Despite many well-publicized settlements and large jury verdicts for casino abuse of patrons, casino security still doesn’t seem to understand the basics. Of all the casino security stupidity I’ve personally encountered over the years, and of all I’m aware that has happened to others, the one at the Cannery ranks among the stupidest.
They (Cannery guards) finally announced clearly that I was being detained and I was not free to go. Two of them were openly armed. I asked the grounds for my detention. They said it was because I was taking pictures. I asked whether they had reason to think that I had committed a felony, which is the only suspicion that triggers their authority to detain. Yes, I was told–taking pictures. I asked, incredulously, “You think that’s a felony?” The guy said, “Yes, it’s a violation of our policy”–as if that’s the same thing.
The writers at www.PokerGrump.com and www.vegasrex.com have done such a good job of chronicling the moronic behavior of both the guards and the police officers, there is not much to add except I hope the Cannery victim sues and receives a large amount of money from these jerks.
As for the idiotic guards at Stratosphere, we can only hope that someone with a functioning brain at the Stratosphere reads about the actions of the nitwit guard depicted below and fires him before he hurts someone.
It seems to me that the economic situation has many casino employees on edge and on their worst behavior ever. The situation is ripe for someone getting seriously injured by these pinheads.
Vegas Rex: In my opinion, this guy is very dangerous. He is just looking for a reason, any reason, to go off on someone … and mark my words … at some point he will do exactly that.
Let’s give some credit to the police who didn’t tolerate this nonsense and returned the drivers license. This is simple corruption of a big business, not the police. We have a civil court system to penalize these abuses; let’s hope the victim uses it effectively (like the Tao nightclub case).
Actually, its very difficult to even get a lawyer to take a case like this on a straight-fee basis much less a contingency basis. And many of those judgments go unpaid during endless appeals during which the initially prevailing plaintiff may be threatened with the court lowering his award.
Punitive damages are often not even to be considered by the jury and even if awarded are generally prone to being reduced as evidence of an overly empassioned jury panel.
Many of the casinos just pass on the cost to their insurers and go about doing business as usual. Poorly trained, under-paid and overly-bored security guards dream of something big but have nothing to look forward to but intimidating someone who photographed a mural. I’ve no idea how to photgraph a mural without having my back turned to the casino floor so I sort of wonder what the fuss was all about. Meanwhile, how many carjackings in the parking lot? How many thefts in the casino? How many shot takers in the casino?
With incidents like these making the newspapers one wonders just how many free buffets they are going to have to give away just to get their business back up to where it was before?
Harrassment of photographers is a common problem.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2006-08-11-photography-rights_x.htm
http://nycphotorights.com/wordpress/