Foundations of Casino Surveillance & Investigations

What's the best way to monitor a casino floor? Stay one step ahead of advantageous players. This hands-on seminar will provide incredible lessons of surveillance by teaching participants exactly what to look for and monitor in some of the world's most popular casino games. From surveillance overview techniques to understanding the top casino scams to identifying card readers and marked cards, this seminar is unlike any other provided by the ICGR.

Various types of security measures are used in the casino industry to help protect the casino from loss and maintain the integrity of the games. This course will examine all aspects of modern casino surveillance including an overview of surveillance operations, reporting procedures, internal theft, procedure violations, cheating and advantage play, basic strategy, biometric technologies, evidence, civil liabilities, detection and prevention techniques, surveillance equipment, surveillance management, and regulatory requirements.

This on-site seminar will also include an introduction to investigations and several of the foundational elements of conducting investigations in the gaming industry. The ICGR will also coordinate several local site tours to see first-hand applications of modern surveillance in some of the world's busiest casinos and gaming floors.

• Surveillance #101: This session will discuss the basic knowledge principles of working in a Surveillance operation. Topics to be covered are camera coverage, camera usage, gaming reviews, phone etiquette, ethics, video evidence, daily logs, room communication and having the right tools.
• Basic Strategy: Basic strategy is the foundation of blackjack. Knowing perfect basic strategy will help a surveillance professional identify advantage players and possible scams that may be taking place. It will also determine if a player is a poor player, average player, or a good player. In this session student will learn basic strategy in an easy to memorize format.
• Visual Awareness: What you see is not always what happens. In this fun and informative session, students will learn to look at things from different angles and a broader perspective. This session is an interactive session full of video and pictures that is educational and fun.
• Investigation using Modern Day Technologies: It is truly great to be skilled in detecting theft, scams, and advantage play but as technology evolves so must the surveillance professional. This session will discuss use cases for Facial Recognition, Access Control, License Plate Recognition and how technology is changing the way surveillance operates.
• Internal Theft: Everyday employees are finding new and unique ways to steal from their employers. The average organization loses and average of $12 per employee per day. This accounts for 6% of the bottom line. In this session, students will learn how utilize technology and reports to identify internal theft and deter it from occurring in the future.
• Modern Slot Threats and Promotional Scams: The days of mini lights, slugs, and stringing are behind us. Today slot scams, advantage play, and opportunists come in multiple forms. This session will discuss the different ways casinos are being beat and taken advantage of at the slot machines.
• Top Casino Scams: In this session we’ll discuss the top table games scams that took place over the years and how scams never disappear but reinvent themselves. Students will learn the camera coverage necessary, and the cheating tells associated with each scam.
• Player Breakdowns: Players wins and player breakdowns are required to determine if the play was legitimate. In this session, students will learn the key indicators to look at when conducting a thorough player evaluation in the games of Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and Baccarat.
• False Shuffle: In this hands-on session, students will learn three different types of false shuffles, false cut, and false strip. Students will learn the science of how the false shuffle works in Baccarat and Blackjack and see actual surveillance coverage of false shuffles used in casino play.
• Marked Cards: In this hands-on session students will learn the difference between amateur, professional, and factory marked playing cards. Students will learn to how mark cards and inspect cards for markings. Students will also learn how players take advantage of these markings.
• Blackjack Advantage Play: How does a casino determine if they have a blackjack advantage player on their game? Does it have to do with betting strategies, card counting, game pace, or the house edge on a game? This session provides an in depth understanding of how players look to take advantage during casino play.
• Hiring: The two most important things to a Surveillance department are hiring and training. Finding the right individual for job is half the battle. The other half is training and setting that individual up for success.

William Joseph is the Vice President of Security and Surveillance at Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to working at the Westgate Resort and Casino, William worked in surveillance and surveillance training for the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In his spare time, William is an instructor for the College of Southern Nevada and for the UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation.

Registration Details

1. In the event a course is canceled, registrants will be notified as soon as possible and receive a full refund of their registration fee.

2. A service fee of twenty percent (20%) will apply to all participant-initiated cancellations received seven or fewer days prior to the event.

3. All cancellations and refund requests must be made in writing. Refunds granted for credit card charges will be credited to the original account charged. No refunds will be given in the event of “No Shows.” Refunds may take up to 3 weeks for processing.

For additional questions, please contact our team at [email protected].

Registration Fees Include:

• One registration for one individual to attend the three-day seminar
• All course materials
• Continental breakfast and lunch for each day of the program
• Transportation to and from the tour location

Host or Publisher The International Center for Gaming Regulation