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Publications: (by category) Managing a Surveillance Department
Other Links:
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Open Enrollment Training is Now Available (click here) On-Site Training Seminars can be provided at this time on relatively short notice. If you and your casino would like to host a multi-casino training conference for your region, which allows for major reduction in training costs please contact me at this address: jimgoding@casinosurveillancenews.com or Gary Powell at In house training is our specialty. Gary L. Powell and Jim Goding are world leaders in casino security/surveillance training and management. We are offering comprehensive training for surveillance, table games, security, and slot operations on how to:
Training seminars are catered to each casino’s individual needs. These sessions have been presented to casinos around the world to help improve worker performance and accountability while increasing profitability. Gary Powell is a senior trainer with over 30 years of investigative and casino gaming experience . Jim Goding has been working in the Casino Surveillance field for over a decade.
Training seminars are tailor-made to the needs of the casino and the desires of its senior management. Gaming Protection Classes: Common Cheating Methods, all games:
Blackjack Game Protection class is basic to the other games. Many of the cheating methods used in Blackjack are common to the other games, and nearly all casinos have this game. Cheating and Internal Theft at Blackjack includes more than thirty video clips and illustrative photos and lecture materials over three hours. The second part of the Blackjack presentation is Advantage Play Detection and Protection. The students are taught Basic Strategy and how to use it to detect card counting, hole card play and other forms of advantage play, as well as various forms of cheating. This is a half-day course. Learning this material provides the basis as well for detection of cheating, and for detecting what type of cheating is occurring; most forms of cheating require deviations from Blackjack Basic Strategy. Students learn an elementary form of Card Counting that is sufficient information for detecting all forms of this type of advantage play. In addition, the correct handling of Advantage Players is taught in this course. There are specific liability issues connected with the handling by the casino of Advantage Players. Roulette is vulnerable to several specialized forms of cheating, and this two-hour seminar covers how to detect and prevent them through enforcement of specific dealing procedures. For areas where Table Games and Surveillance personnel do not as yet know the game itself, an optional "Roulette Basics: The Game" class is available. Craps is a traditional casino game that is far too often paid little attention, even though it is especially vulnerable to internal theft and collusion cheating. Traditional forms of cheating, such as gaffed dice, are covered first, and then we go into internal theft in depth. For areas where Table Games and Surveillance personnel do not as yet know the game itself, an optional "Craps Basics: The Game" class is available. This variation of Poker is a very popular game in the Western U.S. and East Coast casinos. It is vulnerable to specific forms of cheating and internal theft, which is well covered in this one-hour seminar. We include a number of video clips showing how cheating is accomplished on this game. We do not attempt to train staff in how the game is played, as House Way differs between casinos. In their endless quest to attract more customers and keep the casino experience fresh, new games are tried every year. This seminar covers Carnival games in general, and handles specifics from the oldest (Big 6 or Wheel of Fortune) through Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride and the other, newer poker variations. In this seminar we also cover Baccarat, or Mini-Baccarat, a favorite wherever Asian players are found. Poker: Cheating and Internal Theft Poker has become one of the most popular of casino games, and most casinos nowplay host to local and other tournaments. The game and the entire poker room are subject to many methods of cheating and especially to internal theft. This class, about an hour in length, trains in how the game and the poker room can be cheated by patrons and staff. An optional Poker Basics class is available. Internal Theft in the Pit: Surveillance personnel only There are a number of specific methods of stealing from the casino that are not included in the Games Protection Classes. This one-hour seminar covers ways in which Pit supervisors, dealers and other personnel can steal from the casino, outside of general games protection. For security of your Pits, this seminar is not taught to Pit personnel, though Senior Management is welcome to attend. Trainees learn how to detect cheating-type play, and are thus not restricted to known methods. Trainees from Surveillance are also taught methods of gathering and preserving evidence so that law enforcement agents can use the information gathered for successful prosecution. Surveillance and Pit Management are taught how to prevent cheating by adherence to proper casino procedures, how to detect it when it occurs, and how to coordinate with Surveillance personnel for effective handling, including arrest and prosecution where this is possible. These courses can be taught to both Pit and Surveillance personnel, and can be taught together or separately, except for the final seminar on Internal Theft. Separate, shorter courses can also be set up for Table Games staff alone. I have recently revamped the Slots Cheating Seminar