Walk into a casino anywhere in the world and it's hard not to get caught up in the bright lights, the ching-ching of the slot machines and the overall excitement.
But behind the scenes of every card flipped, every slot machine that hits and every roll of the dice, big brother is watching you… and that eye in the sky is getting more sophisticated every day.
Tune into NBC's hit series Vegas, which follows James Caan as a surveillance director, and you might roll your eyes at some of the seemingly impossible things they do to catch people cheating in his casino.
But experts in the field say that the technology in Vegas isn't too far from what really is possible in the surveillance field (although the dramatic situations portrayed are usually completely bogus).
"Well, some of it is futuristic," said Charlie Guenther, vice president of corporate surveillance for Resorts International Holdings, which owns Resorts Atlantic City, the Atlantic City Hilton, the Las Vegas Hilton and other properties across the country. "But believe it or not, some of it does exist."
Guenther, who has been in the surveillance business for 25 years, says the biggest advance in technology is the camera.
"They are so high-powered," Guenther said. "They move 360 degrees, they can automatically zoom in on a particular problem and are a whole lot smaller and better. They can zoom in and read the year on a coin or a serial number on a bill from very far away."
If you are on the casino floor—or even off—there is most likely a camera that can capture your every move. Whether you're parking your car, having a drink in a lounge or eating at a restaurant, casino cameras are able to be where you are and see what you are doing.
"The reason all of the cameras exist is not only for the casino but for the protection of the guest," Guenther said. "They extend into restaurants and lounges because there is a lot of revenue from the back of the house—the restaurants, outlets, stores and shops. They are cash-driven businesses, and of course, they have to be monitored."
While there are cameras everywhere, most of the equipment is located on the casino floor. Every table has approximately four to 10 cameras watching it, offering surveillance employees every angle they will possibly need, watching the dealers and players.
Although there is not a camera on every slot machine, regulations mandate every slot machine must be covered by camera coverage.
"They are there to make sure no one is trying to take advantage of slot machines, internally or externally," Guenther said. "The biggest scams are definitely coin-related. There are a lot of ways to cheat a coin-operated slot machine. That's one of the reasons the industry has moved toward the ticket vouchers. Yes, it's convenient, but it also helps safeguard the casinos from coin scams."
Even with all of these cameras, it's impossible to watch everyone, right?
Yes, it is. But with the improved cameras comes improved software and digital capabilities. Every camera in a casino is hooked up to recorders, whether tape or digital, to document everything going on 24 hours a day.
"The software that is being created and introduced changes the way surveillance works in casinos every day," Guenther said. "Software can do everything from tracking chips to tracking specific cards. It can tell you which tables are down and which are up with very little human intervention.
"And the biggest advance these days is the switch to digital. When casinos have digital systems that archive and index what the cameras record, you can find what you're looking for in a matter of seconds. That basically changes everything for us in the surveillance field."
Computer software is so advanced that it will tell surveillance teams there is a problem with little or no human interaction. For example, software can watch a specific person or item, like a piece of artwork or a gaming chip, and if the person or the artwork or the gaming chip moves, the system will alert surveillance.
[DIGITAL BUGS]
But with the digital technology come some issues, said Greg Schaaf, director of surveillance for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.
"Right now, we're analog by choice," Schaaf said. "But we are evaluating digital. We hope that others test it first because there are a lot of bugs in it. Steve Wynn's new casino in Vegas installed a great system, and I think a lot of casinos are using that as a model to see how it goes. We're waiting to make sure our transition will be as smooth as possible."
Borgata's careful crossover into digital is the method that most other casinos seem to be adopting, too.
"It will be really convenient and fast and wonderful if it all works," Schaaf said. "Our library has 12,000 tapes in it right now. So yes, the convenience will be great, and we're really excited about it. But we have to make sure the technology is there before we make the move."
Derk Boss, vice president of surveillance for American Casino and Entertainment, which owns the Sands in Atlantic City and Vegas properties including the Stratosphere and Arizona Charlie's, agreed.
"That kind of investment is a real big deal to any company, to switch to digital," he said. "It will cost us millions. And the old systems are very solid and dependable, and can probably chug on for some time. So you just have to make sure the expense is justified."
Alan Zajic, owner of the Nevada-based security and surveillance consulting firm AWZ Consulting, said the cost factor is the No. 1 reason more casinos are not converting to digital.
