Lots of questions since the shooting at Mandalay Bay, especially “where was hotel security?” Many tourists are becoming more and more aware that not every casino security is the same, and that policies of different casinos to allow guns and violent criminals despite warnings may mean that they are not as safe as others. We looked at the security policies of the Casinos, and found that three casinos stood out as being the safest and more secure.
“It’s a new awakening for this industry,” said Kate Sullivan, a San Jose State University professor who co-founded the school’s Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management. “The United States has been playing this issue down, but it occurs across the world. In Africa and India, hotels are equipped because of their experience with bombings.”
“We’ve always been a soft target,” said Nevada assemblyman Elliot Anderson, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan and later worked as a security officer at the Planet Hollywood resort. “Although we’re not a high military-grade target, if someone wanted to cause panic here, they could do it easily.”
Wynn Has Navy Seals and CIA Agents
At entrances to the Wynn resort in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon, guards scanned visitors with metal-detector wands and inspected their bags, creating a 10-minute wait to get inside. The new security protocol, put in place after Sunday’s mass shooting nearby, may become the norm on the Strip and possibly beyond, some say.
Security has been one of the main concerns for Steve Wynn for years, and he’s made his casino and resort one of the safest in the world. Steve Wynn once said that he did everything to “harden” the Wynn to prevent it being a target, and ensuring if it ever was, that they would have a top-notch security team.
“We have another group of a half a dozen seals team six guys and CIA guys who are a counterterrorism unit that … relate on a daily basis to Homeland Security, the FBI, and Metro,” Wynn once told John Ralston. “My company has metal detectors and devices at every entrance of the building for employees and guests that are non-visible to the public. We have done extraordinary things to make that sure we protect our employees and our guests at the hotel.”
Palazzo/Venetian hired Ex-Mossad Agents.
It’s no secret that Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson has ex-Mossad agents guarding his house, but not everyone knows that they also help with security. Unlike most casinos on the strip, they also have security at the entrances to the parking lots, during large events increase that security to look for bombs and weapons.
Additionally, they employ experts in intelligence as part of their security, that are trained to look for possible threats through cameras. As a supporter of Israel, Adeslon has been aware of the need for high level security, even before the shooting and made it clear it was important to protect his guests. Unlike Mandalay Bay, they also have cameras everywhere in the casino, including hallways to monitor for possible assaults and rapes.
While there is no way to ensure that you can be absolutely safe while in Las Vegas, some casinos have been taking it seriously since the start and want to make it clear that on a day-to-day basis, those casinos are safe and secure.
