LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The large crowd inside the MGM Grand lobby Friday afternoon showed no obvious effects from the epic cyberattack that shut down its computer systems for the entire week.
The 8 News Now Investigators saw firsthand a long and steady line snaked around poles and in between roped-off lanes. Additionally, the casinos had a fair amount of foot traffic.
One might expect large crowds to descend on the so-called resort corridor this weekend. UFC fights like the one scheduled for Saturday – Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko squaring off in a main event rematch for the women’s flyweight title – and the Mexican Independence Day weekend.
To the naked eye, Friday was no different than any other Friday. Guests were sitting in the middle of the spacious lobby waiting for their travel partners to make it to the front of the line to check-in. Others said they were waiting for the rest of their party to arrive so they could begin their weekend on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.
But at New York-New York and Park MGM, two of the hotel and resort giant’s other properties near Toshiba Plaza, it was anything but. An employee told the 8 News Now Investigators the hotel was “pretty busy,” but the lobbies were hushed, the check-in lines empty.
Another New York-New York employee confirmed that its famous roller coaster and arcade are closed, more victims of the hack.
A front desk employee at Park MGM, when asked informally why it was so quiet, said many guests had canceled their reservations. The bar adjacent to the front desk, Primrose, had a lively lunch crowd, and people could be seen walking through the casino, but it was by no means busy.
Slot machines – which had been shuttered due to the hack – were operable, but the major activity in the casino at both Park MGM and New York-New York was foot traffic. The slot machines sat unattended.
