Boobie Cam (I figured I might as well shoot for some keyword hits)

This Newsday (AP) Story offers no Big Surprise, but is interesting nonetheless.

When I used to watch surveillance tapes secreted to me by paid informants to better understand the various capabilities, advancements and suspicions of casino security, we would always see the camera operators capturing special shots of the female patrons. In fact, that is where the cameras true capabilities are really put to the test. Motivation is the key I suppose.

I really though this was an old story as there are “greatest hits tapes” that have floated around for some time. They were sort of the precursors to the “girls gone wild” tapes, except often more voyeuristic.


Atlantic City Casino Fined for Cameras

Associated Press Writer

December 15, 2004, 8:37 PM EST

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Women, beware: Those "eye in the sky" surveillance cameras used by casinos don't just look for card cheats and crooked dealers. Sometimes, they look for low-cut blouses.
New Jersey casino regulators fined Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino $80,000 Wednesday for using surveillance cameras to spy on female employees and customers sitting at casino tables or riding escalators.
On three occasions in 2000 and 2001, Caesars surveillance camera operators "recorded footage of selected parts of the anatomy of several females," in violation of statutes governing the use of clandestine surveillance by casinos, authorities said…. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

New York City Gambling Control Commission - Bernard Kerik

Allegations against Bernard Kerik’s about employment of illegal aliens, stock options, conflicts of interest and most any other abuse of power don’t interest me much. Even cheating on his wife, Hala Matli, with two women at the same time, corrections officer Jeanette Pinero and publisher Judith Regan, doesn’t really grab my attention for very long.

HOWEVER
If Bernie’s business dealings do turn out to hint at corruption, let’s not forget that Kerik was also a member of the New York City Gambling Control Commission, a body that controlled access to one of the richest casino markets in the entire world (through offshore casino cruise ships). Any wise owner of a major business constantly keeps an eye out for potential competitors. Casino owners, especially, are very protective of their position. Were I a casino owner anywhere in the Western Hemisphere and a commissioning body was formed to regulate competition inside such a rich market, I would explore ways to undoubtedly ensure such competition never got a chance to flourish.

From experience, I know a little bit about paying off people in positions of authority in order to get what I want. An authority figure with sexual peccadilloes and a potential predilection toward accepting “favors” would always be a good prospect. I wonder if there was ever any “business” done in this regard between Kerik and folks in the casino industry.

Since Kerik dropped out for placement in the Cabinet spot, maybe his background won’t be looked into in any great detail (including any possible casino shenanigans). But, it also seems like his story (the stuff that didn’t make it into his memoir) might be too juicy to pass up. We’ll see.

Various gambling news items

MAVERICK blogger:

As those who have read my book know, my mentor Joe Classon also worked legitimately from time to time as a financial consultant. I once asked him why he gave all that up to involve himself in ripping off the casinos, he smiled kind of privately and said, "It's just what I like to do." Well when I saw that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he plans to start a hedge fund (www.blogmaverick.com), run by professional gamblers, to make bets on sporting events, I knew it would be of interest to Joe. While he probably wouldn’t have invested in the fund, he sure would’ve enjoyed the idea.


Speaking of big businessmen, A MAJOR Casino Cheat thwarted (in part):

Donald Trump got caught by some of the casino creditors that he was trying to cheat. When trying to skip out on his casino ownership debts (through bankruptcy), four companies threatened to complicate the reorganization plans of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. But Trump Hotels responded by paying the four companies everything they were owed, effectively rendering their bankruptcy motion moot.


Here’s a great bit of ridiculous news:
Shepherd University in West Virginia is going to offer course in gambling. The course will cover topics such as the history of gambling, its role as a multimillion-dollar industry, horse racing, lotteries, and slot machine operations.

The course will be included in the college's Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Athletic Director Karl Wolf cited that “There have to be persons that are trained to work in casinos.” The placement of such a school in the gambling mecca of the West Virginia mountains is absolutely laughable.


One Casino I wouldn’t cheat:

Five yakuza were arrested for “solving casino problems”
The five bouncers including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate, have been arrested on suspicion of aiding illegal gambling in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. The five served at Alpine, a foreigners-only casino in the Kabukicho entertainment district between March 2003 to June this year, removing drunk customers from the casino and solving other problems.


He's looking out for you

George Carlin left Las Vegas (for a few months at least) Finishing his set at the MGM Grand, he made it clear that he couldn't wait to get out of "this [bleeping] hotel" and Sin City. The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Norm Clarke reports that Carlin told the crowd of 700 that he was looking forward to going back east "where the real people are." He added, "People who go to Las Vegas, you've got to question their [bleeping] intellect . . . Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of [bleeping] moronic. That's what I'm always getting here is these kind of [bleeping] people with very limited intellects."
His tirade ended a four-year run with the MGM Grand during which time I’m sure he happily collected a healthy share of the large corporate casinos’ winnings. Apparently he’s not too upset about taking the morons’ money as he starts at the Stardust in February. I can’t say he’s entirely wrong in his statement about morons giving up their money to casinos, but he’s a big part of their enterprise, and apparently quite a self-righteous ass.