Casino’s attract cheats and thieves, this is a fact. If you were to assess and then learn how a pick pocket operates for example then you would be amazed to see that a busy casino affords them all of the necessary advantages. There are people with money for a start, then there are people in large numbers and in close proximity, people who are aroused and focused on something else, we also have ease of access and get away.
The only draw back for these guys is that everything is on CCTV and if they get caught or seen then the casino can often know their name. But thats just it, how hard would it be to join a casino as a member using a fake name? If a punter loses thier wallet or purse then the natural thought would be that they had lost it or left it somewhere, nobody suspects that it has been lifted……when a purse or a wallet is “secure” inside your pocket or inside pocket or handbag then the thought of having it lifted never occurs to anyone.
So the CCTV isn’t checked and all that gets done about it is that the management tell the victim that they will keep an eye out and it may also be announced over the tannoy that someone has lost a purse or wallet. But the victim immediately in their own mind writes this off as no one expects the majority of people to hand stuff of that nature in.
In the overwhelming number of cases, the victim is left thinking that they have lost the purse or wallet and not that it has been taken from them. I once had a demonstration given to me by a professional pickpocket and I couldn’t even detect that he had taken my wallet. Apparently it is thin people who are targeted with regards to lifting wallets from back pockets as there is little resistence between the wallet and the backside.
It was a serious education into this dark art and something that I will never forget. He also told me how many pick pockets work nights for the simple reason being that the pubs and clubs are even more crowded and when people have had a few drinks, they are easy prey.
So beware the next time you set foot inside a casino because these people are out there lurking and they are very good at what they do and you can take that from me.
Sleep tight
Carl “The Dean” Sampson
