Home » Physical Security » Video Surveillance

What Happens in Vegas Stays on Tape

Las Vegas casinos make no bones about it: whether you're an employee, customer or stray dog, you're always on camera

By Todd Datz

September 01, 2005 — CSO —

Casinos make no bones about itwhether you're an employee, customer or stray dog, you're on cameraalways

The ease with which Derk Boss talks about the surveillance system at the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas reminds one of a realtor reciting the features of a house that's been on the market for too long: Stratosphere uses approximately 1,700 cameras overall: About 500 are dedicated to gaming areas, most pan-tilt-zooms; about 300 of those are focused on the casino floor (all gaming operations are recorded at all times). There are two separate surveillance groups, one focused on gaming, one on the back of the house (hotel hallways, elevators, restaurants).

Boss, who's been involved in the gaming industry for more than 25 years, is vice president of surveillance for Stratosphere and founder and president of the International Association of Certified Surveillance Professionals. In the world of craps and slots, Big Brother is not just big, he's gargantuan. "Video surveillance in gaming is a bit different than in other industries," says Boss (the understatement of the year). "We're very proactive; our job is to protect the casino from professional cheats and street criminals that come to prey upon customers or the casino."

That means eyeing the blackjack tables for card counters, watching the slots for "rubberneckers" (folks with bad intent who are swiveling their heads looking around for security instead of focusing on the machines), or zooming in on dealers who may be exposing cards intentionally. Boss's employees are trained on how to play and how to cheat at each gameblackjack, craps, roulette, you name itto better understand what to look for from their monitoring station. Training in this case is of the it-never-ends variety. "We estimate it takes four to five years for a surveillance person to be trained from knowing nothing to the point when they're familiar with everything. But then we never stop; we're working weekly on somethingspecial classes, seminars. The criminals are always ahead of it. It's a very demanding job," he says.

Boss provides casino employees with an overview of his department's role during their orientation, and once a month or so puts on fraud awareness and loss prevention classes for supervisors and managers. Boss doesn't hide the fact that, like Harriet from Sheboygan or Demetrius from Tuscaloosa or any other customer who's come to plop down chips and plow through the buffet tables, employees are starring live on security TV. "The whole approach is to protect the companyto give a sense that we're everywhere," he says. "In the gaming world, we have a lot of money, and people will try to take it more than in other industries."