Playing the odds Regulators use mock casino to learn how to spo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- There's a casino in the basement of Missouri Gaming Commission headquarters, but don't get the wrong idea. It's not designed to lure gamblers or make a profit.

Its purpose is to train state officials on how to catch cheaters at Missouri's 11 casinos.

In operation for about a year, the casino laboratory trains law enforcement officers and gaming commission auditors about how to catch unscrupulous gamblers and casino employees.

Students -- highway patrol troopers, gaming commission auditors, gaming commission tax officials, etc. -- attend a basic one-week course and can later return for more advanced training.

"The need for this is critical because this is a very complicated industry," says Kevin Mullally, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission. "You're dealing with a lot of cash money, so the risks are very high."

The casino laboratory is in an area of the commission building that appears to be nothing more than another cubicle-filled state office. But behind a locked brown door in the basement is a smaller version of a Missouri casino.

The only things missing are the clouds of smoke, cocktail servers and eager gamblers.

A simple concept

The man who controls the odds in the gambling lab is Chris Baker, a retired 28-year veteran of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which employs about 100 full-time officers at the casinos.

The concept is simple: "This gives students the opportunity to actually see in a controlled environment what they are going to see in the work environment," Baker said. "This is a very serious business because everywhere there is money. They are taught to be aware of what's going on in a casino all the time."

With a budget of about $100,000 annually, Baker said students spend half their time poring over Missouri's voluminous gambling statutes and regulations in a nearby classroom where the instructor's podium is a gambling table.

The rest of the time students are in the lab, where they are taught the rules of the various games by playing them.

Most importantly, however, students learn how to spot illegal activity that may go unnoticed amid casino crowds, noise and lights.

There are some basic lessons of spotting suspicious activity, Baker said.

"One of the 'tells' of someone cheating at a slot machine is when people are rubbernecking," Baker said. "They are not paying attention to the machine, they are looking around to see if anyone is watching them."

Regulators also keep a close eye on casino employees, who can either alter games to help out accomplices or pour tokens into a friend's slot machine tray.

'Instinct plays a big part'

Lt. Elvin Seals, who for nearly a decade served as a state agent at Missouri casinos, said in most cases illegal activity at a casino involves more than one person.

"Lots of times, slot cheats won't be by themselves," Seals said. "There's a blocker, who stands in the way of the person trying to tamper with the machine."

Seals is able to demonstrate how cheaters work. For example, Seals shows how experienced "rail thieves" can slip chips from a craps table into their pockets while an unsuspecting player is reaching for dice.

While the job requires an immense amount of concentration, Seals said casino agents, once trained, develop keen senses.

"Instinct plays a big part," Seals said. "You can't teach people certain things. You've got to feel it going on."