"The smaller and medium-sized casinos are especially concerned about the cost factors," Zajic said. "It is the wave of the future, and it certainly beats the analog system. When you see a large facility's tape room with 3,000 docks and people constantly moving and changing tapes, it's amazing. Obviously, casinos want out of that mode."
Boss said he looks forward to the digital revolution.
"You are going to have the ability to circle something like a briefcase and ask the software to tell you when it moves," Boss explained. "And the computer will look to see when that condition changed. Today, we're looking for a tape for however long it takes to find that particular event. Meanwhile, the bad guy is getting away."
While different technology debuts every day, Guenther is most impressed by the advances in biometric technology.
"All of that has grown leaps and bounds, especially since 9/11 and the creation of Homeland Security," Guenther said. "Facial recognition and fingerprint analysis is an amazing advance to protect players and casinos from one of the biggest problems we face: identity theft."
As most players are well aware, that casino's player's card is much more than a way to earn a burger at the coffee shop. High rollers earn everything from cash comps to rooms to gourmet meals to trips all over the world. So those cards are extremely valuable.
Some casinos are taking added measures to ensure identity theft does not occur, including taking players' pictures for the cards, and at some casinos, even fingerprints. "These are major advances… and costly ones," says Guenther.
Most casinos currently use some sort of facial recognition feature to cross-reference "the bad guys," but Schaaf said the technology is still "average," and he hopes that will improve.
[BIG BROTHER WATCHING]
Zajic agreed that biometrics and facial recognition, as a whole, is still in its infancy. But he said the problem will not be with technology, but with privacy.
"People are concerned that technology is going too far," Zajic said. "People are going to be nervous if they know their pictures are being taken right at the table or slot machine, and that the casino is tracking them more than they even are now. They want some anonymity regarding their gambling habits. You can figure out how much money you can invest in a machine and the return, but you can't put a measurement on how many customers will be infuriated by the technology and move to a casino not using it."
Zajic said that privacy issue can crossover to the employees, too.
"It's getting to the point where employees' ID cards have a transmission ability so readers in the doorway frames will tell management how many times you are going through that door, when you're taking your break, how long your break was and more. It's becoming a George Orwell situation that people's bathroom breaks are even being monitored. For the employer, it could be very valuable to track the highly sensitive money areas. But there is this whole ‘big brother' thing."
Schaaf said he is most impressed by the Surveillance Information Network managed by Biometrica Systems. "Something can happen at any casino, and you can send the information to 170 casinos around the world. We sent out information about a guy cheating on roulette (putting bets down after the ball dropped and distracting dealers) and the guy was doing the same thing in Lithuania, and they caught him, leading to his arrest. Sharing information is crucial."
Boss said a big buzz is happening regarding "smart tables," where blackjack and other tables will be equipped with cameras and sensors that will rate players, keep track of wins and losses and more.
"It will be able to alert us if a player is playing suspiciously," Boss said. "It will also tell us if we want to take a look at a particular game because a table may be losing too much. That's a big advantage."
Although it seems that the casino surveillance teams are all-powerful, one thing they cannot do is record sound.
"It is a violation of federal law," Guenther said. "Each casino that has operations in the United States must place placards on the wall that tell patrons that by entering the casino, they are giving the casino permission to videotape their activities."
Gaming regulations prohibit casino operators from discussing specifics about how many people work in surveillance departments. But those big surveillance rooms you see on television do exist, as do the catwalks overlooking the casino floor, as well as plainclothes surveillance personnel making the rounds. And no matter how good the technology is, all surveillance experts say the equipment is only as good as its operators.
"It's a dangerous direction to take when you take more and more human interaction out of the equation," Schaaf said.
"Technology is a support tool for the surveillance team and the management team. The relationships between the surveillance team, the management and the regulators are very important. We all need to share these results and ideas, and good people are essential to that happening."
But no matter how much technology or how good a surveillance team is, anyone in the business knows there will always be the "bad guys" testing the system.
"It doesn't surprise me at all that they keep trying to cheat," Schaaf said. "I've been doing this for 20 years. And there is a lot of money in a casino. And all people are tempted. That's not going to change."
By Joseph Harrison
Joseph Harrison is a Casino Connection staff writer who covers news and trends in the casino industry as well as community related stories.
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