As Brian Christopher has shown, the ability to film in casinos has improved dramatically in the past decade since he launched his channel. All of the videos he films today, and for quite a few years now, are with the direct consent of the casinos he visits, or are recorded in casinos that have public filming policies that can be followed without needing pre-visit approval.
Today’s question looks in that direction:
I’ve never visited Las Vegas yet and I have a love for casinos and numbers? How do I myself get special permission to film at either the roulette table or 3 card poker, or any other table game like High Card Flush or Crazy 4 Poker? I would only do it for my own personal use with no patrons or dealers in them.
Nicholas W.
Filming tables vs. filming slots tends to come with different levels of access. Slots tend to be easier to get permission to film, because you’re effectively recording a computer screen with no ability to manage the outcome. Casinos will ask you not to film other patrons, which tends to be pretty straightforward when focused on the slot.
Tables, on the other hand, make casinos a bit itchier because in cases like Blackjack if you’re live streaming someone could be card counting and offering the player advice, for instance. It’s one of the reasons why casinos pretty universally don’t allow phones out at the tables during a game.
That said, there are a few casinos that have been increasingly allowing permission to film table games. A couple we’ve seen are El Cortez downtown, and Durango off strip.
Filming tables without capturing other players or dealers can be a bit easier because of the angles involved, but isn’t the only consideration in being able to get approval.
What you should expect is you’ll need to reach out in advance to their marketing department to schedule a time you can record – table games aren’t the sort of thing like slots where many casinos allow access at all, let alone without scheduling.
You might encounter hurdles if you’re only filming for yourself – one reason why casinos do allow the recording is the trade-off that they might get some positive marketing showcasing players playing tables at their casino, and being friendly to those types of situations. The positive business opportunity goes away if this is just for yourself, so you should prepare to be rejected for that reason.
Ultimately the casino has the final call over whether you record, but the number one thing is to contact the marketing department (or through their social media channels, who can point you in the right direction).
Look at where other table games players who are recording are playing for ideas of who you can ask, beyond the two examples we gave that we have seen offering recording privileges recently. Email them all, as maybe someone will be more open to your situation than the others.
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