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| Putting On a New Game Face: Casinos Improve Operations with Advanced Digital Video Analytics |
Video surveillance is not new to the world of gaming. Ever since VCR recorders first arrived on the scene in the 1960s, gaming establishments have used the technology to help stack the odds in their favor - in terms of ensuring security, reducing losses and minimizing risk. But today's casinos are putting on a new game face, thanks to digital video capture technology that offers networking capabilities, superior video quality and advanced content analytics.
"The race is on, and these new solutions bring definite advantages to the table," says Douglas Florence CPP, Director of NICE Gaming Sector. Douglas ought to know. As a thirty-year security and gaming industry veteran, he has had ample opportunity to survey the technology first hand, directing surveillance for operations like The Rio and Mirage Hotel & Casinos, KPMG Peat Marwick, and numerous brand name retailers.
Key among the advantages of this modern technology, says Douglas, is improved management and control. Add in content analytics and the ability to integrate with POS, gaming, and tracking systems, and more benefits emerge. "Most casinos have control room operators, who monitor the video from the cameras 24/7. The cameras are an extension of their eyes. But when you add in content analytics and alerts, the cameras become an extension of their minds. The ability of the system to analyze video, detect events, and notify an operator or manager of anomalies improves real-time decision-making," says Douglas.
Following the money trail
Top casinos can take in tens of millions of dollars annually. A capture and content analysis solution helps casinos do a better job of following the money trail. They do this by interfacing with slot machines, POS systems, and other solutions that perform cash handling or currency counting functions.
"Every slot machine has a bill or coin acceptor," says Douglas. "Using captured video tagged with data, you can actually follow that money from the casino floor to the backroom counting machine. Between those two points a human being is touching that money. But if something happens and there's a discrepancy, you can look and see what happened. It keeps people honest, because if they know the system is in place, they're less likely to steal."
Taking security and safety to the next level
In the wake of 9/11, casinos have stepped up security. In the past, CCTV's role in security might have simply been to capture a breach or threat as it happened. But today, the focus is on preventing such events from happening in the first place - and advanced video content analytics is enabling that.
"Content analytics is evolving to the next level to help casinos provide a much safer environment for guests and employees," Douglas explains. "We can now identify a threat as it's happening versus just investigating the threat after it has occurred. That aspect of content analytics is truly exciting."
The world's largest casinos are expansive venues. Beyond the gaming areas, there are private employee areas, restaurants, shops, hotels, convention areas, parking facilities and more. NICE video capture solutions enhance real-time threat detection through the use of content analytics and motion detection technology - essentially a "digital eye" that can detect motion in an unauthorized location or direction. "We can track the number of vehicles in a parking garage, or use license plate recognition and content analytics to tell us that a vehicle went in but didn't come out. That could signal a potential terrorist threat," said Douglas.
Beyond security: video and content analytics as a business tool
Today's casinos are also looking to video to improve overall business operations. "Gaming operations are now thinking of ways to use their video resources that they couldn't even have imagined a decade ago," says Douglas. "In the past CCTV was viewed strictly as a security tool. Now, it's more of a security tool with business solutions built into it."
According to Douglas, this is thanks in large part to content analytics. The same "digital eye" that can so effectively track unauthorized movement in a security context, can also count people in lines. "Just think about it," said Douglas. "The ability to count people in certain areas helps us manage the queues and flex our work pool as needed, based on time, traffic, and the needs of the customer."
Content analytics can even help casinos gauge the effectiveness of marketing promotions. "We'll be able to answer questions like 'did that promotion bring in the body count we were looking for?', 'And how did customers spend their time, once they walked in the door?'" Douglas ponders. By comparing the number of people who entered the casino to point of sale data like "covers", the gaming operation would be able to analyze what percentage of customers ate in the restaurant, gamed in a specific area of the casino, or went to a show. "The integration of video content analytics is in a very real way what brings value to the technology," he says.
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"Gaming operations are now thinking of ways to use their video resources that they couldn't even have imagined a decade ago, In the past CCTV was viewed strictly as a security tool. Now, it's more of a security tool with business solutions built into it." Douglas Florence CPP, Director of NICE Gaming Sector
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