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Secret Crown casino security documents have revealed staff made thousands of mistakes affecting gamblers last financial year.

The Herald Sun has seen confidential Crown security logs detailing 3800 errors by gaming room staff, as well as hundreds of illegal acts and thousands of customers being ejected.

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By Danny Buttler, Herald Sun

Secret Crown casino security documents have revealed staff made thousands of mistakes affecting gamblers last financial year.

The Herald Sun has seen confidential Crown security logs detailing 3800 errors by gaming room staff, as well as hundreds of illegal acts and thousands of customers being ejected.
Included in Crown’s surveillance summary report from July 2003 to mid-June 2004 were details of:

More than 480 thefts, attempted thefts or frauds.

More than 1000 suspected illegal acts on the gaming floor.

CASINO violence including 18 assaults and 27 brawls or fights.

Staff being monitored by security more than 900 times.

An average of 12 customers ejected each day from gaming rooms, with 361 physically thrown out during the year.

The records relate only to the gambling areas of the casino.

Crown has defended the figures revealed in the report, claiming they would be the envy of other casinos.

“In statistical terms they’re more than acceptable, they’re virtually insignificant,” spokesman Gary O’Neil said.

Security surveillance logged 3800 possible errors by gaming staff, with amounts varying from less than $100 to more than $10,000.

Twice during the year, possible staff errors of more than $10,000 were reviewed, with one correction being made.

Mr O’Neil said any mistakes were unacceptable, but the figures needed to be put into perspective.

“Not only do you have 7.5 million customers (a year), but each of those is involved in multiple numbers of cash transactions . . . you’d be talking in the dozens of millions,” Mr O’Neil said.

“If you put it into perspective where you’re talking about multiple dozens of millions of cash transactions every year, then 4000 is probably not a bad number.”

Mr O’Neil said security monitoring of staff was a routine and necessary part of casino operations.

Despite 18 assaults, 21 fights and six brawls on the premises, Mr O’Neil said the level of violence compared favourably with other large Melbourne venues.

“Eighteen is a pretty low number when you consider the number of visitors we have,” he said.

Crown said the six scams and 75 cases of cheating on tables uncovered during the year were an inevitable part of running a casino.

The casino would not comment on suggestions by the source of the document that for every incident reported, three went unnoticed.

“People who hide behind anonymity and make these claims about tip of the iceberg, unless they have the guts to identity themselves, I won’t waste much time on them,” Mr O’Neil said.