a hushed-up January cyberattack led Prism to fire co-owner Highgate Hotels as property manager.
Oyo’s live dealer table games will stay
Multiple US media houses picked up on recently released court filings to break news of the cyberattack on Monday. Las Vegas Locally took to X with news of the fallout while suggesting Oyo’s live dealer table games will stay put for now:
The headline news, however, is the cyberattack itself, whcih allegedly divulged personal data from approximately 4,700 guests, employees, and business partners. The attack took place when the resort was still managed by hotel management firm Highgate, hitting Oyo from Jan 8 to Jan 11. According to reports, Ritesh Agarwal’s Prism fired Highgate in August.
In the firing line
Prism’s criticism of Highgate’s handling of the January breach spins out of a separate lawsuit filed by the NY firm against the Oyo parent in New York.
Prism violated the state’s 90-day notice state labor law
According to Crain’s New York Business, a Manhattan judge on Monday blocked Prism’s firing of over 25 unionized hotel workers in August. New York County Supreme Court Judge Andrea Masley ruled in favor of Highgate’s claim that Prism violated the state’s 90-day notice state labor law after it axed the firm.
Despite Judge Masley’s ruling, Prism used the lawsuit to draw public attention to Highgate’s handling of the Vegas cyberattack, accusing the NY firm of “deficient” IT security protocols, “clear negligence,” and a failure to take responsibility for the breach.
Reviews, reprieves
Given the rise of cyberattacks on major Vegas casino players and legal requirements to report such breaches fast, the hushing up of the cyberattack spells trouble for whoever courts eventually hold responsible.
While the Oyo breach was in Vegas, many of the estimated 4,700 individuals affected come from outside of Nevada’s gambling capital, including three people from Maine. According to the Maine Attorney General’s Office, Oyo’s Vegas casino manager, Paragon Tropicana, Inc (PTI), informed individuals of the breach earlier this month.
PTI informed those affected on October 8
The redacted letter stated that it was notified by the Vegas casino’s “managed security service provider” of suspicious activity within the property’s shared network in January. PTI stated it then embarked on a “comprehensive review” of the attack, which it completed September 18. PTI informed those affected on October 8, a few weeks shy of nine months after the breach.
Locally’s tip that live table games are staying, at least short term, offers some respite to Oyo Vegas staff and blackjack fans after recent rumors of staff cuts.
