Sault casino set to reopen Friday morning

Gateway Casinos Ste. Saint Marie will open at 9 a.m. Friday, according to a news release.

Both slots and table games will be available along with the Getaway Restaurant, the release added.

"We will continue to re-open our businesses in Ontario over the coming days," Gateway said. "Please visit the Gateway property websites or social channels for the most up to date information. We look forward to welcoming our customers and employees back."

The casino will operate Sunday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.

On April 16, the 14 Ontario casinos operated by Gateway Casinos abruptly closed their doors due to what was termed, at the time, as a “system-wide malfunction.”

The company since admitted they were victim of a ransomware attack. That means a hacker or hackers found a way to lock up the company’s IT system and is holding the company ransom until an unspecified amount of money is paid to them.

“While we have no evidence thus far that personal information of our customers or employees has been impacted, we have experienced a ransomware attack on our IT systems,” the company said in a news release.

“Unfortunately, cyber criminals often attempt to compromise personal information. We are continuing to work with third-party experts on a 24/7 basis to determine if there has been any impact on personal information in this case. 

“We want to reiterate that we have notified the relevant privacy officials, law enforcement, and government regulators about the cyber incident,” noted the release.

On April 29, Gateway announced a plan to start re-opening its Ontario operations with a phased approach.