Luxury casinos thrive by making visitors feel energized, pampered, and safe. Service, quality, and attention to detail are paramount. That’s certainly the case with the family of card houses and gaming institutions that constitute Parkwest Casinos. Parkwest has a flagship location near Los Angeles and five high-end satellite sites nestled between the Bay Area, Stockton, and Sacramento in central California.
Collectively, the properties welcome more than 4.2 million visitors per year and employ 2,000 staff members who need around-the-clock access. While the casino system didn’t have a problem with violent guests, several years ago it decided to proactively add weapons detection screening to its main property—Parkwest Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens—in 2022. The Bicycle location has been a stop on the World Series of Poker tour, and its clientele includes billionaires, making it a high-profile facility. Parkwest rolled out metal-detection portals at all entrances, while also conducting identity checks by swiping driver’s licenses. These checks aimed to ensure that people banned from the premises, such as problem gamblers and card counters, would not gain entry.
While that system was functional, it had several deficiencies. First, it relied solely on metal detection, to the exclusion of several other useful weapons detection technologies. Second, the system was blind to suspicious movements, such as turning around at the sight of a weapons detection system (WDS) or attempting to bypass it. Third, the metal detectors didn’t generate usable data. Fourth, there was no integration across properties. Fifth, ID checks were conducted, stored, and retrieved manually in a different system, with security teams at various locations having to remember to share information, other visitors of concern, or even elite members who should receive special service. Finally, the existing system stood out as an eyesore at the entrances of these pristine properties.
After conducting research, Parkwest opted to replace its existing WDS at Parkwest Bicycle Casino with a solution from Athena Security. The solution includes an Apollo active walkthrough weapons detector, a high-resolution active wave metal detector, patented AI technologies, driver’s license scanning, a controller tablet and monitor, and a LiDAR camera. The suite of services includes real-time alerts, real-time alert resolution, digitized incident reporting, automated compliance documentation, reports and analytics, officer check-in, validation of driver’s licenses, checks to confirm visitors are over 21, identification of persons of interest, secondary screening procedure monitoring, evasion and turnaround detection, and other features.
This solution promised to significantly enhance security while maintaining a seamless and elegant guest experience. The new WDS units were installed at the two main entrances, a VIP entrance, and the dedicated access point for staff. One goal of the upgrade was to gain data, insights, and efficiencies by integrating weapons detection and ID scanning at each property requiring a system. Security staff no longer simply glance at visitor IDs and cross-check them with a list; instead, they enter the ID into a system where the identity is checked against multiple databases, including problem gamblers, banned patrons, and Athena’s exclusive database, which is continually updated to include potential threat actors and other persons of interest.
The previous WDS could only alarm on a metal object. The new system uses a combination of technologies to detect suspicious shapes, patterns, and movements, including identifying anomalous behavior such as guests circumventing entry procedures. AI also ensures that guards are performing secondary screening procedures consistent with U.S. Department of Homeland Security standards.
In addition, while the previous detectors were eyesores, the new units are much sleeker and more streamlined, fitting the upscale aesthetic of the properties. Entryways remain welcoming and luxurious, not off-putting or improvised.
Of course, WDS systems are only as effective as the people who operate them. Casino security staff received training on all aspects of the system, as well as on general screening best practices. The latter included placement of personnel, use of signage, bag-check procedures, and communication with other security staff.
The results have exceeded expectations. AI ensures that operational practices are accurate and uniform, increasing officer accountability while also providing repeatable processes that enhance efficiency and move guests onto the property more quickly. The user-friendly interface makes the system easy to use for all screening staff.
