Are Security Integrators Ready to Take a Gamble on the Gaming Market?
Surveillance Systems Inc. President Todd Flowers offers insights on how to succeed in this space.
Adobe Stock image by Grispb
Stacking the Deck in Your Favor
Servicing casinos calls for a markedly different sales approach compared to other sectors, Flowers cautions. Integrators that are serious about succeeding need to be familiar with the gaming environment. Federal authorities and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGT) dictate requirements.
The NIGT regulations are extremely important, and integrators working for casinos have to keep these facilities in compliance. “It’s an extremely critical environment and you don’t get the luxury of having systems down, ever,” Flowers says. “There is a barrier of entry. You have to know how casinos work internally, how to keep them in compliance, have a solid knowledge of the environments and know how to maintain the system up and running.”
Integrators looking to cater to casino projects should, according to Flowers, find a manufacturer that makes an enterprise-level product. Those manufacturers, he says, will have their own certifications for selling, installing and servicing the systems.
“Manufacturers aren’t going to just hand over an enterprise-level system to any installing security contractor to sell to a critical environment such as a casino,” Flowers explains. “They require certifications, so you have to have project managers who understand the gaming world and a staff that holds certifications and meets manufacturer requirements to make sure you’re prepared to live in that world.”
There are other certifications to pursue from vendors outside of the traditional security realm that encompass networking and storage, such as those from Microsoft, Cisco and others. Integrators will want all staff members working in the sector to obtain certification, especially those companies that operate regionally or nationally.
“For us, we’re national, so we have to be prepared with professionals across the U.S. SSI has eight regional sales offices, coast-to-coast,” Flowers says. “We can’t have just one guy who holds the certification, as there’d be no redundancy in overseeing and protecting the recorders, the networks and the human assets as well. For every project manager, we have backup and redundancy.”
With certifications, Flowers asserts, you not only have to hold and maintain them, but over time upgrade them as technology changes. A specific certification is needed at the installation level, another for the project manager and another for the network and the sales professionals.
“They are all touching the same system, so at the end of the day the manufacturers want to know their integrators are top notch and the first line of defense. If an integrator isn’t prepared to do that, gaming is not their world,” he says.
As the integrator, you have to provide 24/7 support available to the casino, Flowers contends. He gives his cellphone number to every customer and tells them they can call him any time, day or night, because as he points out it’s a critical environment where people have their jobs on the lines
and they can’t afford to be down. Ever. Any loss of revenue is a massive loss for a tribe or a corporate entity, and that’s one of the reasons why he believes there is not a lot of competition in this vertical.
“You have to get the certifications and spend the money. Many integrators aren’t prepared to live in this critical environment. It’s a small world. If you crash and burn, word spreads fast,” he says. “We started in 2002 and we’ve become one of the leaders because we understand the risk and throw the resources at it to make sure it’s rock solid.”
Flowers emphasizes SSI has never left an install without knowing that the customer was 100% satisfied. “We’re not willing to walk away until we know for certain the system is ready to go – our reputation is more important. It’s not a get-rich-quick scenario. You are in it for the long haul.”
Sizing Up Installation Challenges
Typically the security goals and objectives for most any gaming environment are the same, although varying facility design and aesthetics can present unique installation challenges. For example, many variables can create havoc on cameras, such as facility lighting, the color of felt used on the gambling tables, carpet patterns and colors, etc.
Flowers points out achieving the greatest video clarity is of the highest priority especially over gaming tables. Security personnel need to be able to readily view the suits on playing cards. But maybe light shining down from a 20-foot ceiling bounces off the white cards, obscuring the view. How do you get a camera angle to cut through that light and be aesthetically pleasing, and at the same time be able to read chips in the chip tray?
Other important security factors include the need to see a dealer’s hands, as well as patrons sitting at a table and around the perimeter of that table. Finding solutions – while keeping his casino clients in compliance – is challenging and rewarding, Flowers says.
You can’t have a camera dangling in a patron’s face. The cameras need to be over them yet be nonintrusive and able to read the suits on cards, chips, etc., while all these other aesthetics are going on. What is an integrator to do?
“You really have to understand these environments and the lighting, in particular, can create havoc,” he says. “A lot of the properties are themed. It’s common to have horseshoe lighting, and now many are transitioning from halogen lights to LED lights. All these factors create challenging environments to meet objectives and stay in compliance. Our job is to design a system that’s functional and meets their requirements.”
Keeping a Watchful Eye on Monitors
When it comes to observation rooms, many casinos are all pretty much the same, Flowers says.
“In the old days when we were using analog cameras and CRT monitors, it wouldn’t be unusual to see 50 monitors. But with three or four people sitting in there, a human being can only look at so many things at one time,” he says. “It was funny to me to see so many monitors and so few people watching them.”
It is common to have many large-screen monitors on a wall for overall viewing, maybe 70 flat screens so it looks like one big monitor. Individual operators will have a certain amount on their desk that they’re watching. They may get a call from the gaming floor to look at table No. 6, for example, and they’ll look at that while they are looking at overall views of the gaming floor on large monitors.
“It’s a command center look. Each will have a few at their work station and large-screen monitors with split views on the wall,” Flowers says. “Technology allows for different configurations.”
The duration and extent of a gaming installation can range from up to one year for new construction projects to two to six weeks for swapping out the head-end of a system. A Reno, Nev., or Las Vegas property may have 40-year-old coax-ial cable that needs to be cleaned up, so switching to Cat-5 can take a while. It depends on the property and how well it’s maintained, Flowers explains.
“It’s a very high risk environment, so going in with eyes wide open is a wise move. Don’t expect to come right in and make a bunch of money,” Flowers cautions his integration brethren that may be considering entering the space. “It requires a lot of experience, and is not the market where you want to launch a startup for sure.”
Erin Harrington has 20+ years of editorial, marketing and PR experience within the security industry. Contact her at [email protected].
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