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The 2006 Las Vegas Area Casino Surveillance Report Card is an assessment of casino surveillance departments in Las Vegas, Laughlin, Mesquite, and Jean/Primm, by fellow casino surveillance agents. Read on to find out how they rate the various casinos' surveillance equipment and personnel.

2006 LAS VEGAS, LAUGHLIN, MESQUITE AND JEAN/PRIMM CASINO SURVEILLANCE REPORT CARD



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Las Vegas Area Casino Surveillance Report Card, Spring 2006
By The Vindicator and the Las Vegas Area Surveillance Mafia
© 2006 Blackjack Forum Online

[Editor's note: The Las Vegas Surveillance Mafia and its colleagues in Jean, Primm and Laughlin are a loosely-knit group of respected Las Vegas area casino surveillance agents. This 2006 report card reflects both their opinions on the current game protection capabilities of their casino surveillance colleagues, and their view of the conditions under which their colleagues must work. In some cases, while their opinion of a casino surveillance department may have been high, they gave a low grade to a casino because they believe the surveillance department there is hampered in its duties by bad equipment or inept personnel and procedures in other departments.

There are some surprising changes in this year's surveillance report card. The Vindicator and crew have also added ratings for casinos in Laughlin, Mesquite, Jean and Primm this year.

Players may find that the ratings of these surveillance experts differ in some cases from their own opinions. Again, these ratings are not based upon these experts' experience at the tables, but on their perspective as surveillance personnel.

Disclaimer: All of the information in this chart is based on the observations and subjective opinions of individuals whose information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Use this as a guide only, and bear in mind that conditions within the casino industry are constantly changing.

And be sure to read the entry on Oasis, in Mesquite. My favorite. —Arnold Snyder]

