Harrington Raceway & Casino Reopens, Remains Quiet Due to Technical Disruptions
Posted on: January 2, 2023, 11:06 am.
Last updated: 2 January 2023, at 11:06 a.m.
Harrington Raceway & Casino in Delaware reopened for business just in time for Saturday’s New Year’s Eve. But the Delaware State Fair-owned property is otherwise tight-lipped about the recent technical glitches that forced the racino to shut down operations last week.
Harrington closed abruptly on Tuesday, December 27. The cable car and casino said on social media that the property had closed due to unspecified “technical difficulties.”
No further details were provided, most critical to patrons was whether their personal information was compromised. After being dark for more than 72 hours – with little or no information available to the public – the casino reopened at 10 EST on December 31st.
“Thank you for your patience,” read a message posted on Harrington’s social media. “New Year festivities will be celebrated as planned.”
The casino said it will honor free spins and other comps that expired at the end of 2022 through January 31.
The customer’s outrage
Harrington Raceway & Casino is one of three commercial casinos in Delaware. The gaming floor is equipped with around 1,400 slot machines, 30 table games and a poker room with 100 seats. Harrington also offers sports betting through the Delaware Sports Lottery.
Harrington is the smallest of the three casinos in terms of annual revenue. Racine generated gross gaming revenue of $99 million from its slots in 2021, and about $10.4 million from its table games.
Harrington’s decision to keep the details of its technical problems from the public has caused some backlash and unease among customers. Since casinos are prime targets for hackers, many people wonder if their credit card information, social security number or other confidential information was obtained illegally.
Harrington has handled this so incredibly poorly,” commented Facebook user Carolina H. “Hasn’t even acknowledged it on this page for days, giving very limited information.”
“They need to inform the players how compromised we are. And if our information was hacked,” Angela D. added on the Harrington Facebook page.
“Not surprised. These hackers are getting better at hacking than the security specialists can keep up with,” said Robin M., who claims to have worked in cyber security.
Ongoing issues
Harrington reopened ahead of New Year’s Eve, but patrons who visited the casino over the weekend encountered ongoing problems. The casino’s Facebook followers said they experienced problems with some machines correctly reading their Players Club cards.
I went on Saturday and couldn’t spend my money, says Grandma R., who is a Harrington “Top Fan” as designated by Facebook. “This was not my fault.”
Suzi N. said she couldn’t use her Players Club card on Saturday either. Kelly H. said none of the casino’s ATMs or coupon redemption kiosks were working properly over the holiday weekend.
