Security expert: Start planning now to protect Las Vegas’ potential Super Bowl

March 6, 2019 12:25 AM
  • Buck Wargo, CDC Gaming Reports
March 6, 2019 12:25 AM
  • Buck Wargo, CDC Gaming Reports

Las Vegas and the Raiders have set their sights on hosting the Super Bowl in 2025 and a security expert had some advice for Southern Nevada – start planning now because threats are out there.

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Michael Rozin, president of Rozin Security who provided security service for the 2018 Super Bowl in Minnesota, said Las Vegas sporting venues and casinos with its concentration of people and events are a “perfect target for mass casualty events.”

Mike Waite, vice president of security and surveillance for Okada Manila

That’s what happened on Oct. 1, 2017, when 58 people were killed, and hundreds were injured by a gunman firing down on the Route 91 Country Music Festival across the Las Vegas Strip from 32nd floor room at Mandalay Bay in the largest mass shooting in the nation’s history.

Rozin said casinos and sporting venues need to be protected and viewed by potential perpetrators as a too challenging a target.

“I managed the security program for the Super Bowl in Minnesota and wherever it is, it comes with a significant level of security risk,” Rozin said. “In your case, when you overlay Las Vegas, suddenly the risk grows because it’s a perfect mix for bad actors to carry out acts.”

Rozin was in Las Vegas to give a presentation titled, “Using Behavioral Threat Detection to Protect Events,” as part of the World Game Protection conference at the Tropicana Las Vegas. Rozin, whose work has been recognized by the Department of Homeland Security for securing public venues, also spoke with CDC Gaming Reports during the conference.

“I’m sure people behind the planning here will take this into consideration very seriously,” Rozin said. “My advice is start planning and training now to get ahead of the problem.”

In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security gave Southern Nevada a $5 million grant to prevent a terrorist attack, up from $2.85 million in 2017. That increases funding for the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center.

“You have to gradually incorporate security practices that are proactive rather than responsive and surveillance,” Rozin said. “Training personnel and building practices to detect bad actors will bring a lot of value when it comes to the Super Bowl.”

One lesson from Oct. 1st was the security didn’t extend beyond the perimeter of the music festival to nearby properties, Rozin said. At the Mandalay Bay, there were clues for staff to detect but their needs to be a central database to fuse that information and identify trends in real time.

During his presentation in Las Vegas, Rozin gave an overview of a security method designed to deter, detect and stop perpetrators of mass violence before an attack. It’s a systematic method using characteristics of aggressors to for people to recognize, and it’s based on actions, behavior, appearance, story, documents and other factors, he said.

“With Las Vegas given Oct. 1st and the Super Bowl and the increasing potential for violent incidents in casinos, Vegas is at a crossroads,” Rozin said. “The security professionals are looking at different ways to get ahead of mass violence security problems, and it’s critical for them to explore methods and one of them in behavior threat detection.”

One theme that’s emerged during the first two days of the conference is that the world continues to be a dangerous place for casinos. Mike Waite, vice president of security and surveillance for Okada Manila in the Philippines talked about an incident at the Resorts World Manila in 2017 that left 37 dead from an attacker with a gun who also set a fire that caused the deaths.

“We all need to change and prepare for these kinds of attacks,” Waite said. The world is completely different from what it was. Terrorism and gun crime is going through the roof. It’s not only terrorism we need to be looking out for. That gunman was a problem gambler and that’s one of the reasons these tragic events happen.”

It’s not as simple has having a lot of armed security everywhere, Waite said. His casino has one of the biggest security teams in the world with 1,500. There is a 140-person armed staff and a special tactical team. There are security stationed on every floor of the hotel to deal with fire safety and thwart any threats, Waite said.

The key, however, is training not only those people but the entire casino staff from housekeeping, maintenance and kitchen staff, including how to put out small fires with an extinguisher.

“With the Resorts World tragedy, a lot of the people who died were in the VIP room, and they didn’t know where to go,” Waite said. “It was a double-edge sword. The property was filling up with smoke, and there was a crazed gunman shooting everywhere. People were hiding in rooms and didn’t know whether to go out and get shot or stay in and die of smoke inhalation. A lot of them didn’t know where the exits were. What we do with every single staff member who starts working with us, we take them to all their exits, and we do it on a regular basis. Starting this year, we will be starting an eight-hour training course for every single one of our staff. Our emergency services team will be doing over 80,000 hours of training.”