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Protecting Your Money in the Green-Felt Jungle

An all too familiar scene in a casino is a bewildered patron explaining to a security officer, "I don't know what happened. I turned around, and my money was gone!"

What can take your hard-earned money faster than a cold slot machine or a hot blackjack dealer? Casino thieves and scammers, that's who!

Most people entering a casino don't think much about their own safety and security. Their thoughts are centered on the excitement – joining the action, having a good time, perhaps eating something, being entertained, and maybe, just maybe, being one of the lucky few who leave with more money than they came with.

Unfortunately, there are some other people who enter a casino with that last goal in mind. They too would like to leave the casino with more money than they came with. They too are gambling, but not on table games or slots or keno or at the race and sports book.

These people are gambling on a game where the odds are more in their favor. They are gambling on YOU. They are betting that you will be so caught up in all the excitement of the casino that you won't even see them coming, and you won't realize what hit you until they are long gone.

Most casinos are generally very safe places. Casino operators spend large amounts of money to ensure the safety and security of their customers.

However, the next time you are planning a casino trip, there are a few things you can do before you go, and when you get there, to lessen your chances of running into some unscrupulous character trying to separate you from your money.

Pickpockets

One type of thief that tends to be drawn to casinos is the pickpocket. Some of these people are highly skilled at their chosen profession, while others are less adept. Most of them will use the "bump and run" approach, while a select few have such skilled fingers that you would never know that you've been touched.

The latter type is like a magician at work. If you become a victim of one of these professionals, you will never know it. You will just think you must have forgotten your wallet at home or in your hotel room, or wherever you last took it out.

The "bump and run" type of pickpocket is much more common. Most men like to carry cash in their wallets in the back pocket of their pants. This is the worst place to keep your wallet, and the easiest place for a thief to get to it. Beware of bystanders at a table game or in a slot machine section of a casino that are not playing the games themselves.

These types of thieves will troll around the casino looking for easy, unsuspecting victims. He may drape a coat over his arm or carry a rolled-up newspaper to cover up the move as he "accidentally" bumps into you or gently leans against you. The coat or the rolled-up newspaper is also where your wallet will be deposited when he has successfully removed it from your pocket and is walking away.

Some pickpockets work in teams where one person steals your wallet, and then immediately passes it off to his confederate as he passes by. In this way, if you should feel the intrusion and stop the person, he has already gotten rid of the evidence.

Don't "Advertise" Your Wallet

It is amazing to watch how most men will "advertise" where they keep their wallet or their money. When carrying a lot of cash, most people have a tendency to check it with their hand and "pat" the area every couple of minutes to make sure it is still there. If this sounds familiar to you, try to make a conscious effort to stop doing this. You are showing the watchful thief exactly where your money is and making yourself an easy target.

When going to a casino, men should consider leaving their wallet at home or, at least, carrying it in a front pocket. Money clips can easily and comfortably fit into a front pants pocket. Other good alternatives are fanny packs and money belts that are worn underneath the clothing around your waist.

Women should utilize fanny packs. Or, if you must carry a purse, make it a small one that closes securely and has a shoulder strap.

Purse Snatchers

This brings us to our second type of thief: the purse snatcher. These types are generally not professional "sleight of hand" artists; they are usually just common thugs at the lower end of the criminal food chain. It doesn't take much skill to steal or wrestle a purse away from an unsuspecting patron.

When playing the slots, keep your purse closed and on your lap at all times. If the casino you are playing in has plastic dividers between each row of slot machines, it is generally safe to place your purse between the machines. The dividers prevent someone from reaching through from the next row over and pulling your purse through without your knowledge.

At the table games, management will not allow you to keep your purse on the table. The next best alternative is on your lap. Again, make sure it is zippered or buttoned closed at all times to keep out the wandering hands of the strangers around you.

Never leave your purse on the floor. It is too easy for someone to take it while you're concentrating on the game.

Part Two appears Monday.

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