## Reinforcing Physical Casino Protection
Safeguarding traditional casinos extends well beyond sporadic security cameras. This is essential given the spectrum of risks these venues encounter, ranging from active shooter incidents to credit card scams.
### Knowledgeable Assembly
At the G2E Las Vegas gathering, a group of casino security, observation, and regulatory specialists convened to share perspectives on the most critical challenges confronting the sector today. *Gaming Insider* attended and recapped the dialogue, guided by Darrin Hoke, outlined below. Honoria Hebert serves as the Director of Regulatory Adherence at Resorts World Las Vegas, while Derk Boss functions as a Security and Observation Advisor.
**How do you perceive surveillance aiding you in the realm of compliance, and the other way around?**
**HH:**
A prominent subject in compliance is Title 31 and Unusual Activity Notifications. Just a short while ago, Title 31 primarily involved documentation – surveillance preferred minimal involvement in such matters. Since then, the situation has reversed – the documentation aspect represents a minor portion.
Upon the arrival of a guest, having submitted perhaps three or four incident reports throughout the year regarding questionable behavior, I have the ability to contact my security personnel and inquire, ‘Could you provide me with additional information? Am I accurately assessing this situation? What is your evaluation of their actions?’ I prefer not to involve them immediately because documenting this is my responsibility, not theirs. However, I can share observed patterns, and they can reciprocate with data and surveillance footage, which has proven instrumental in solving several major cases.
DB:
Our operations are no longer confined to a silo. We are actively examining gaming statistics, reviewing food and beverage records, conducting analyses of existing systems, and extracting information from compliance. We have moved beyond solely relying on cameras with the hope of a fortunate break. It is encouraging to witness this shift, where we can utilize departments like compliance to support our endeavors.
What are your thoughts on the concept of “Customer Due Diligence” and its implications? In your opinion, how will this affect security and surveillance practices in the future?
HH:
It is intriguing to observe the growing desire to acquire more comprehensive knowledge about our patrons with each passing month. Previously, we only sought information if compelled by a federal grand jury summons or upon encountering them in news reports. Now, the prevailing sentiment is that we should have been aware of them before reaching such a critical juncture.”
My comprehension of the critical nature of safety and observation truly blossomed when I required a sharper image of specific individuals. Let’s simply state there were motivations for me to investigate further. For instance, certain persons would enter and engage with substantial amounts of money. That’s when I’d depend on my observation and safety personnel – they acted as my senses. I’d examine their records, scrutinize their wagering habits, even conduct some online research. However, observation could immediately reveal if someone frequented the roulette wheel or why they consistently appeared to possess so much cash. Were they utilizing credit cards suspiciously? Were they inflating their gambling victories to make their actions seem more regular than they truly were? Observation could disclose their associates. My observation unit provided me with a wealth of knowledge.
DB:
Observation is how we truly understood our patrons, it was our forte. We conducted numerous background investigations on these individuals – their identities, their origins. I recall this one young man, merely 22 years old. He’d play craps daily, wagering thousands of dollars. He operated a dilapidated vehicle, so what was the source of this income? We investigated him and discovered he was employed at a car wash. Therefore, either he was receiving incredibly generous gratuities, or something else was transpiring. It surfaced that he was entangled in illicit activities, likely drug trafficking. In the past, that money would have simply materialized at the tables without inquiry. Such actions are no longer tolerated.
High-ranking individuals often avoid addressing gun violence, yet compelling them to confront it falls upon us. Perhaps presenting them with visual documentation of previous incidents would capture their focus. It is imperative they grasp the genuine danger this poses, Derk.
What is your perspective on incidents involving armed assailants? How should safety protocols be structured in response? What function does observation technology serve? How do we surmount the obstacle of convincing leadership to acknowledge the severity of this issue within our current social climate?
DB: Undoubtedly, firearm incidents demand our attention – in fact, we have already experienced such an attack. We represent a vulnerable objective, which aligns with their desire for notoriety. They seek recognition, and what better platform than one with a vast array of recording devices? Therefore, I concur that this constitutes an ongoing pattern requiring our vigilance.
However, I haven’t observed widespread training or preparedness for these situations. Perhaps a select few among us have reviewed active shooter protocols or strategies – outlining expected conduct and evacuation procedures – but the majority haven’t, nor do we engage in practical exercises. Clarity of action is crucial, and we lack sufficient practice in this domain.
