“Mystery Players” “Expert” Article Shows Nothing, Obviousness

Spending time reading sources on the internet is something that we do a lot. Even though experience, years of training and more training in between jobs, pr on the job training produces a thick layer of basics on which to draw, there are always new things to learn out there, and no knowledge is useless knowledge.

Reading through a trusted source the other day, it dawned on me that there are things out there that may look interesting at first glance, and may look like it has something to offer, but then, after spending valuable time reading this dribble from a so-called “mystery player” at casinos, discovering that all that time had been wasted. Granted, the article doesn’t take more than ten minutes to read, tops, but that’s ten minutes I’ll never get back so I can spend it reading something that will actually add to the pool of security knowledge.

Right now, lets’s mention that if you want to know about casino security, you’ll be better off going here, here or here. Much better off here too.

Let’s quickly recap what this article actually says.

For those who are unfamiliar with the “mystery player” expression – it’s an “operative” (article writer’s expression) that poses as a regular player at casinos, in order to reveal cheating at the tables, and employees not adhering to casino rules and regulations. Mostly that last one, actually. In fact, this so-called “operative’s” main task is to conduct surveillance on the casino’s employees.

In any case, the “mystery player” has a role to play – that much is obvious. Now, undercover security is an interesting sector of the business, and I thought that this article might bring something that I didn’t know before, but I was sorely disappointed. It points out things that are obvious – stay in character, don’t draw attention to yourself, don’t get drunk on the job, and so on and so forth.

In the “Preparatory Training” section of the article, the writer lists things such as having pictures of casino staff, reading up on casino rules and regulations (seriously – how is the “operative” supposed to know if staff is following those without reading them beforehand?), knowing if slot machines pay cash or print paper receipts, etc.

Anyway. Doug Kelly, the writer of this article, calls the “mystery players” either “operatives” or “agents” in his text. They’re really nothing but undercover security officers, and that’s what they should be called. They’re not James Bond, Kelly. They’re not Modesty Blaise or Batman for that matter. They’re just security people, nothing more and nothing less either.

Doug Kelly is president of “Kelly Security International Inc.” – a very domestic (not international) security company that specializes in loss prevention services. Feel free to check out their website here. And Doug, if you read this – since your site claims you stay on top of all things new and shiny; Facebook is one word, not “Face Book”.