Landry's And Golden Nugget Complete Investigation And Report On Payment Card Incident

HOUSTON, Jan. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Landry's, Inc. and Golden Nugget Hotels and Casinos (collectively "the Companies") value the relationship they have with their customers.  Because the Companies understand the importance of protecting payment card information, they have been working tirelessly to complete the previously announced payment card investigation.  The investigation began immediately after the Companies received a report of suspicious activity regarding cards that had been legitimately used at some of their locations.  The Companies hired a leading cyber security firm to examine their payment card systems, implemented advance payment processing solutions, and have been working with the payment card networks and law enforcement.

Findings from the investigation show that criminal attackers were able to install a program on payment processing devices at certain of the Companies' restaurants, food and beverage outlets, spas, entertainment destinations, and managed properties.  The program was designed to search for data from the magnetic stripe of payment cards that had been swiped (cardholder name, card number, expiration date and internal verification code) as the data was being routed through affected systems.  Locations were affected at different times during one or both of the following periods: from May 4, 2014 through March 15, 2015 and from May 5, 2015 through December 3, 2015.  In addition, the at-risk timeframe for a small percentage of locations includes the period from March 16, 2015 through May 4, 2015.  The list of affected locations and respective at-risk timeframes is available at www.landrysinc.com/protectingourcustomers. 

Enhanced security measures, including end-to-end encryption, have been implemented to prevent a similar issue from occurring in the future, and the Companies continue to support law enforcement's investigation.  The Companies are also working closely with the payment card networks to identify potentially affected cards so that the card issuers can be made aware and initiate heightened monitoring of those accounts.  For those customers the Companies can identify as having used their card at an affected location during that location's at-risk timeframe and for whom the Companies have a mailing address or e-mail address, the Companies will be mailing them a letter or sending them an e-mail.

Customers that used a payment card at an affected location during its at-risk window should remain vigilant to the possibility of fraud by reviewing their payment card statements for any unauthorized activity.  Customers should immediately report any unauthorized charges to their card issuer because payment card rules generally provide that cardholders are not responsible for unauthorized charges reported in a timely manner.  The phone number to call is usually on the back of the payment card. 

Landry's and Golden Nugget regret any inconvenience or concern this may have caused.  Customers with questions can call (877) 238-2151 (U.S. and Canada), Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm EST.

About Landry's and Golden Nugget
Landry's and Golden Nugget are multinational, diversified restaurant, hospitality, gaming, and entertainment companies based in Houston, Texas. In the aggregate, they operate, own or manage more than 500 high-end and casual dining establishments around the world, including well-known concepts, such as Landry's Seafood, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Rainforest Cafe, Morton's The Steakhouse, The Oceanaire, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood, Mitchell's Fish Market, Chart House, Saltgrass Steak House, Claim Jumper, and Mastro's Restaurants. They also operate a group of signature restaurants, including Vic & Anthony's, Grotto, Willie G's, and others. The gaming group includes the renowned Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino concept, with locations in Las Vegas and Laughlin, NV, Atlantic City, NJ, Biloxi, MS, and Lake Charles, LA. The entertainment and hospitality divisions include some managed locations and encompass popular destinations, including the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, Kemah Boardwalk, Aquarium Restaurants, and other exciting attractions, coupled with deluxe accommodations throughout the Houston and Galveston area, including the Westin Hotel in downtown Houston, the Kemah Boardwalk Inn and luxurious San Luis Resort, as well as the Galveston Island Convention Center, Galveston Island Hilton and Holiday Inn all located on Galveston Island.

SOURCE Landry's