David McKee

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, Continue reading →