Network Created to Catch Casino Cheaters

The Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Mohegan Sun, one of the world's largest casinos, began sharing intelligence a decade ago with its giant, next-door rival in southeastern Connecticut, the Foxwoods Resort Casino. Although it was once less common for casinos to talk with competitors, the online network has evolved through mutual self-interest.

Patrons play craps at tables at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. "If something happens at Foxwoods at 1 o'clock, we'll be aware of it no later than 2, 2:30," said Joseph Lavin, director of public safety for the Mohegan Tribe, which owns and operates the casino. "It won't take more than a day or so before that information goes to Atlantic City, goes to Pennsylvania, goes out to upstate New York."

Patrons play craps at a table at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The element of luck makes it impossible to know exactly how much revenue is lost to cheaters, but 100 percent casino surveillance coverage is a security standard for a U.S. industry that generates tens of billions of dollars annually.

A dealer demonstrates a card fan at a blackjack table at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Workers at Mohegan Sun monitor feeds from roughly 4,000 cameras, scrutinizing the dealers as closely as they do the players. On a given day, they could be on the lookout for as many as hundreds of faces, some pointed out by other casinos, others by law enforcement agencies seeking criminals who might be trying to launder money.

A security camera hangs above slot machines at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. If a camera picks up somebody who's been flagged for possible cheating, security officials said they'll watch the person play before taking any action. High-level casino cheats are considered rare, but Mohegan Sun officials say they frequently see card counters and other "advantage players," people who are not breaking the law but have skills that bend the odds in their favor. Lavin said card-counting techniques were glamorized by the story of a group of MIT students who scored big wins at casinos, including his, in the 1990s.