The state of Nevada issued its first gaming license in 1931. Since then, the
U.S. casino population has grown to account for nearly half of the casinos worldwide
by some estimates. Security is big and serious business among U.S. casinos,
and homeland security, digital video, RFID and data management are all helping
to shape its present and future course.
Helping on the Home Front
The casino industry has since 9/11 made significant contributions to the advancement
of security applications. For instance, the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association
has partnered with federal, state and local governments by offering their members’
facilities as a testing ground for many security technologies.
In one test, casinos used image recognition to read license plates on vehicles
entering their parking garages and valet parking areas. This type of system
can also recognize the plates of moving vehicles on freeway systems, a capability
that could lead to significant improvement in criminal hunts and Amber Alert
searches.
Not long ago, this kind of technology seemed unattainable. But many of the far-reaching
ideas of yesterday have been made real by convergence and related technology
advances.
Integration with Proven ROI
More than 10 years ago, ST&D published an article on a retrofit at the Rio
All-Suite Casino and Hotel. The big news was their integration of the latest
in matrix technology and Pelco PTZ—the first Spectra series—into
their surveillance room remodel.
Now, improved CPU processing power and matrix and keyboard interfaces allow
us to more simply manage live and archived video from hundreds or thousands
of cameras. We’ve clearly seen an evolution to IT platforms in the casino
industry, and it has resulted in more advanced recording features and more opportunities
for integration.
The digital video recorder and intelligence software have initiated significant
advances in security’s integration with business applications and processes.
Just a few examples:
• Integration between video and point-of-sale systems
- Decreases employee theft and credit card and check fraud
- Allows exception reporting for financial transactions
• Integration between video and motion detection
- Reduces liability suits
- Detects suspicious behaviors and unusual activity in restricted areas
• Integration with FBI and DHS watch lists
- IDs criminal suspects through real-time data comparison
With capabilities such as these, DVRs can typically offer an ROI of between
90 and 180 days. They assist in theft recovery, reduce investigation time and
alarm proactively for potential threats. They also help measure and document
compliance to the minimum internal control standards of the Nevada Gaming Control
Board.
On a related note, most intelligent video features lose their effectiveness
when the video they’re analyzing is of a low quality. So, the question
of what compression codec to use is significant. Most casino surveillance directors
desire 4 CIF, or broadcast-quality video. This has been achieved with MPEG2
and MPEG4, both quite capable of meeting and exceeding security directors’
expectations. On the horizon, H.264 is being hailed as the next big thing that
will provide even greater resolution and compression capabilities.
Watch All Players and All Games
The investigative process in the casino environment requires security directors
to perform complex searches for a variety of specific events. Thus, casinos
need integrated security systems that use video and loyalty or ID cards to
• track table games (wins/losses)
- by pit and game
- by day, week, month and year
• track all marker and credit activity
• retrieve data on all players and employees using the card system
• monitor all fills and credits of gaming cheques
• detect card counting and advantage play using object and image recognition
combined with algorithms
• search archived video by specific camera using image and/or facial recognition
• track slot machine games
• set parameters for suspicious play and monitoring of unusual codes
• retrieve archived data for present and past activity by player or employee
• track jackpots and financial transactions associated to the video
Many manufacturers have already begun incorporating these necessary features
into their security products.
Every Chip Has a Story to Tell
During last year’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the world’s largest
gaming show, I had the privilege of moderating a presentation on RFID in gaming
that provided great insight into the progress being made in this application
whose roots are firmly embedded in access control. The president of ChipCo International,
John Kendall, spoke about the potential of RFID-enabled gaming chip systems,
which allow casinos to automatically track the wagers, wins and losses of individual
gamers. Las Vegas’ Hard Rock and Wynn casinos are already using RFID systems
in their table games.
Any investment in new technology must lead to better results on the table games—more
hands per hour, better and more accurate player tracking information, employee
performance data, elimination of counterfeit chips, etc. When everything is
being watched electronically with RFID systems, some reduction in pit boss personnel
is possible.
ChipCo works with SenSysNet and QualTech Networks, both based in Canada, to
offer RFID chips in a 13.56 MHz system. Kendall has been working since 1988
to integrate RFID sensors into gaming tables, doorways, cashier stations, employee
badges and player loyalty cards for casino management software (CMS) programs.
He said that the world of gaming has been asking for this technology for at
least the last eight years. The early systems using 125 KHz technology were
very slow and have limited applications today. While 13.56 MHz is the proper
frequency for gaming applications, it was unavailable to gaming until January
2004 because of delays configuring the required security (encryption algorithms)
and processing speed as well as allowed power generation.
The FCC, which regulates radio signals in the U.S., needed to conduct several
months of tests to make certain that higher power (from 1 watt to 8 watts) was
safe to be around for long periods of time. The FCC now allows up to 8 watts
of power for this 13.56 MHz frequency. This increased wattage was necessary
to send a signal all the way across a doorway to eliminate employee theft of
chips, and it makes gaming applications for RFID possible.
Learning the IT Lingo
The kind of digital and technology convergence we’ve discussed so far
has offered many benefits to casinos and gaming facilities. However, when it
comes to securing the data that these solutions provide, there has been much
conflict between IT and security departments. Some security executives want
nothing to do with their IT counterparts and vice versa. There have also been
many misunderstandings regarding what the IT professional can contribute to
the future success of integrated security applications.
Recently I came across a book that explains the methodology and terminology
of IT security in a non-technical way. The book, Know IT Security: Secure IT
Systems Casino Style, by James P. Litchko, is a worthwhile read for any security
manager in the gaming industry.
Keep Yourself Informed
Because the technology available to us continues to evolve, it’s important
for all casino security directors to continually educate themselves on new threats
and opportunities.
ASIS International’s Gaming and Wagering Protection Council, formed about
10 years ago, has excelled in providing training for the industry where no training
existed before. The current council members include directors and vice presidents
of security and surveillance for several major gaming properties, as well as
leaders in vertical markets that round out the gaming industry. Tribal Gaming
and AustralAsian subcommittees provide specific direction to their expanding
representative markets.
The council is most visible during the Global Gaming Expo where, in conjunction
with the American Gaming Association, it provides the security and surveillance
educational series during the whole conference. But the council has also regularly
provided educational speakers at ISC West. In fact, at this year’s ISC
West, the council will present a panel discussion called Digital Video Recording
Standards for Gaming Venues (7W03) on Wed., April 5 at 1:00. If you’ll
be at the show, this will be a smart way to keep yourself up to date on some
of the latest issues in our industry.
Douglas L. Florence, CPP, is director of the gaming sector for NiceVision.
He is a surveillance and security executive with more than 30 years of comprehensive
security experience involving management, investigations, systems integration
and consulting. He was also formerly a director of surveillance for The Mirage
and for the Rio All-Suite Casino and Hotel.