By
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Even if you haven’t been to a live casino, you’ve certainly seen them on screen. You know that casino statistics overwhelmingly favor the casino, and that customer wins are pure, remote, chance. And yet, there are experts who try to skirt the rules in order to bank more than the casino ever would allow. In the movies, it’s the bouncers who take care of this – the burly, beefed-up muscle men, who come in wearing shades, even in the dead of night. The bouncers grab the casino cheater by both arms, take his questionable winnings, and show him the door.
But that’s Hollywood. In real life, while many casinos do use bouncers, on the floor they often prefer more professional, subtle monitoring offered by what is known as a surveillance officer. A surveillance officer is a private security agent trained to monitor casino game playing activity.
A typical casino surveillance officer performs the following tasks:
a. Oversight for game cheating.
b. Observing casino premises for customer or employee theft.
c. Monitoring to ensure customers follow state gaming regulations and company policies.
d. Provide ongoing verbal reports to managerial staff, as well as written reports as needed.
How does a surveillance officer do it? Here are common ways that casinos are set up to allow surveillance officers to be as effective as possible in catching perpetrators.
1) Place one-way mirrors from a mezzanine, or even ceiling, one floor above the casino. In addition, place these mirrors at the cashier’s cage, and front desk.
2) Install audio and video equipment to record activity, and monitor via live screens.
3) Above all, harness emotional intelligence. Surveillance officers are instinctively intuitive, able to assess possible violations via facial expressions, body language, and communication among customers. This character train – more art than science – is key for tracking customer illicit activity in casinos.
ISSM has private security personnel on staff who are also trained casino surveillance officers on staff. Their well-rounded security training fosters confidence in any casino owner. Call ISSM for more info.