to include new methods of cheating, with emphasis on technological methods that work on coinless machines and on internal theft. Cheating modern slot machines nearly requires the collusion of an insider, or staff who simply are not doing their jobs, in order to be vulnerable to theft. Certain high-tech methods can bypass this, this full-day seminar covers all known methods, with the focus on detecting the Scammer and the Insider. Hundreds of variations exist on ways to cheat slot machines. This is a full-day seminar, for Slots Supervisory personnel and Surveillance staff, giving a grounding in the basics of how slot machine cheating and theft can be detected. Included in this seminar is instruction in scams against change personnel. Surveillance staff are also instructed in evidence gathering and protection, as well as in detecting specific methods of cheating machines and methods of internal theft. Security personnel can be instructed in a shorter course designed specifically for Security. This is a one-hour seminar for Surveillance personnel, Security Personnel and Casino executives such as Casino Managers, Shift Managers, Pit Supervisors, Slots Director and Shift Managers. Casinos, by the nature of their business, involving large amounts of cash and other negotiables, attract undesirable elements. Pickpockets, distract and grab teams, con artists of all varieties, strong-arm and armed robbers, all have appeared and done their business on casino premises. It is the responsibility of the casino to protect its patrons from these threats. The emphasis of this course is on preventing your guests from becoming victims, by educating your staff to recognize the signs of the criminal activity and various scams before they happen. Without the protection of educated casino management, Security and Surveillance, your patrons become victims. Every casino patron who loses his property or becomes hurt is a potential lawsuit. Every injury or property loss by a patron can lose your casino dozens if not hundreds of future customers. Gathering information for evidence in civil liability issues is included for Surveillance and Security personnel. Internal Theft and Embezzlement It has been estimated that approximately six percent of workers in the average corporation are stealing from their employers. Because casinos deal in large amounts of available cash that is not yet accounted for, as well as chips and table credit, they have had more than their share of scams and internal theft. This two-hour course is designed for Surveillance, Security Supervisors, Pit and Slots Managers and above, and for managers of other departments. It teaches basics of detecting internal theft and collusion, gathering evidence, and most of all, utilizing internal controls and procedures for prevention of theft. Evidence must be competently held and preserved. Law enforcement officers are taught how to gather evidence and protect it to neutralize challenges in court. Certain basics of this must be understood and followed by casino Security and Surveillance staff. This applies not only to criminal prosecutions, but to civil liability matters as well, including guest and employee accidents and misconduct. Staff who are terminated for cause often sue their former employers, and this can be prevented by proper documentation and preservation of evidence. Because of the deep-pockets aspect of our business, casinos are often the targets of scams. Often people who would never sue over a minor accident are tempted to do so because of the possibility of large settlements from a casino that does not want publicity regarding an accident or other liability issue. This is a two-hour course for Surveillance and Security staff and managers. Managers of other departments can also benefit. Procedures as Protection of the Casino Utilization of compliance and non-compliance with casino procedures and internal controls to detect and especially prevent cheating, theft and fraud. For Casino Surveillance personnel and mid-level execs, one hour. Effective Surveillance Reporting A very simple system of collecting and reporting information on procedure non-compliance and other incidents within the casino to gather information for management and evidentiary purposes. This seminar is for Surveillance personnel, Security supervisors and above, and mid-level execs and above, one hour. Effective Surveillance Reporting (above) is required prior to this course. Teamwork within Surveillance, and teamwork between Surveillance and the other departments of the casino, is vital for prevention and detection of theft, cheating, and fraud. This course shows how to set up the teamwork activity, utilizing the reporting system contained in the Reporting course above, to prevent losses to casinos and guests. For Surveillance and Security personnel and mid-level execs and above, one hour.
The following classes have been developed for both onsite and online training. General length of each class is about one hour: Online training, because each class must be able to stand on its own, requires about an hour per class. Combining classes cuts down the time, and as many as three classes as listed can be taught in one to one-and-one-half hour. In an onsite environment, the amount of time spent on each class is again cut down, with even more effectiveness because of the interaction possible with the class on an individual and group basis. CSB-1: What is Casino Surveillance: This class is the beginning of the series and provides a viewpoint of exactly what it is that we do in a casino surveillance room, duties and responsibilities. All who wish to train in Casino Surveillance should begin with this and the following two classes, which are required materials in our onsite