How Casino Security Works – 7 Secrets You Never Knew

 
Machine learning sounds mysterious and mathematical. It’s esoteric future science stuff. In realty, as exciting as the field of machine learning has become, it’s been used for over 50 years. Machine learning algorithms identify patterns in large sets of data. They use these patterns to find solutions to specific problems. Machine learning is not yet capable of what scientists call “human cognition”.

Every time you walk into a modern resort or casino your image is captured. The captured image is analyzed and then discarded. Every time you play a game in a casino your choices are recorded and analyzed. How much you wager and win is included in the casinos’ financial reports. Yet security software also scrutinizes your playing patterns, comparing them to “known” player patterns.

 
You may already know that all the slot games in modern casinos are networked together. These networks record every transaction. Casinos lease these slot management systems from independent developers.

Slot game manufactures now use algorithms to analyze the patterns of real player behavior. This analysis helps them improve their game designs, making games more appealing. Slot game analysis also helps identify would-be cheaters. As popular as slot games are, casinos are still famous for their table games. And this is where security has really improved over the past few years. Casinos now have the ability to track table game play with similar data.

The ARB system records table game play data the way other software records slot game play. Casinos use this data for basic accounting reports and to analyze player behavior. ARB and competitors’ advances in game play monitoring and analysis raise the bar for players who want to cheat.

 
Canon sells a software system named Profile Analyzer to resorts and casinos that uses images captured by security cameras. Although Canon sells their own sophisticated security cameras, the system accepts images from other cameras. Canon’s software recognizes people by location and time, estimating their age and gender.

 
Here’s an example:

If a lot of children enter a specific section during the afternoon, security could discretely place more personnel in the area. Marketing specialists may adjust electronic marquee messages for different groups of visitors.

When you think about it, this kind of profile analysis is similar to how online advertisers use data. They estimate where you live, your age and income, gender and marital status, and other demographic data. This data is used to advertising networks to decide which ads to show you on Websites.

 
Imagine you’re on a casino security team. Imagine something just happened in the casino and you need to identify a patron. Imagine you have to visually follow that patron’s movement through the casino for an hour.

If a casino manages 100 security cameras, your team would have to review 800 hours of footage just to scan the security feeds for a single shift. Now think of police agency that must review surveillance footage from dozens of businesses when investigating a crime. They may have to review several days’ worth of video data.

While this technology may alarm privacy advocates, it’s clearly beneficial to society as a whole. And who can blame casinos for wanting to use it? If you are robbed in a casino, there’s a chance they caught the crime on their surveillance video. But having the video footage of a crime in progress does no good if the key event isn’t found. So while you might be tempted to play fast and loose with the cards, don’t. Modern casino security has the tools to find that one moment someone slips a card onto the table.

 
If you have ever entered a gated community in a vehicle that has a distinctive window sticker with a barcode, congratulations! You’ve seen RFID technology in action. Industry and government have relied on Radio Frequency Identification for decades. Yet, only in the last 10-15 years have RFID tags really become popular. The RFID tag industry churns out millions of these devices every year. RFID technology really took off with warehouse managers.

A single AssetWatcher system can manage up to 10,000 items including card shufflers, chip drawers, chairs, tables, slot machines, coin boxes, and more. If you can slap an adhesive label on it, virtually any item can be tracked by a comparable system. Some casinos now use RFID-capable chips. But there’s another way they can monitor the use of their chips.

Do you wonder what prevents the croupiers and cashiers from stealing chips? Obviously most of them are honest people who just want to do their jobs. But the casinos watch their staff closely. Even so, human surveillance is not enough. Someone who is determined to steal a chip, whether a casino employee or patron, will eventually find a way to do so.

Although a smart chip tray system is more directly integrated into the casino’s accounting system, the security benefit is touted by the company. As casinos deploy this kind of technology they’ll accrue real time data about their cash flow. Benefits to players include less time waiting for staff to count chips, change out chips, and investigate innocent but suspicious looking game play. A pit boss is less likely to be concerned about a table moving chips in and out according to normal expectations.

 
You may not yet be playing against it, but land-based casinos are excited about a product called Shark Trap. Instead of trapping real sharks, these card shuffling devices take casino card deck management to the next level. The machines scan the cards continuously to detect new flaws from normal wear and tear to cheating.

If you have a habit of rubbing the cards you may soon have to stop. These card-sensitive technologies will flag cards that appear to have been tampered with. Just knowing they have smart shufflers on the table should reassure pit bosses. The shufflers are supposed to detect attempts to manipulate the cards in any way. Players will have to practice their old fashioned card counting skills to stay on their game in blackjack.