Losses to bad guys were reduced but the biggest factor that changed our focus was that Slots continued to grow in popularity and Table Games did not. As advantage players and cheaters got bolder and cost us more money, we tightened up our game protection: no more single decks, instead, multiple decks were added to give us the edge we needed, and players were prohibited from even touching the cards. Slots began to take more and more of the gambler’s dollar and took a bigger seat at the executive table. Surveillance had to be there all of the time. Additionally, the games were vulnerable to cheating and card counters and there were a host of them (much more than there are today) to deal with. The pit, by far, made the most money in the casino. Of course, the reason that was and the reason we watched them exclusively was due directly to the money they made (this was in the ’80s). They even had their own break rooms and food!
They only hung out with each other, made all the money, got all the girls, and drove the best cars. The casino shift manager was God, and the floor people and dealers were like the rich kids at school. In those days, they really were the only game in town as far as the casino was concerned. Old-time surveillance directors (and I’m certainly one of them) will tell you that when we started it was all about table games.