seminars. CSB-2: Surveillance Basic Principles: What guides our actions in the surveillance room? How do we decide what to look for, and what to investigate further? CSB-3: Surveillance Responsibilities: Basic job descriptions including areas of responsibility for all of the three levels in the Surveillance Department. Includes vital material on how the Surveillance Department works as a team with the rest of the casino operation. (CSB 1,2,3 combined is the first hour of seminar for onsite training) CSB-4: Observation Techniques: This is also the first in the series regarding how to get the most out of a surveillance department by optimizing and organizing the activities of the Surveillance Investigators. There are six levels of attention described in detail, including how the levels of focusing attention are used by observers, investigators and supervisors. CSB-5: Complacency, Greatest Threat to Casino Surveillance and Security: When all is said and done, the greatest problems in the entire casino come down to the complacency of the staff, which allows both external and internal thieves and cheats to get away with their plans. CSB-6: Politics: one of the greatest dangers to any corporate, privately owned or tribal casino is internal politics. Politics is used as a distraction maneuver for internal theft in many forms. Learn principles and practices for avoiding internal politics in your Surveillance, Security and Gaming Regulation divisions. Ev-101: Criminal Evidence Handling: A primer course in handling evidence in criminal activity situations. Handling and gathering evidence is one of the major functions of Surveillance and Security activity in any casino. Learn the rules of evidence, how to handle your evidence for later presentation in court, and specific techniques for gathering vital evidence in theft and cheating cases. Vital class for Surveillance professionals. Ev-201: Evidence in Civil Cases: Rules for handling evidence are somewhat different in civil cases, which unfortunately can prove to be far more expensive for the casino and hotel operations than any type of criminal activity. Learn what needs to be saved for potential civil litigation issues, how to in fact prevent lawsuits against the casino, and how to mitigate damages in cases where the casino is at fault. Rep-1: Effective Surveillance Reporting: Learn the basics of what a report is, what it needs, and how reports are used by Surveillance, Security and Management. Learn to make your reporting most effective. Rep-2: How to Write a Report: Now that you have learned about reports and how they are used, how do you write an effective, useful report? What is important, what is absolutely vital, and what is not? And what should you never, never, never include in a report? Sec-1: Protecting Casino Patrons: The greatest asset and the greatest potential liability as well, of any casino operation, is its guests and patrons. Learn how Security and Surveillance teams work together to protect the guests and prevent major casino liabilities. Sec-2: Investigative Techniques: Surveillance and Security personnel have specific methods and specific ways of observation for safeguarding the assets and liabilities of the organization. Includes materials on how to investigate, what to look for, and an added section on conduct in the courtroom for officer and investigators who testify in court. Sec-3: Security and Patrol Methods: Learn how Security can cover all areas of the casino-hotel complex, providing observation and handling for vulnerabilities and situations. Includes additional materials on handling victims of crimes and accidents. Sec-4: Observations and Memory Skills: Surveillance and Security officer need to be able to Observe, Remember and Communicate their observations in critical circumstances. This course teaches these skills through lecture and drills, increasing all of these abilities, as well as giving the means for teaching these skills to others. Sec-5: Presenting Your Case in Court: Every officer in Surveillance and Security will likely, eventually, end up as a witness in court on gaming violations or other cases ranging from bar fights and domestic violence to internal theft and embezzlement. This course teaches what you need to know when you appear in court. Sec-6: Violence in the Workplace: In a stress-filled society, and to some a stressful working environment, sometimes it just becomes too much. Learn the key factors and indicators that allow us to prevent workplace violence before it happens, and how to handle it when prevention fails. Sec-7: Contingency Plans: Security and Surveillance, as well as managers in other departments, need to organize, train their people and drill in plans for many different types of events, from natural disasters to cheating, theft and other crimes, as well as accidents and other incidents. Sec-8: Apprehension and Detention: This course trains both Security and Surveillance staff on what is needed for a successful arrest, including laws of arrest for private security and liaison with law enforcement personnel. Sec-9: Officer Survival: Security officers are the people charged with the physical handling of suspects and offenders, often at risk of life and health. Guidelines to survival and correct handling of physical risk situations. Sec-10: Officer Stress Awareness: the signs of physical and mental stress, their causes, how to detect them in yourself and others and help prevent serious situations. Sec-11: Concealed Weapons: For Surveillance and especially Security, an awareness that any subject and especially any suspect in a detention situation may be carrying concealed weapons. Types of weapons, methods of concealment, including photos, videos and physical demonstration.