2006 Las Vegas Area Casino Surveillance Report Card
Part I

Las Vegas Strip Area
Casino	Recording Abilities	Camera Placement	Overall Coverage	Surveillance Knowledge	Floor Knowledge	Comments
Aladdin	Average	Good	Good	Average	Average	Large turnover in surveillance staff (still). Always hiring; grave has light coverage.
Bally's	Poor	Average	Average	Average	Average	Strong day shift in surveillance, weak day shift on the floor.
Barbary Coast	Poor	Poor	Poor	Good	Average	Strong surveillance on all shifts.
Bellagio	Good	Good	Good	Average	Average	All the right equipment. If they only knew how to use it.
Boardwalk	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Rest in peace.
Caesars Palace	Good	Average	Good	Poor	Good	Up-tight surveillance that used to jump to conclusions. New surveillance management.
Circus Circus	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	The floor is the only thing keeping the doors open.
Excalibur	Poor	Good	Poor	Poor	Good	They should invest some of the profits back into the place— especially training. The dealers run the place.
Flamingo LV	Poor	Good	Good	Poor	Average	Either remodel it or tear it down. Surveillance ain't what it used to be.
Frontier	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	Average	No real surveillance to speak of but the floor is easily spooked.
Hard Rock	Good	Average	Good	Good	Good	Tight crew both upstairs and on the floor. Exercise caution and good judgment.
Harrah's LV	Average	Average	Good	Good	Average	Surveillance doesn't have the tools to do the job.
Imperial Palace	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	Good	Untrained employees, poor equipment.
Klondike	Poor	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Is there even a surveillance room? 8th wonder of the world!
LV Hilton	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good	Surveillance is not up to snuff; but watch out for the floor.
Luxor	Average	Good	Average	Poor	Good	Surveillance is getting better but they have a long way to go.
Mandalay Bay	Good	Good	Good	Average	Average	A mixture of equipment; they lost all the strong people when it sold out to MGM.
MGM	Good	Good	Good	Poor	Good	Strong floor, weak surveillance.
Mirage	Average	Good	Average	Average	Good	Staff feels neglected, equipment is old.
Monte Carlo	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Cameras are old, weak upstairs, strong floor on day shift.
New York New York	Good	Average	Average	Average	Average	Surveillance and floor can be strong when they work together (which is never).
Palace Station	Poor	Average	Average	Average	Good	Disorganized in all aspects.
Palms	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Young, energetic surveillance and floor. They keep to themselves. Caution.
Paris	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Good	Power hungry group ready to backstab each other for a promotion. Dangerous to AP's.
Rio	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Was once a formidable opponent, let's leave it at that.
Riviera	Poor	Average	Average	Good	Average	Strong swing shift runs a skeleton crew. Good for hit and run play.
Sahara	Average	Poor	Average	Average	Poor	Starting to invest in surveillance. The floor is blind.
Stardust	Poor	Average	Average	Good	Good	Lots of old-timers who know what they're doing but only average communication between floor and surveillance.
Stratosphere	Good	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	They're like a musical band in which everyone is playing a different song.
Terrible's	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good	I wouldn't play there unless it was slots or craps. Caution.
Treasure Island	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	Once feared as a lion but now is a pussycat. Go grave, baby!
Tropicana	Poor	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	Reactive upstairs and downstairs but not proactive. A good place to hit on weekends.
Tuscany	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good	Where're the people? Only play on weekends or during large conventions or shows.
Venetian	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good	The best surveillance team ever. If you don't believe this, just ask them. They'll tell you! A few lost souls.
Westward Ho	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Westward No-Mo. Another one eats it.
Wild Wild West	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	The dealers will tell you how to play your hand. The info is usually wrong but God bless'em just the same.
Wynn LV	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	The best of all worlds. Possibly the best in game protection.
Las Vegas Downtown
Binion's	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	What a waste.
California	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	See above. Low table max wagers draws plunkie-flunkies.
El Cortez	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Same carpet since it opened. Break-in City for dealers—lots of mistakes (in your favor).
Fitzgerald's	Average	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	Always hiring surveillance employees, requesting "6 months experience." Figure it out.
Fremont	Average	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	No real protection.
Gold Spike	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Poor	Grind only. Pit sweats the slot players!!
Golden Gate	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	Great place to play after bingo lets out.
Golden Nugget	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	These people keep to themselves.
Lady Luck	Average	Good	Average	Good	Good	Low stakes only. Good floor and surveillance but they do get complacent.
Las Vegas Club	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	Poor	If only they could take action.
Main Street Station	Average	Average	Good	Average	Average	They share info with any- and everyone.
Plaza	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	No further comment.
Las Vegas Outskirts
Silverton	Good	Good	Good	Average	Average	Always looking for surveillance people. Good floor but you can pull the wool over surveillance.
Cannery	Good	Good	Good	Average	Average	They know their locals and you will stick out.
Fiesta Rancho	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Play for chump change only.
Silver Nugget	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Good grief! You can't possibly be this desparate.
Texas Station	Average	Average	Good	Poor	Good	Play on Friday and Saturday nights.
Arizona Charlie's Boulder	Poor	Poor	Average	Poor	Average	Bring a bucket for your winnings while they go after innocent locals.
Nevada Palace	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Open season for grinders, 24/7.
Sam's Town	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	Best when crowded.
Laughlin
Avi	Good	Good	Average	Average	Average	Both positive and negative reports on this place. Good luck.
Colorado Belle	Poor	Average	Poor	Poor	Good	Floor is sharp but note the lack of surveillance cameras.
Edgewater	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Good	Day shift is strong but they can't keep up on busy weekends.
Flamingo Laughlin	Good	Good	Average	Good	Good	See above.
Golden Nugget Laughlin	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good	We would play Harrah's before playing here.
Harrah's Laughlin	Good	Average	Good	Average	Good	Smartest group in Laughlin (just ask them). We always play there when passing through.
Ramada Express	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Well run and stocked with smart people.
River Palms	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	Quick to back room or 86.
Riverside	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	Dedicated employees who are ready to retire (or should be). Weekends only.
Jean/Primm
Buffalo Bill's	Average	Average	Average	Poor	Poor	See the next two entries.
Gold Strike	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	Poor	Laid back, with little or no surveillance.
Nevada Landing	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	Known as "The Truck Stop."
Primm Valley	Average	Average	Poor	Average	Average	Play after concerts and on Sunday nights.
Whiskey Pete's	Average	Poor	Good	Poor	Poor	Slow except for Sunday nights.
Mesquite
Casablanca	Average	Poor	Poor	Poor	Average	Nice place to stay and play on the weekends only. Otherwise it's dead and sweaty.
Oasis	Poor	Average	Poor	Average	Good	Casino relies almost 100% on the floor. The floor relies on advantage players to turn themselves in.
Virgin River	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	Check out the surveillance wiring (exposed). Good for some modest cash withdrawals.

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