Frustration Continues as Sands Las Vegas, Venetian Websites Down Again

One week after a malicious hacking of the Sands Las Vegas casino websites, the progress getting them back up has been especially slow.

Gambling911.com reported Saturday evening that some of the sites were operational once again but with delayed download times, sparking speculation of a possible Denial of Service (DoS) attack.

While back up in theory, users can only access a home page listing phone numbers for each of the properties.  Reservations cannot be made directly through the casino sites.

Nevada gambling regulator said last Thursday that it's unclear whether the hackers who knocked down all of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s websites on Tuesday had stolen patron data, including credit card information.

Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman A.G. Burnett said regulators' first priority after the world's largest casino operator was hacked Monday was to ensure the safety of player information and the integrity of the gambling systems.

Burnett said Sands officials told him that preliminary indications suggested these two areas had not been breached, but the company was continuing to investigate.

The fears were real as Sands employees social security numbers were seen scrolling across the site immediately after it had been hacked.

Prior to the websites being taken down, the Allentown, PA Morning Call newspaper published screenshots of the respective sites once that hacking had occurred.  The screenshot included a picture of Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, a major GOP donor, posing with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a message condemning the use of weapons of mass destruction.  Adelson had previously suggested that Israel should drop an atomic bomb on Iran in order to deter that nation from pursuing its nuclear ambitions.

Adelson has also launched an aggressive campaign to stop legalized Web gambling in the US, thus providing other groups a motive to target his casino company.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com