Wynn takes the lead

Steve Wynn has always been a trendsetter in Las Vegas and we hope his decision to equip his security force with handheld metal detectors is another move the rest of the industry will follow. “Las Vegas is a target city. We have hardened the target at the Wynn,” he told a local TV station. Frankly, we’d prefer airport-style metal detectors but Wynn strategy of giving his security team the latitude to study guests at check in and check bags when it seems warranted is one with which we can’t argue. Reports Bloomberg, “The new security protocol, put in place after Sunday’s mass shooting nearby, is likely to become the norm on the Strip and possibly beyond.”

Added an anonymous casino executive, “Every management team is going to move this up to the top of the list.” Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett confessed to a certain regulatory myopia. “We were always worried about something like this happening on the casino floor, but this was outside the casino,” he told Reuters. For one, Caesars Entertainment is going to have to do better than just “constantly reviewing our security policies and practices to keep our guests and employees safe. We are also working very closely with law enforcement, especially Las Vegas Metro, to continue to keep our properties secure.”

The proper spirit was displayed by Boyd Gaming, whose David Strow told a reporter, “What I can tell you is that as you might expect we already have some pretty robust security measures in place at our properties. But after events last night, we’ll be taking a look at our measures and if needed we will heighten measures as necessary. We won’t talk specifics though because we don’t want to compromise the effectiveness of anything we do.”

The Wynn protocol (sounds like a Robert Ludlum thriller) initially added 10 minutes to the security process before being curtailed … although if you’ve ever seen the lines at check-in on a weekend day in Las Vegas, 10 minutes isn’t that long. “Now that it is confirmed there was one shooter, we will return to scanning guests when we believe the need to arises. We are continuing our other enhanced security procedures and entrances and throughout the resort,” a Wynn spokesman said of the partial stand-down. Metro did its part by increasing its visibility at several points Downtown and along the Strip.

“We have to start thinking like the Secret Service — start looking at tall buildings,” former FBI agent and Las Vegas Sands security director David Shepherd told Bloomberg. One of the contingencies being contemplated is — God forbid — an attack by multiple shooters stationed on high. If you’ve ever been on the Las Vegas Strip I don’t need to paint you a picture of what could happen. A less-logical response to the tragedy was MGM Resorts International‘s decision to have all its showrooms go dark Monday night. I fail to see what that accomplished. One stock analyst punished MGM by downgrading its shares to “neutral.”

Wynn began scanning bags aggressively, then backed off for a more-selective approach. Even at its most forward, Wynn is laissez-faire compared to Resorts World Manila, where all guests are required to open their bags at check-in. That seems a step too far. One doesn’t want to make the check-in process as onerous as a TSA screening protocol, of which an Israeli security specialist once said wasn’t a method of assessing threats but a system for annoying people. Even in Macao, where metal detectors are mandated, increased security measures are being contemplated on the eve of Golden Week.

The shootings cast a long shadow over Global Gaming Expo, which opened shortly after Stephen Paddock‘s rampage. “In Orlando, that’s how a lot of people died,” said consultant Alan Zajic, referring to the massacre at a gay nightclub. “There were only two doors. One in the back was locked. Having a good flowing emergency exit plan is pretty important.” Considering the number of nightclubs and other entertainment venues in Las Vegas, casino owners ought to be having a good, hard think about Zajic’s advice. Another guest speaker, former Boston police chief Ed Davis minced fewer words, saying he’d thought the Sandy Hook massacre would have been a wake-up call. “This doesn’t happen in other countries and that’s because of how we regulate or don’t regulate guns,” David said, bluntly. (That’ll get the National Rifle Association hopping mad.)

The Las Vegas Review-Journal (which has done a good job with its coverage of the Mandalay Bay Massacre) paraphrased Michigan State University boffin Michael McCall as saying that “Metal detectors may not be a good option for hotels because they can spoil the vacation experience guests desire.” Yes, and getting your ass shot off at a Jason Alden concert spoils your vacation a whole lot more. By the way, the total number of weapons brought to Mandalay Bay by Paddock has risen t0 34 — I repeat, 34. Of those, 16 were in his hotel room. Paddock must have known he was going to die but not before taking a hell of a lot of people with him.

(Names of the victims are being released. Among those wounded at the concert was MGM PR spokeswoman Ashley Farkas. Happy to say, she is now recovering at home from a bullet in the shoulder.)