There is an old saying – "Pay peanuts and you will get monkeys". In the last twenty four years within the casino electronic surveillance industry there have been major changes in the equipment, both in quality and price range. "Star Wars" type surveillance systems have been placed into major casino operation to deter and detect illegal activity by both staff and guest. However it has always been astonishing at how little attention has been paid to the quality of the personnel who actually operate these multi thousand dollar surveillance systems which have been purchased.

The incorrect theory is to presume that because you have all of this hi- tech modern equipment, that the personnel who are working within these areas only need to be present to monitor the equipment and are less important then that equipment. It has been an up-hill campaign for many surveillance directors to persuade corporate planners that the equipment that you have placed with in your operation is only as good as the people that interpret all the information which is produced by that same equipment. Adding to this struggle has been the opinion that surveillance is a security function and a non-revenue producing area. This contributes to an impression that surveillance personnel do not have to be paid the same as the revenue producers on the casino floor. It is true that at the end of the financial year, surveillance can not give an amount of how much money it saved your operation in theft, or how much it contributed to the bottom line. Though the equipment is an important part of any creditable deterrent, it is the people with in the operation that give it its creditability.

There recently was a quote in another gaming magazine, which stated "The more professional properties consider surveillance a profit centerî. This statement is true if the surveillance operation is proactive. However a surveillance operation which operates with low qualified, low paid staff is placing itself into a position of being reactive. This means that the operation is only reacting to things when they have gone wrong and not actively looking for problems or solutions. This is generally caused by lack of motivation due to non-parity in pay with personnel in the revenue producing areas. In the past, a large portion of the personnel who entered surveillance operations came from security departments or they recruited old gaming hands that were ìburnt out" from working on the casino floor. The former generally had little or no knowledge of casino games, and frequently only antagonized gaming floor staff by reporting on minor infractions, and the latter were cruising through to retirement. This had the effect of causing a lack of respect on the gaming floor for surveillance operations, as floor personnel either knew that the operators had no knowledge of problems, or that they had the knowledge but were just "putting in the time" and did not care.

The gaming industry today is generally one of the most compartmentalized and regulated entertainment industries in the world. This means that people who work in one area of the operation do not always know how other parts of the operation function. This is done for a number of reasons, but principally because of the belief that if the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing, it makes it harder for conspiracies to be put together with out a number of different individuals various areas being involved. Surveillance staff are involved with just about every area of the casino operation and are required to know how all of these function, and therefore know the weakness of those areas. Nowadays younger people with a goal of making surveillance as a career are been recruited, which is due in large to the success of surveillance directors gaining parity in pay with the gaming floor personnel. Also a understanding by corporate executives of how important a well run surveillance operation is to the security of their assets. Most surveillance operations functions as a separate entity within the casino and have reporting lines to a corporate head.

Some other interesting points that should be made and considered by someone who goes into surveillance is that in most areas where there is strong regulatory control, the regulations do not allow a person in surveillance to transfer to another part of the casino operation. This is due to the knowledge that surveillance personnel have about the total operation and the weaknesses of that operation. Also surveillance personnel are not allowed, by those same regulation, to accept tips, which is a large portion of the income of non-supervisory staff in other areas of the casino.

Again in the early days of surveillance, most operators were licensed as supervisory staff but not paid as such. Now in most areas they have their own classification. Lets take a few minutes to look at the requirements for someone working in a modern surveillance operation and you will understand why there is a need for parity in pay with revenue producers on the casino floor.

1. A surveillance operator needs to know all of the games which are played with in the operation. However beyond just learning the procedures and the payout for these games they have to know what can go wrong. This means the scams and tricks that the modern crook will use to gain an advantage on the table. This includes a strong knowledge of basic strategies and the ability to spot and count down card counters, spot dice sliders, etc.
   
   
2. Your operators have to have a good knowledge of all of your internal and external regulatory controls. This is to insure that your operation is complying with those regulations, which if violated could cost your operation more then a scam taking place on one of your table games. Most regulatory agencies have the ability to place large fines on casinos which are not in compliance with regulations.
   
   
3. Surveillance spends a large portion of time watching slot activity. Knowledge of all your slot operation is important for the same reasons as table games. As fast as new machines with new protections are placed onto the casino floor the "scam" artist find new ways to counter those protections.
4. One of the most critical areas of your operation is count rooms. These areas are both video and audio recorded due to the large amounts of cash and coin that pass through. Surveillance personnel are strongly involved during collections and counting. Knowledge of how they function and again knowledge of how they can be manipulated is important.
   
   
5. All cage functions are monitored, knowledge of cage paperwork and procedures is mandatory. In some operations surveillance has a strong working relationship with audit departments. As part of this relationship surveillance conducts time and motion studies and assists in audit functions by both internal and external auditors. Auditors find that they get a better view of what actual goes on. Either by reviewing film, or watching the activity from the surveillance room.
   
   
6. Because of the enigmatic nature of surveillance, staff have to work in a controlled area where large amounts of confidential information is produced. As well as working closely with in house security departments and outside agencies such as gaming enforcement agents and local police in producing and handling evidence. Maintaining internal department documents and video tape libraries and obtaining the required information from those tapes. Knowledge of the equipment, how to use it, some understanding of installation and placement, as well as minor maintenance problems.
   
   

Taking the above into consideration, you start to appreciate that the knowledge that your front line surveillance observer has, is extensively more then most pit boss or shift managers have due to the before mentioned compartmentalization. In operations where good lines of communication exist between the gaming floor and surveillance, the floor personnel turn to surveillance for advice and assistance in performing their job.

So for the overall importance of surveillance to your casino operation, it would be a shame if your stuck a bunch of monkeys into your brand new hi-tech surveillance room and only paid them peanuts, because the type of performance you will get in return will most likely be peanut shells in return!