Tommy Glenn Carmichael did a lot for casino security. He wasn’t the most observant pit boss or the fastest guard; Carmichael was operating on the opposite side of the barricade. The infamous slot hacker and his devices did help casinos become more impregnable and sharp-eyed.
Tommy’s first cheating tool, known as the top and bottom joint, brought him millions of dollars. The device had 2 parts: the bottom guitar string was drawing current from a circuit board of the machine, while the top thicker metal wire, shaped like number 9, was inserted into a coin slot. These two parts created a complete current circuit that had enough power to trigger a payout.
The time didn’t stand still: casino security evolved, and video slots appeared. Tommy Glenn had to move forward too, and even 5 years in prison for casino cheating couldn’t discourage the genius mind. The hacker, together with a couple of accomplices, took a year to buy a video the poker machine and dig in its depths before the introduction of another invention – ‘Monkey Paw’ (aka ‘Slider’). This one was able to maneuver the inside mechanism and make it payout. Tommy went to prison again, but if you think it was his last try, you lack faith and optimism. There was also ‘The Light Wand’ blinding the optical sensors calculating deposited coins.
Carmichael was creative and persistent, plus, he wasn’t alone. People from different parts of the world have been trying to over-smart the almighty House. They’ve used fake coins and glued them to strings, created algorithms to count cards, colluded with casino staff and software designers who coded the Random Number Generators to activate the payout after a certain coin combination… They’ve placed miniature cameras in their sleeves to peek at a dealer’s cards and put tiny computers – in their shoes… Can you imagine entering card values into your little device with toes? That must’ve been hard and hilarious at the same time.
Evidently, the House has to protect its territory. So, all the computer advances and the Internet boost weren’t just there to entertain gamblers with more elaborate games, mobile apps, and all the possible promos like starburst pokie bonuses. Casinos don’t shy away from applying the newest technology to always be one step ahead in the war of wits.
Heard of the Big Brother? Welcome to his residence
With all the advances in technology and their almost sci-fi capabilities, the Surveillance system is still the casinos’ number one guard dog.
Everything you do at a gambling venue is watched and recorded. In addition to highly trained employees – dealers, pit bosses, and floor supervisors, who keep their eyes cautiously on everything suspicious going on – there’s also a third eye in the sky. Cameras cover 98% of all the space, including all the nooks and crannies available for visitors.
The luxurious Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas has more than 1,100 cameras that can zoom in and out, with 50 of them being able to record 360-degree images. They are high-definition models as well as analog P/T/Z (pan-tilt-zoom) ones.
The cameras never stop recording what’s happening: they are always watching. The footage is stored and can be reviewed at any request. Meanwhile, a specially trained security team occupies several rooms fully equipped with computers to monitor both gamblers and dealers for cheating behavioural signs, or ‘the tell’. About six people watch over 40 monitors in real time, but that’s not all. The footage is analyzed again later then, and all the crooks get profiled.
‘Where everybody knows your name…’
Any welcoming House has to follow a simple hospitality rule: know your guests’ names, recognize their faces, and possibly try to memorize the car plate signs.
Yes, facial recognition and more complex surveillance devices monitor the casino premises too. The photos and car numbers of the most undesirable gamblers (and the most desirable VIPs), regularly added to a huge database, allow the security to spot a cheater before they reach the threshold.
You might be playing at a table and not even know that your name got on the list because you behaved suspiciously. You are likely to go on gambling at casinos years and years after that and not be aware, while all the surveillance team will be familiar with your bio.
1080 high-definition cameras see all the cards in your hand and count the chips on the table. Very soon, some professionals say, this information will enable casinos to profile all their guests in even more detail. They will know your gambling style, predict your most probable next move, and the amount of money you are going to lose or win.
Thinking of stealing casino chips? Not your best idea
All the casino chips have RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tags attached to them. It means that the security staff never lose track of each and every casino chip and can also deactivate all their values as soon as the tokens leave the territory. Even if you manage to steal a few (which is already, let’s be frank, close to impossible), you won’t be able to exchange them anywhere.
Using RFID tags is another means for the House to control the financial flow. They always know how much money is on the table, in bets or in your pockets.
Big data warehouse
VIP casino guests are usually nicely asked to download and install a mobile application that promises to make their holiday experience even more personalized. It will display all the bonuses and loyalty points, help reserve a hotel room or order breakfast service. It will also record how much they have spent on slots, how many unsuccessful bets they’ve placed at a Roulette table and how far they can go trying to strike it lucky.
Would you install the application? Of course: it’s so convenient.
A customer’s satisfaction is everything to a casino owner. So, having learned your gambling patterns, the House might use the information to build a personal connection.
The system is extremely sophisticated: it keeps track of what games you are playing and predicts what move you are most likely to make next. It knows the odds of the game and calculates the winning outcomes. When a gambler is on the verge of losing badly and leaving the hall, the system will tell the staff to send a drink for distraction and make the player miss the unfortunate bet.
Casinos know whether they should keep a person at a table and cold-heartedly take their money or let the customer go and wait for their return. Welcome to the age of technologies, ladies and gentlemen!
A few years ago, thanks to the data warehouses, hosts of gambling houses realized that their guests are getting younger. The understanding nudged them towards a new view on technologies. Computerization is not a key to protection and profiling only: it’s a perfect way to attract the millennial crowd. Now we’ve seen them boost online gambling, add an interactive aspect to the process with the help of social media networks, live streams, and VR. Mobile applications and digital payment systems make the process easier to get hooked on and harder to get out. But it is a completely different story.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the tour to Big Brother’s residence under the guidance 777pokies.casino that provided all the information and insights.
