Casinos are all about cash and lots of it. Of course, when you have oodles and oodles of large bills laying around, security is a top priority. Over the years, both as a player and casino professional, I have seen some rather interesting things when it comes to securing the building and protecting those within.
From hunting down missing chips to figuring out how to lock up a 24/7 operation, these are some of my favorite memories:
Pennies on Fremont
Ever wonder if those armoured trucks that move money around Las Vegas have bad days? They definitely do. One of my most vivid Vegas memories revolves around the Loomis truck one weekday morning. I was walking into work; it was a Friday, so I had to park across the street at a different casino*. As soon as I turned the corner onto Fremont Street from the Binion’s garage, I saw it.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of coins were laying on the street in front of the casino. While I didn’t see it happen, I can only imagine that one of the drivers was unloading change for the cage and one of the bags dropped. Granted, those bags should be totally secure and able to handle a drop from a couple feet, but that’s neither here nor there.
I didn’t want to stress the drivers out further, so I slowly walked up to them and showed them my badge and said I worked there. I then stood with my back to them, keeping an eye out for random Fremont mischief, as they hastily picked up the coins. Thank goodness it was 8 a.m. and not 8 p.m.! There would have been a totally different outcome if there were more people, presumably intoxicated, meandering around Fremont Street.
*My casino only allowed office level people like myself to park on property Monday-Thursday.
Back of House (BOH) Invaders
Yes, all casinos have their own security teams, but when a guest really messes up, the local police department is called in for a good old fashioned perp walk. I didn’t see it often, but every once in a while I would be winding my way through the back of house (BOH) and come face to face with someone being escorted out by the boys in blue – or in this case, beige.
This is also similar to the time that someone found a way to get into the office level and started trying to open various doors. Unlike our friends in Database or Finance, we didn’t have a fancy keypad to enter our space. As soon as Database alerted us that someone was yanking on their door knob, just one office down, I sprinted to our main entrance ready to protect all things foam core (and of course, my coworkers/now best friends). Thankfully, it didn’t come down to that and soon after I think there was a mass email about door safety, but I couldn’t tell you the actual outcome. Just another day on Fremont.
Chips on The Floor
Most of us know that when table games are not open, there can be a rack of chips locked underneath a thick plastic enclosure. Most of the time, this is an adequate security measure – you’d have to be pretty brazen to try and pry it off the table, but there are some instances when the chips should be fully removed for safe keeping.
One of those instances was during a felt refresh one morning. I just so happened to be on the floor shooting some content and heard a crash behind me. I turned to see what was up and saw the whole tray of chips on the ground. Some chips were rolling away, others had landed by people’s feet, and a large pile sat dead in the middle of the action.
Without thinking, I leaped onto the chips and started sweeping the ones nearby into my protection. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to stop the guests from getting a free bet, but more so I wanted to help out the incredibly stressed team member. If there is one thing you don’t want to do in a casino, it’s give out free house money. Thankfully for that team member, we were able to get all but one higher level chip back. That chip is either still hiding out on the floor or a visitor got one heck of a story.
No Hoods
Slots are my true love but every once and a while you can find me playing blackjack. Most of the time I low roll, finding the lowest minimum bet and in hopes to settle in for a longer session.
If I am on a roll, I will keep increasing my units bet by one chip each time. There was one instance that comes to mind because I was pushing my luck and like clockwork, was presented with a book-approved double. This brought my total bet to $100 and I was n-e-r-v-o-u-s. I instinctively put the hood up from my hoodie and within 15 seconds a security guard was behind me asking me to take off my hood.
While I was mortified because I never want to break the rules, I began thinking why that would be a rule and it is very obvious. Hoods hinder the ability of the surveillance team to monitor the tables. The hood also covers a player’s ears which could be beneficial if they are looking to get some card counting help via ear piece.
Locks During Covid
If you think about it, casinos, at least in Vegas, are designed to be 24/7 operations. When Las Vegas shut down in 2020, something that quickly came to light was the fact that not all exterior doors had locks. How do you secure a building without the basics like door locks? The woodshop on property rose to the occasion and began making interlocking, doorhandle inserts that wouldn’t allow the doors to be pushed open. These inserts slid into the ornate, more than likely original or close to it, handles on the inside of doors that typically welcomed guests.
Looking back, I always remember the shock of the room when someone said “the doors don’t lock.” We found this incredibly interesting but it does make sense for truly 24/7 operations. Locks could end up being more dangerous if nefarious people used them to trap individuals instead of keeping them out.