Surveillance 201: Table Games Series Cheating at Table Games: The Methods―TG-1 : This class gives an overview of the methods of cheating, including definitions according to law and classification by definition. Prerequisite to all Games Cheating Methods Classes: You may not sign up for the Games Cheating Methods Classes without having first taken this class. Knowledge of Future Events―TG-2: First and most common classification of cheating. This class gives the general methods which are explained in detail by game in the following classes. Prerequisite to all Games Cheating Methods Classes: You may not sign up for the Games Cheating Methods Classes without having first taken this class. Marked Cards in the Casino Environment―TG-3: Though more than twenty different methods of marking cards for the purposes of cheating have been documented, a limited number have value in the actual casino environment. Learn which methods are common and which still need to be looked for on common casino games. Detecting and Identifying Marked Cards―TG-4: For Surveillance and Pit upper management personnel. Learn how to look and see the marks that you have already, by analysis of the game, determined must be present. Essential for Surveillance Supervisors, Gaming Regulation personnel, and surveillance personnel in general. TG-3, Marked Cards in the Casino Environment, is a prerequisite for this course. Past-post Methods―TG-5: The second most common method of cheating falls into the category of past-post. This applies to all games, and must be understood in its various implications by all Surveillance personnel. Includes legal definitions and real-world examples. Prerequisite to all Games Cheating Methods Classes: You may not sign up for the Games Cheating Methods Classes without having first taken this class. Altering Game Results―TG-6: One of the three general methods of cheating Table Games. Both internal and external methods of cheating are described and demonstrated. Dealer Collusion and Dealer Theft―TG-7: Internal theft and cheating accounts for a majority of cheating in Table Games areas. Millions of dollars have been lost by casinos due to internal theft. Prerequisite to all Games Cheating and Theft classes. Blackjack, Game Rules and Procedures―BJ-1: for beginners in the casino industry. This is NOT required prior to the several cheating and theft methods classes listed for blackjack. It is suggested for all new Surveillance and Gaming Regulation personnel. Blackjack Basic Strategy―BJ-2: Basic Strategy is the key to detecting cheating―both internal and external―and advantage play, on this most common of all casino table games. Learn Basic Strategy, and how the deviations allow you to detect cheating and advantage play. Blackjack Common External Cheating Methods―BJ-3: Methods used and detected on casino blackjack. How to detet them and how to handle when detected. Blackjack Internal Theft and Cheating―BJ-4: A majority of cheating methods involve collusion and/or conspiracy with the dealer--cooler decks, marked cards, or the much ore common and much simplet methods. Blackjack Advantage Play Detection―BJ-5: Advantage players, including card counters, shuffle trackers, hole card players and others, can be detected. How to handle and how NOT to handle, as there are severe liabilities in mishandling people who are not in fact cheating. Card Counting: A Very Basic System―BJ-6: This class teaches a very simple method of counting that is efficient for detecting of any form of card counting, no matter the system in use by the player. Roulette Rules and Procedures―RL-1: For people who have not overseen or dealt this game. A beginner course in roulette. NOT required for the cheating class, but recommended for all those new to this game. Includes payoffs, shortcuts to calculating payoffs, and game rules and protection procedures. Roulette Cheating Methods, Detection and Prevention―RL-2: How the game is most commonly cheated. Roulette has specific scams associated with it. Craps Basics, Rules, Procedures―CR-1: Payoff odds, procedures and game protection, highly recommended but not required for the Cheating Methods class. Craps Cheating Methods, Detection and Prevention―CR-2: Craps past-post, gaffed dice, dealer collusion and other methods of cheating, including internal theft methods. Pai Gow Poker Game Rules and Procedures―PGP-1: basic class in how the game is played, including game protection procedures. NOT required, but this class is highly recommended for all who are not already familiar with the game at minimum, player level. Pai Gow Poker Cheating Methods, Detection and Prevention―PGP-2: Common methods of cheating, and how to detect and prevent both internal and external theft and cheating. Carnival Games Basics―CG-1: This class is specifically for those variations of Poker that are played in the casino Pit, including Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride, Three-Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'Em. Rcommended for all new Surveillance people and anyone not thoroughly familiar with the games. Carnival Games Cheating and Advantage Play―CG-2: Common cheating methods, including some forms of advantage play based on dealer and casino errors. How to detect and prevent cheating and advantage play. Baccarat and Mini-Baccarat: The Game―BA-1: Though a simple game in fact, baccarat has been bewildering to many. Game rules and protection procedures. NOT required, but recommended for those taking the Cheating course. Baccarat Cheating, Detection and Prevention―BA-2: Common methods of external and internal cheating at baccarat, including the method used to defraud multiple casinos of millions of dollars in 2006-7. Poker Basics―PO-1: For new investigators, and anyone not familiar with the basic game of Poker. Dealing procedures, hand rankings, basics of the games. NOT required, but recommended for anyone taking the Cheating at Poker course. Poker Cheating, Detection and Prevention―PO-2: Though the casino has no stke in the game, an honestly run game ensures that your players will return. WHen a Poker Room does not run a clean and honest house, your customers vote with their feet, and go to another house. Learn how cheating and internal theft are done, and how to detect and handle. Internal Theft: Beyond Dealer Theft―IT-1: methods of internal theft beyond cheating and simple dealer theft, common in casinos. Includes basics of internal theft, methods of detection, handling. Counterfeit Money in the Table Games Environment―TG-8: Learn the keys to detection of counterfeit money, how to identify counterfeit bills, procedures to discourage people laudering money through your table games areas.
All courses are taught on property, and are tailored to the specific needs of the casino and to the desires of its senior management. Scheduling of the courses is to be worked out by managers prior to beginning of the course, so that all can attend. Inquire at: Jim
Goding 3044 Capistrano Court Las Vegas, NV 89121 (702) 622-7915 mobile New Number (lf no answer please leave detailed voicemail message. I am often out of calling areas.)
or direct e-mail:
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