Casino and resort security

March 16, 2010
A roundup of recent security applications and installations

Casino Copenhagen

Casino Copenhagen has deployed a surveillance solution based on the XProtect Corporate security platform from Milestone Systems. "Like all other casinos, we must conform to strict laws and regulations for security and internal procedures," says the casino's surveillance manager, Jesper Frederiksen.

Using the security platform, operators are able to control hundreds of surveillance cameras at the same time, viewing live or archived images from different servers simultaneously. In addition, the video material is easily exported when the police want evidence.

Several hundred cameras are connected to the servers, each with a storage capacity of 10 TB. This is critical for the video archives, since recordings from the gambling tables must be saved for 31 days according to the law, while images from the cash transactions must be kept for 62 days. The video records with sound and this gives a special advantage: should a customer ask to put his money on the color red and there is a dispute, the operators can scroll back to determine precisely what did occur, which quickly resolves any disagreements. The images are also used to ensure that all internal procedures are upheld.

"We can find precise sequences from many different angles, scroll back and forth quickly, synchronize time, and zoom in for close-ups," Frederiksen says. "The issues often have to do with who has put a chip on the table at a certain time and for a particular amount. We can browse the images from several cameras at the same time and see the details of a person's hand in action."

Chinook Winds Casino Resort

Chinook Winds Casino Resort, Oregon is an example of how a gaming surveillance operation can be transformed following the installation of a digital IP Video solution. The resort recently deployed an end-to-end, integrated, 500-camera system from IndigoVision to replace aging analog/VCR equipment. The system was installed by IndigoVision's Approved Partner, Southwest Surveillance Systems.

The resort consists of an always-open casino, 227-room beach front hotel, fitness center, 18-hole golf course and six restaurants. The surveillance solution offers high-quality, full frame-rate video without dropping a frame, under any conditions. This is fundamental to ensure that any fraudulent activity is detected and customer disputes are quickly resolved - an area in which the Casino has seen significant improvement.

Choctaw Nation Casinos

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has deployed or plans to deploy approximately 1,200 IQeye HD megapixel cameras for surveillance of high-value areas at four of its casinos, for security at its gaming tables, cashier windows and cash counting rooms, entryways, parking lots and other outside areas.

The deployment includes a mix of IQeye711, Sentinel and Alliance Dome cameras. The cameras make up a combined Genetec, Pivot3 and IQeye security solution for the new McAlester, Grant, Stringtown and Durant casinos. The cameras provide forensic-level images of the gaming floors and slots and some key locations in the back of the house, for example, the vault and safe areas.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa

NICE Systems has received follow on orders from Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE) for its NiceVision video surveillance solution. The new orders are part of a casino upgrade project that CNE initiated in 2008 to replace various video surveillance systems and standardize on the supplier's IP-capable video surveillance technology. The upgrade orders were received through NICE partner IK Systems Inc. (Victor, N.Y.), the systems integrator for the CNE project.

CNE, a major casino operator in Oklahoma, is transitioning to IP and megapixel cameras in addition to video surveillance technology capable of supporting its various casino environments and enabling a smooth IP migration. The surveillance solution, which includes NiceVision Net IP, Network Video Recorders (NVRs), encoders and a NICE Virtual Matrix for video management, is currently being installed at two CNE casinos - the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, and the Cherokee Casino West Siloam Springs casino which uses 100-percent megapixel and IP cameras. Combined, the two properties have more than 1,600 analog, IP and megapixel cameras which will all be managed and recorded using the supplier's Virtual Matrix.

Atlantic Palace Hotel

The five-star Atlantic Palace Hotel in Agadir is one of Morocco's premium gambling resorts with a casino that offers slot machines, roulette and many forms of poker including tournament play. Gamblers are attracted to the progressive jackpots of the machines and the country's only bingo hall, with visitors using a hotel complex that is 200 meters from the Atlantic Ocean.

The casino has chosen a combination of network cameras and speed dome cameras from Hikvision to monitor gaming tables and the surrounding areas.

The network cameras offer 1.3 megapixel data, high levels of vandal-resistance and 1600x1200-pixel resolution, as well as video preview and support for Power over Ethernet (PoE). The IP-addressable speed domes feature compact dimensions so they can be deployed covertly, along with H.264 compression.