Officials: Jake's 58 in Islandia reopens after 'cyber security event' caused 3-day shutdown

Jake’s 58 casino in Islandia reopened Friday morning after being closed three days this week due to a “cybersecurity event.”

The casino's Facebook page announced around 9:30 a.m. that the "casino floor is now open" and "ready to welcome its players back."

The sudden shutdown was caused by a “cybersecurity event” at the upstate office of the Las Vegas-based company that operates New York’s video lottery machines, state officials and the company said late Thursday.

Jake’s 58 remained closed for a third day Thursday while state Gaming Commission officials investigated the service interruption, which also affected the Resorts World Hudson Valley casino in Newburgh. The Newburgh casino reopened Tuesday, state officials said.

A Resorts World spokesman said the Newburgh casino avoided closing Tuesday.

In an emailed statement, Gaming Commission spokesman Brad Maione said the operator, Everi Games Inc., “experienced a cybersecurity event that remains under investigation. … Jake’s 58 remains closed as Everi staff continues to address issues related to the event. The Commission has no indication that personal identifiable information was compromised. The Commission continues to monitor the situation.”

In a separate statement, Everi spokesman Rich Land confirmed the cybersecurity issue and said the company “acted swiftly to mitigate any impact and continues to work with the New York State Gaming Commission to investigate, contain and remedy the interruption. Everi has deployed independent expert cybersecurity consultants to conduct a complete forensic analysis of the event.”

Neither statement specified the possible source of the cybersecurity problem.

Jake's had been closed since 8 a.m. Tuesday when staff arrived to open up and found the casino's 1,000 video lottery betting terminals weren't working.

Suffolk OTB officials had held out hope that Jake's, which generates more than $700,000 in daily profits for the formerly bankrupt agency, would reopen Thursday.

Suffolk OTB president Phil Boyle said late in the afternoon he was awaiting news from gaming officials upstate.

Boyle had said Wednesday that OTB officials hoped to recoup lost revenue after the casino reopens. Boyle would not estimate potential losses but the casino reported profits of $4.9 million for the seven days ending Saturday, or about $702,000 per day.

Suffolk OTB leases the betting machines from the gaming commission, which has a contract with Everi to operate the system.

More than a dozen Jake's customers arrived at the casino in midafternoon and waited for the gaming facility to open. Some planned to gather inside at the casino-hotel's restaurant, which remained open, until they could play the betting machines.

Some were surprised that Jake's was still closed. Others arrived after seeing news reports suggesting the casino would reopen Thursday.

Russell Click said he drove all the way from his Westbury home to Islandia on Thursday afternoon, feeling certain Jake's 58 casino would be open.

But when he and two friends arrived around 3 p.m., they were surprised to find the betting parlor shut down. Click, 75, who plays video poker at Jake's at least once a month, said he was "very disappointed" and perplexed that the problem had yet to be resolved.

"They had all day yesterday," he asked, "and couldn't fix it?"

Guy Campagnolo, 86, of Holbrook, said he and his wife stopped by Jake's after completing several appointments earlier in the day.

"I play everything," he said. "It's an escape for us."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.