Here’s the scenario: You’re walking around a casino floor (probably scouting games) when suddenly a security guard walks up to you and asks for ID. When faced with this situation recently, one rookie did the following: He produced his ID, left the casino shortly thereafter, went to the adjacent sister property the next day, then got backed off nearly immediately while scouting target games. Before getting into how horrendously bad this rookie’s situational response was, let me share with you a quick story (a more detailed version of which I can share someday if people want to hear it).<\/p>\n
About 15 years ago, I was called to Tunica to be an alternate spotter on a hole-card game that had already been hit for six figures by the infamous “Wheelchair” and his then-protege. In one of the first parts of the operation, we needed to go to the Gold Strike for the BP to get chips out of his casino box (I know, I’m shaking my head, too). We considered this a delicate operation, so I was assigned to be the lookout, standing in the middle of the casino floor keeping an eye out for any trouble that might be developing. After a couple minutes, a security guard came up to me and asked if I had ID. Ironically, I was the lookout for precisely this type of warning sign. It was ON! I politely said I didn’t have any ID, but that I would go fetch it, and then I walked. And I walked. And I walked. For me to have been asked for ID was such a serious warning sign that we deemed it unsafe for the guys to pick me up in the car. They actually drove out of town immediately, and I was stranded. That night involved being chased, ditching my clothes in a casino bathroom stall, and walking up to a motel desk trying to hide the fact that my face was bleeding, but it started with a simple question, “Sir, could I see some ID?”<\/p>\n
Back to our rookie. The first mistake he made was thinking that an ID request is not a big deal. It’s a huge deal. If you’re just standing on the casino floor, then you’re not procuring or consuming alcohol, so the casino does not have any immediate underage-drinking liability. You are also not gambling, so there is no underage-gambling issue either. At worst, the casino has a minor who is loitering, who could be simply told that he has to move along if he is underage. Also, dealers and waitresses in Vegas are empowered to demand ID, so they already provide a line of defense that relieves security guards of this duty. As you see in Vegas, the casino entrances are not manned by ID-checking guards as in the Midwest or Europe. So step #1 is: know your venue. Have an understanding of how rare it is to be spontaneously asked for ID while standing around. In Vegas, this is not a common event (in a few particular spots it is more common, such as in the Margaritaville pit).<\/p>\n
The reason the ID request on the casino floor is such a big deal is that if it is heat, it’s a particularly bad type of heat. It means surveillance is watching you. It means that they care enough that they can’t even wait for you to sit at a table. It means that they want ID, probably as a precursor to barring you or databasing you. Keep in mind that they can just bar you if they don’t like the color of your shirt, so they don’t need your ID at all. If they are demanding ID, it is quite likely that they want to make some record of barring you, and they want to database you, at least internally.<\/p>\n
The #2 thing you need to do is: Try to get out before the security guard has a chance to say anything to you. You should have already seen the guard before he even got too close to you. Immediately keep your head down and casually (but without delay) start moving toward an exit. You may have to take an evasive path winding through some slot machines. As you leave, you will acquire a great clue regarding the seriousness of the incident. If the security guard had only a casual interest in age verification, then he will probably just watch you leave, thinking that his problem is solving itself. If you’ve got heat, then the guard will start to chase you down, and will start talking into his radio\/microphone, which leads to our next point:<\/p>\n
Tip #3: Try to determine who is calling the shots. If this really is just an innocuous age-check ID request, then the security guard probably is acting on his own. If heat is driving this incident, then the security guard is likely receiving instruction from surveillance. So as the guard approaches you, watch to see if he is talking into his microphone\/radio. If he accosts you and demands ID, test him: Tell him you don’t have ID, but that you’ll make sure to bring it next time and can go get it now. After telling you that it’s illegal to be in a casino without ID (yawn), he will tell his master, “The suspect refuses to provide ID.” If he says something like that and awaits further instruction, then you know that this is indeed a conspiracy, not a solo hero security guard.<\/p>\n
Let’s repeat that last part, Tip #4: Do not actually give the guy ID! What good can possibly come of that? This is probably heat, so why on earth would you want to give ID? To make the heat go away? Wrong! Oh, I know, because, “Refusing to give ID would look suspicious.” That is the most idiotic rationalization of spineless capitulation that I have ever heard, but I’ve heard it many times. Suppose you are a drug smuggler and you get stopped for speeding with a trunkful of cocaine. When the cop asks if you mind if he looks in your trunk, do you reason that since it would look suspicious to refuse, that you should give the cop permission to search the trunk???<\/p>\n
After refusing to give ID, and then leaving (the rookie left after giving ID, but if you’re going to leave anyway, why would you give ID?? Just tell them you were on your way out already and just leave! Don’t give ID!), you can #5: Collect some additional intel. Walk out the door, and don’t get on your cell phone while you are still in visual range of the casino’s cameras. Now, if you have any young-looking, non-AP friends, send one into the casino to loiter near the same security guard. If the security guard does an age-check ID request on your friend, then you can breathe a bit easier, but if nothing happens, you should worry a bit more. Go online and check if there have been any heat reports on the dump. Call some AP colleagues. Get the word on the street.<\/p>\n
You could try to loiter on a different shift or in front of a different guard to see what happens, but the safest thing is to stay away, for a while if you can. I declined an ID request at a tribal casino where I had no prior heat, but saw the security guard talking into his mic. I left and stayed out of that casino for over a year. That’s how seriously we treat the situation.<\/p>\n
So our rookie goes in the next day to scout the target games at the adjacent sister property. If you are under observation, why would you lead them directly to the target? If you are under observation, why would you want to confirm that you are indeed there looking at AP targets?<\/p>\n
You shouldn’t even be there, but if you must, then #6: Lay some cover. Sit down at a slot machine near the pit, and play for a bit to see if you are approached. If you are approached and backed off, then at least you didn’t compromise the target game. If you do see a game you want to play, buy in on some other table in that same pit. See if anything happens after you buy in and play for 10 minutes on some other game, like baccarat or craps. In general, this last move is a good idea. When you haven’t played a target for a while, and don’t know if heat has accumulated in the meantime, you should buy in on a non-target table to see if there is any immediate reaction to your presence or your name on your player’s card (if you are using a card). If there is instant trouble, at least your crew and target were not compromised.<\/p>\n
My most succinct advice for this situation comes from Robert DeNiro’s character in the movie “Ronin”: “Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here’s the scenario: You’re walking around a casino floor (probably scouting games) when suddenly a security guard walks up to you and asks for ID. When faced with this situation recently, one rookie did the following: He produced his ID, left the casino shortly thereafter, went to the adjacent sister property the next day, then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[558],"tags":[1123,1097,1170,1171,1172],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840343"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}