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Panelist: Casinos Won't Leave Security to Chance

LAS VEGAS –- Las Vegas casinos have broadened their security efforts in the aftermath of the Sept.11 suicide hijackings.

Speaking Thursday at a World Gaming Congress seminar at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, five Las Vegas hotel security experts said properties are using a variety of techniques to defeat possible terrorist threats and ease customer fears.

The entry of people and packages into hotel-casinos is more closely watched, vehicles are better scrutinized and security guards are more likely to wear uniforms and weapons.

"We have a new threat out there and we have to be aware," said Cliff Holder, president of QI Inc.

Some properties are routing all personal deliveries and FedEx and United Parcel Service packages through their mail rooms. Others are limiting use of their baggage areas to registered hotel guests, and still others are more aggressively asking suspicious persons for identification.

"People want to know security is there," explained Tim Donovan, president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association.

Despite the recent wave of anthrax scares and lingering fear of follow-up strikes to the Sept. 11 attacks, the panelists said customers shouldn't worry about visiting Las Vegas hotel-casinos.

"We are not hearing from authorities that Las Vegas is going to be a target," Donovan said. "(Hotel guests) are as safe here as they are in their own homes."

Keith Michaels, surveillance director for the Tropicana hotel-casino, said the terrorist threat is minimal for those staying in Strip casinos, and Holder concurred.

"We're pretty lucky in the casino business compared with most hotels because we have a lot more security, more video tape," Holder said. "But still, we're open to the public."

ADT security expert Douglas Florence noted that Strip security personnel outnumber Nevada law enforcement officers by 10-to-1.

One of the keys to an effective plan to deal with thousands of possible terrorist threats is to train security personnel, Florence said.

"The folks who are going to perpetrate any type of activity against us will have a well-rehearsed skit," he noted. "They'll be well prepared. Training is important and it's one of the things we need to do a better job of."

Derk Boss, Stratosphere surveillance director, said having the right policies is less important than having well-trained security personnel.

"They have to know exactly what they're needed to do," Boss said.

Donovan said that the anthrax scares of the past week have translated into irrational fear on the part of a few hotel guests.

He cited a woman staying at an unnamed Strip casino a couple of days ago who thought that the lint on a roll of toilet paper was anthrax.

"These people see a quick blurb about anthrax on TV and they think they're an expert," Donovan complained. "After Sept. 11 we went to a heightened state of alert, but that's not the same as a state of panic."

Michaels agreed that there is a fine line between increased alertness and a climate of fear.

"We don't want to create an aura of panic," Michaels said. "People come to casinos to gamble, to dine, to see a show. People who don't come for those reasons stand out like a sore thumb."

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