What Caused Golden Nugget Atlantic City to Evacuate Casino Floor?

Golden Nugget Atlantic City is back up and running after abruptly evacuating the casino floor on Thursday, Oct. 8. A vacant Golden Nugget casino floor in Atlantic City is pictured in a file photograph. Golden Nugget was evacuated on Oct. 8, 2026, due to a security malfunction. (Image: Golden Nugget Atlantic City) One of the three casinos located in the city’s Marina District, reports began surfacing around 1:15 pm EST on Oct. 8 that the Golden Nugget casino had been evacuated. Atlantic County Scanner News, a Facebook account that provides real-time monitoring and reporting of public safety incidents in Atlantic County and Atlantic City, first reported on the evacuation. All patrons at the Golden Nugget casino are being escorted off the gaming floor by security under orders by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement,” a Facebook post read. The group later detailed that an issue with the casino’s surveillance system likely caused the gaming disruption. Casino Surveillance Goes Offline Atlantic County Scanner News reported that Golden Nugget security called an all-hands-on-deck alert at approximately 11:30 am, prompting guards on break to immediately report to the floor. Security team members were positioned at casino cages, and floor managers began conducting pit checks. When it became apparent that the IT issue would not be immediately resolved, the casino began shutting down redemption machines and slot machines around 12:40 pm. A little more than 15 minutes later, security closed off the casino floor and began escorting patrons from the gaming area. The Golden Nugget casino remained offline for about two hours before the issue was fixed and electronic machines were powered back on. It is suspected that the casino’s camera feed, the so-called “eye in the sky,” went offline for an unknown reason. Under the New Jersey Casino Control Act, Atlantic City casinos are required to operate a closed-circuit camera system. The camera network, at a minimum, must surveil the casino’s entry and exit points, count rooms, cages, redemption kiosks, slot machines, table games, and any other “critical location” essential to the casino’s operation. The casino’s security department is also monitored, and the casino must keep a surveillance log of all activities conducted. The DGE has “unfettered” access to each casino’s camera feed, recordings, and photographs. The state requires casinos to have an emergency power system to operate the surveillance system in the event of a power failure. The backup system is to be tested every 12 months. Casino.org asked the DGE to confirm that issues with the camera feed caused the Golden Nugget casino incident but did not immediately hear back. Golden Nugget Future Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Golden Nugget, has a deal in place to acquire Caesars Entertainment and its three casinos in Atlantic City. If the DGE forces the combined group to sell off a property to ease monopoly concerns, Golden Nugget could be a front-runner. Through August, Golden Nugget generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $90 million from its physical slots and table games. That’s only higher than Bally’s ($89.6 million) among the nine casinos in Atlantic City. Through the year’s first two quarters, Golden Nugget posted an operating profit of just $1.1 million. That ranked last among the nine properties. The post What Caused Golden Nugget Atlantic City to Evacuate Casino Floor? appeared first on Casino.org.