Director Of Surveillance
Casinos deal with tremendous amounts of money and large numbers of customers, guests, and employees. While the majority of people visiting casinos are honest, any time there are big sums of money around, there may be those who think there is an easy way to get it. They may come up with simple or elaborate schemes and techniques to cheat either the casino or other guests and customers.
Legalized gaming must adhere to strict state and government regulations. In order to keep everything legal and safe, casinos have very extensive security and surveillance departments. The security department is filled with security officers who are uniformed, visible, and identifiable in the casino. Members of the surveillance department, on the other hand, are not usually seen by those outside the surveillance office. As a matter of fact, in most cases, the surveillance officers are not even known or visible to other employees of the casino, with members of the surveillance department generally working in an isolated area of the casino.
The person in charge of overseeing the surveillance department and its operations throughout the casino is called the Director of Surveillance. Within the scope of the job, the person has a great many responsibilities. The main responsibility of the surveillance department is to observe the activities in the gaming areas, count rooms, and cages. In order to do this, the casino places hundreds and sometimes thousands of closedcircuit video cameras strategically throughout the casino gaming area. Some of these cameras are focused on gaming tables. Others follow people throughout the casino.
Many casinos build catwalks above the gaming tables and gaming area so surveillance can be conducted via these closed-circuit camera screens. These cameras are often referred to as “the eye in the sky.” The surveillance room is full of banks of TV screens that allow the workers in the surveillance department to see the gaming tables as well as the people in the casino and the casino hotel.
Members of the surveillance department monitor the video from these cameras in a surveillance room to determine if there are any wrongdoings, illegal activities, or problems occurring in the casino. The Director of Surveillance coordinates the activities of the entire surveillance staff to assure that the casino and its customers are protected. He or she is responsible for making sure that there is extensive protection in the gaming area against cheating and theft.
Within the scope of the job, the Director of Surveillance is also responsible for ensuring that people within the casino are safe. He or she additionally must make certain that surveillance officers watch for errors made by dealers in the ways games are dealt, played, or paid off. The surveillance director insures that his or her department watches for cheating at all table games including roulette, craps, blackjack, and baccarat, as well as slots, bingo, keno, and so on. This is generally done by viewing the closed-circuit camera screens in the surveillance office.
The Director of Surveillance must assure that surveillance officers or observers are watching the activities of cages and cashiers. In doing this, the individual can watch to see if employees are embezzling, making accounting errors, or giving out incorrect amounts of money or chips. The Director of Surveillance will often go to seminars, conferences, and workshops to learn about new ways people might attempt to cheat or embezzle money. The Director of Surveillance is expected to select and recommend the hiring of new employees for the department. He or she may sit in on the interviewing process with the human resources director or may handle this process alone.
The person is expected to coordinate the surveillance staff, scheduling surveillance officers and giving them their assignments. At times, he or she may need to schedule more officers for special circumstances, such as holiday weekends or on days when a big convention is expected in town. The person may also schedule more staff when there is a known cheater or card counter in town.
The Director of Surveillance is responsible for training all surveillance personnel.
It is essential that each employee knows what to look for when reviewing tapes and what procedures need to be followed. The individual is also expected to train qualified department employees for supervisory jobs.
As part of his or her responsibilities, the Director of Surveillance performs evaluations of all employees. He or she may recommend promotions when warranted or be expected to terminate employees who are not performing effectively. The Director of Surveillance is also expected to review the surveillance measures in the facility. He or she may make changes or recommend improvements in the surveillance procedures being utilized to make them more effective. The person is responsible for reviewing daily reports prepared by the surveillance staff regarding activities that occurred during their shift, such as theft, cheating, or embezzlement from either customers or employees. He or she is also responsible for reviewing any actions that were taken as a result of these activities.
The Director of Surveillance is responsible for advising corporate management of incidents and actions. This is generally done with written reports, but may also be done verbally. In cases where the police are involved, the director may be the one responsible for providing the evidence necessary for conviction. Additional responsibilities of the Director of Surveillance at a casino or casino hotel include:
- Reporting any incidents to the appropriate parties
- Making sure all departmental reports and records are maintained
- Handling employee disciplinary actions
- Making sure employees follow company policy
- Leading investigations in game protection concerning cheating by customers and employees
- Preparing reports for police
Salaries
Salaries the Director of Surveillance for casinos and casino hotels can range from approximately USD 42,000 to USD 100,000, but may be higher. Factors affecting earnings include the specific facility and its, prestige, size, and geographic location. Other factors affecting earnings include the responsibilities and experience of the individual.
Employment prospects are fair for Directors of Surveillance for casinos and casino hotels. The greatest number of opportunities exist in areas where there are large numbers of casinos.
Las Vegas, Reno, Laughlin, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City, Biloxi, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Detroit, and Black Hawk offer the largest number of jobs. Other employment settings include casinos and casino hotels in other areas of Nevada, Mississipi, New York, Louisiana, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Arizona, and California. Other regions hosting Indian gaming and land-based or riverboat gaming facilities, racinos, and bingo will offer additional opportunities.
Advancement prospects are fair for Directors of Surveillance at casinos and casino hotels. Individuals may climb the career ladder in a number of ways. The most common method for career advancement is finding a similar position at a larger, more prestigious casino, resulting in increased responsibilities and earnings. Other individuals advance their careers by being promoted to jobs as corporate director of surveillance or vice president of security and surveillance. Some individuals strike out on their own and become surveillance consultants for the casino industry.
Education and training requirements vary for the Director of Surveillance at casinos and casino hotels. Most casinos require a minimum of a high school diploma or the equivalent. Additional requirements generally include formal training in a number of different casino games. This is usually done at either a dealer school or gaming academy.
In certain states the Director of Surveillance must also go through an approved surveillance school course of study. These are offered in gaming schools as well as in some community colleges, vocational technical schools, and trade schools, in areas that host gambling. Some casinos also offer surveillance training internally.
The Director of Surveillance at a casino needs to be licensed by the state in which he works.
This is done through a state gaming authority or commission. Before being hired, the Director of Surveillance will generally also need to go through a complete background check.
Experience, Skills, and Personality Traits
The Director of Surveillance at a casino must have a number of years of experience working in the casino surveillance department. Generally, the larger and more prestigious the casino, the more experience will be required. Some casinos may require four or five years of experience in the field, while others may want 10 years or more. Experience as a dealer is also needed so individuals can have a better knowledge of games and techniques people might use to cheat. Supervisory experience is necessary. This may come from a prior position as a floorperson or pit boss. The Director of Surveillance needs to be a responsible person with excellent judgment, good communications skills, and the ability to solve problems. A total knowledge of casino games, facility policies, and state gaming rules and regulations is essential. An understanding and awareness of methods and techniques used by customers and employees for cheating is critical to success in this type of job.
Individuals interested in a career in this field should contact gaming institutions or academies, gaming schools, and casino human resources department.
Tips for Entry
1. Prior experience in surveillance, police work, the military, or security is helpful.
2. jobs in this field are advertised in the newspaper classified section in areas hosting casinos. Look under the headings of “Casinos,” “Gaming,” “Director of Surveillance,” “Surveillance Director,” or “Casino Surveillance.” You might also look under the name of a specific casino or casino hotel.
3. Jobs may also be located online. Check out the Web sites of casinos and casino hotels. Many post openings on their sites.
4. Don’t forget to check traditional job sites such as Monster.com and Yahoo Hotjobs, as well as job sites specific to casinos.
5. You might also check out recruiters and search firms that specialize in the casino and gaming industry.
6. Send your résumé to casino hotel human resources departments.