I believe the security and monitoring sector must assert the reality of this threat and advocate for drills. Regardless of broader participation, ensuring the readiness of security and surveillance personnel is paramount. They are uniquely positioned to furnish law enforcement with real-time information – relaying events as they unfold, individual locations, designated safe zones, and the contents concealed behind closed doors.
Incorporating instruction on managing these scenarios during new employee orientation is a fantastic concept. I encountered resistance during initial implementation, as leadership was hesitant to alarm staff, but the employees appreciated having that knowledge to understand how to react during a crisis.
I recognize it’s a challenging topic for higher-ups to contemplate, but it’s our duty to enlighten them about its significance. Perhaps presenting the footage from the recent incident could be impactful, though I realize it’s not a favored approach, it might convey the seriousness of the matter.
While we may have backup strategies, I can attest that they often go unread until a critical moment arises.
By the 25th of October, all company devices must possess the capability to scan a microchip implanted within the card. What is your perspective on adhering to PCI regulations? How do you perceive the connection between observation and safety?
HH:
Achieving PCI standards necessitates a heightened level of responsibility. We conduct numerous post-incident inquiries to generate reports on credit card deception, which underscores why safety and observation are of utmost importance to me. I can request the observation team to review previous recordings to determine if we can pinpoint the individuals utilizing these credit cards.”
Utilizing observation, we can better pinpoint persons and monitor their possible arrival hours at lodgings. From a safety perspective, if this individual is required to pass through a rotating entrance or electronically verify their identification, we could potentially ascertain their actual identity.
DB: Our organization comprises numerous divisions, such as Regulatory Adherence and Internal Examination, tasked with detecting indicators of deception. However, I’ve observed that in numerous instances, we are not allocating sufficient resources to educating the personnel directly performing the tasks. One could argue they lack deficit prevention instruction, and I believe we are failing in that regard. We should conduct some educational meetings, guide them through the fundamentals of what to observe, as their proficiency in this area will enhance the quality and quantity of information they can provide.
Various forms of deceit exist—it’s astonishing how frequently we encounter these diverse schemes. The US experiences a higher prevalence compared to other regions, as many nations have adopted the new card technology that has been prevalent in Europe for years. Currently, some larger organizations have employed or established their own specialized units solely dedicated to investigating fraudulent activities. I am acquainted with some individuals in this field, and their teams typically consist of nine or ten members, all incredibly occupied, each managing 10 to 20 cases concurrently.
HH: ”
Its vital that your income monitoring, inner regulations, and – indeed, even your funds units – are consistently informed when a payment card scam alert arrives. Honestly, this isn’t universal, but it ought to be. A client might simply phone and state, “Listen, somebody utilized my card, but I wasn’t present,” perhaps it’s merely a couple hundred dollars. Bookkeeping resolves it, observation is unaware, and protection never learns about it. That profile? Never marked. An opportunity to apprehend a lawbreaker, potentially lost.
Let’s discuss irregularities – and how they relate to some larger situations.
Every gambling establishment conducts some degree of internal examination on every section that manages exchanges, searching for these irregularities. However, here’s the problem: you might be overwhelmed by insignificant data. A chief executive informed me last September that he was already over 15,000 irregularity documents deep for income inspection – just for the year! So how do you distinguish the significant information from the irrelevant?
Conversely, we’ve encountered scam instances where those irregularity documents were incredibly valuable when we were attempting to construct a case against an individual. I’m referring to a gaming facility administrator who was fabricating gaming device breakdowns and then utilizing “reimbursement” to pilfer – forty dollars here, two hundred there.
She received error notices on this matter practically every day, all originating from the same individual. With fifteen thousand errors, can you truly fault anyone?
Our current endeavor, which is showing progress with productive inquiries, focuses on examining these errors for patterns. Inquire with your finance, auditing, and regulatory teams about employees with the most errors, specifically looking for particular error types. Delving into this data will uncover alarming discoveries, including blatant theft that never reached surveillance or security.
If you aren’t already receiving an analysis of your error reports, request it. Should you uncover an employee involved in illicit activities, obtain all their exception records from your compliance team to strengthen your case. In certain instances, these reports can pinpoint a monetary value, elevating the offense from a misdemeanor to a felony. The data exists; ensure it reaches you.
DB:
While they might conceal the act of stealing, the outcome is undeniable – the funds are missing. Any occurrence leaves a trace, discoverable through investigation. This information is then refined for specificity, leading to an irrefutable case.
This piece was initially released in November 2015.
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