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Federal Program for Money Professionals Opens at Rio

A nationwide training program for money-handling professionals in gaming and banking was kicked off Tuesday at the Rio by federal officials.

The training is geared toward cash-handlers, and security and surveillance employees.

"More U.S. currency is processed in Las Vegas than any similarly sized city -- $148 million a day. That makes it important for anyone doing business (here) to know how to spot counterfeit currency," Harrah's President Gary Loveman said.

In total, almost $60 billion in currency is processed each year in Las Vegas. Statewide, the figure is twice that, making Nevada one of the largest in the country in terms of processing money and being vulnerable to counterfeiting.

The goal of the new program is to train as money handling professionals and the general public on using the unique features of the new $20 bills to spot counterfeit currency.

Enhanced security features in the new currency, which enters circulation in October, include the watermark, a security thread and color-shifting ink.

"Given the volume of cash processed in our business and the industry generally, the security around currency transactions is very important for the confidence of our customers and confidence in the industry," Loveman said.

Harrah's, holding company for the Rio, hosted the first seminar and will host a series of continuing tutorials.

"(The company) prides itself in being a leader in responsible citizenship," Loveman said.

Tom Ferguson, director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, said the public should expect newly designed currency and new training programs every seven to 10 years.

With the support of casino operators and training programs, the volume of counterfeit currency has been kept to between one and two notes per 10,000. Ferguson said it is the government's goal to keep the volume that low.

Aggressive law enforcement, advance security and surveillance procedures, the use of sophisticated counterfeit detection equipment and education tutorials that teach money-handling professionals how to spot bogus bills have all contributed to the lower volume of counterfeiting.

In 2002, the U.S. Secret Service, the lead agency in catching counterfeiters, seized $130 million in counterfeit notes before they entered circulation and another $44 million was taken out of circulation in casinos, banks and the like, said Roger Replogle, senior vice president for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

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