Crystal Bay Club Casino Upgrades CCTV System

Crystal Bay Club and Casino is upgrading its video surveillance system to include the latest in high-definition cameras from CoVi Technologies.

The casino has some 144 cameras positioned over 265 slot machines and 10 gaming tables. It also has cameras located through the casino in the entry areas, restaurants, lounges, retail shops, kitchens and parking garages. The cameras are all tied to an advanced IP network for constant video monitoring and storage, making it one of the most advanced security solutions in the Lake Tahoe area.

The casino was built in the late 1930s on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. After its sale in 2002 to Roger Norman, the casino has been undergoing a renovation including new slot machines, table games, restaurants and lounges and more.

Crystal Bay needed cameras that could provide quality images in varying levels of light, dark and shadow environments. The resolution had to be crystal-clear and have a wide enough field of view to monitor all of the players and action going on at a gaming table. CoVi's 1280x720 pixel full motion color video cameras were chosen to provide an ultra-high dynamic range solution to address problems associated with low-light conditions around table games such as blackjack, roulette, craps and three-card poker. Crystal Bay also needed to reduce the frequency of manual incident review by security personnel and management in order to validate that a theft or other questionable activity occurred. Due to low-light conditions and poor-quality surveillance footage, incidents could sometimes require as many as 12 or more reviews before a determination could be made.

Each CoVi EVQ-1000 camera provides up to four multiple simultaneous views reducing the number of cameras required to cover a gaming area. With CoVi's patented zoom-under-picture (ZUP) technology, casino surveillance can efficiently monitor cards, patrons and cash with a single camera lens and zoom-in independently with CoVi's electronic pan-tilt-zoom (EPTZ) capability. Crystal Bay Club security personnel gained unparalleled clarity of table activities and have currently cut the time required for incident review by 75 percent.

'Poor image quality is useless and will cost you a lot in employee productivity and personal loss. You cannot afford to spend hours reviewing recorded video to resolve a problem or claim. Customers want immediate action and it is our responsibility to make sure everyone is treated fairly,' said Roger Norman, owner and manager of Crystal Bay Club and Casino. 'When we saw the image quality in the CoVi camera, we were all very impressed. CoVi's camera provides that crystal clear image and level of detail that we were looking for. We can easily monitor all of the activities at the gaming tables from one camera, which saves us both time and money. The images that we see on the monitors are so clear that it is like standing next to the player and seeing it with your own eyes. No more second-guessing because of poor image or color quality.'

Norman added that the Multiview capabilities of the EVQ-1000 enhance the total viewing field, so that you can custom create what you want to see and record. In addition, using one camera to replace three to four of the leading competitive cameras makes for a good investment. CoVi's cameras provide quality-recorded video that are easily accessed for review and integrated into our existing IT security network with no special handling or installation required.

According to Joe Schanda, director of gaming markets for CoVi Technologies, 'The EVQ-1000 is much more than a fixed camera. It's a system product that provides significant benefits when fully integrated into an existing security system. Like the PTZ dome, which revolutionized the industry many years ago, the EVQ-1000 allows an operator to see things other fixed cameras miss. It provides a solution the industry has been asking for but until now has not been available for large scale deployment at a cost-effective price.'