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Casino Security is Tight

"…Casino employees recognized Lagor as a frequent customer. They identified him on videotape and looked up his gambling record on an in-house database. State police used the identifying information to obtain a search warrant. After searching his house and car, they said they found evidence that he was involved, and arrested him.

"…It was the first armed robbery at one of the region's two casinos since Foxwoods opened in 1992. Casino holdups are not unheard of, according to security experts in the gaming field, but the outcome is almost always the same.

" `They don't get away with them,' said Tim Donovan, president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association. `They're recognized through surveillance tapes and they're arrested.'

"…Much of the activity is recorded on surveillance cameras and viewed by staff members watching monitors in a separate area. For the past two years, Foxwoods also has used face recognition software to help identify people.

"…The casinos scan the facial images of questionable customers, then compare them with images in databases of problem gamblers who have asked to be barred and known cheaters. The casinos create their own databases and also rely on external data. In the case of last week's robbery, where the robber had covered part of his face, it is unclear whether the system was tried or if the suspect was part of any database. Casino officials would not comment.

"…The Mohegan Sun, which also has a sophisticated video surveillance system, does not use the facial recognition technology but undoubtedly has its own security secrets. Both casinos have several law enforcement and regulatory bodies on site, including state police, tribal police, security staff, surveillance and gaming commissions.

"…Another way casinos track their patrons is through player databases. Gamblers join a player's club in which they acquire points toward complimentary goods and services by submitting their player's card every time they play.

"…Casinos also keep careful track of their gambling chips, in which each color represents a different denomination. Casino employees quickly determined how much Lagor had stolen after counting their remaining chips. Had the robbery suspect not been captured, he would have found it difficult to convert the stolen chips into cash. Different color chips were distributed following the robbery, a standard casino procedure, and employees would have questioned the identity and gambling history of anybody who attempted to cash in the former color…"

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