25 Ways to Protect Yourself
How to stay safe in the casinos
by Frank Scoblete

At the Claridge in Atlantic City, I was entering the lobby from the side door when I saw a guy bump a lady. When she turned to see who bumped her, a second guy came up from behind her, opened her purse, and took out her wallet.

I opened my mouth to shout "Watch Out!" It all happened so fast, the two of them were at the front door on "Watch" and into the night on "Out!" I ran after them to see where they were headed, but they were gone...vanished into wherever evil vanishes.

The lady didn’t realize what had happened until I told her. "I didn’t feel anything," she lamented. "How did they do it?" I explained, and she filed a report.

On another day, outside another Atlantic City casino, the Captain saw an elderly woman who was crying. He went up to her to see what was the matter. She told him that she had just come from the ladies’ room in the casino, and her pocketbook was stolen while she was in the stall.

"I hung it up on the door and this hand reached over and just took it," she said.

She screamed, but whoever had relieved her of her purse was quick as a deer and long gone by the time anyone knew what had transpired.

"I had just won $500, too," she lamented. "I’m 82 years old, my husband’s deceased, my children are all moved away, and that was the best luck I’d had in years."

Then she cried some more. The Captain had his limo take her home to Brooklyn.

In Las Vegas, several blocks north from today’s Stratosphere Tower (then Vegas World), my wife, the beautiful A.P., and I had taken our clothes to a laundromat to be cleaned. We walked from the Sahara, dropped the clothes off at the laundromat, and started to walk back.

Now, this was during a time when A.P. had decided to make all of our clothing and we were wearing matching print shirts.

Two huge bruisers sleepy-eyed us as we passed them. From years of living in New York, my antennae went up. I thought we might be in trouble because we looked so damned cute in our matching print outfits; cute enough to be the perfect mugging victims.

I did what I always do when I think someone might mean me harm: I turned and looked them square in the eyes. Then I knew we were in trouble!

The guys started towards us; they were maybe 30 feet away. I whispered to A.P. to run across the street on my signal. I waited for the stopped cars at the light to get to a certain point and then gave A.P. a subtle signal: I shouted, "Run!" and we ran like hell. The brutes tried to run after us, but the light changed and the cars started coming. We kept running until we were back at the Sahara.

The above incidents are not that uncommon for Atlantic City, Las Vegas or any other gaming venue. Gambling attracts those of us who wish to fleece Fortune and those of them who wish to fleece us. The simple truth is, some games and certain locales lend themselves much more readily to criminals preying upon us than do others. Gaming readers regularly get great advice on the various casino games, but rarely do we get good advice on how to handle the variety of games criminals might play. It’s important to remember there are two ways to lose your money in a casino: One, by having bad luck when the casino’s edge defeats you, and two, by having even worse luck when some criminal steals whatever money you might have won. While we can’t do anything about the former, here are 25 ways to protect us (the good guys) against them (the bad guys).

1. Pocket Watch
In a casino, men, you should never keep your wallets in your back pockets. Get a shirt with a front pocket that buttons and keep your money there.

2. Purse Position
Women, never put your purse on the floor, on the drink shelf that surrounds the craps table, or between slot machines. Doing so is an invitation to long-armed thieves. Keep your purse wrapped securely around your shoulder or in your lap covered by your arm. Some blackjack tables now come equipped with a "purse holder" that fits into the space between the felt and the cushion. You can wrap your purse strings around it and anyone trying to take it will have to steal the entire table along with it. The bottom line is to make the thief realize that it’s going to take quite an effort to dislodge you from your purse.

3. Strapped for Cash
Women, for casino, hotel and tourist purposes, get a small pocketbook that you double strap to your shoulder whenever you go for a stroll. In fact, if you have a coat, always keep your purse under your coat so that any would-be purse snatcher has to get through it first.

4. Chip Arrangements
Craps players of either sex: when you arrange your chips in the rack in front of you, do so as the casino does—put your highest denomination chips in the center, your lowest on the ends, and everything else in between. Always ask for $10 worth of one-dollar chips and put five on one end and five on the other. Railbirds—those predators are called who try to steal chips from unsuspecting craps players—take the chips that are on the outside, usually while the player is shooting. It’s very difficult to remove chips in the center of the chip rack, as these are tightly bunched together and right in front of you. Chances are railbirds won’t be interested in your dollar chips and will move on.
Blackjack players, you should put small-denomination chips on top of large-denomination chips. This will prevent "palmers" from being able to get to the big money when they distract you.

5. Beware the Watchers
Don’t let strangers watch the game from over your shoulder. For example, craps is a game that normally attracts onlookers. But if someone is getting too close to you, just ask the floorperson to tell the individual to move back. Usually thieves don’t like to have any attention paid to them and they will quickly move on. Alerting the floorperson will also give you a pair of eyes that can look the folks behind you square in the face.

6. Eyeball Their Eyeballs
Never be afraid to look someone in the eyes. Thieves love the fact that most of us are shy about really eyeballing other people. They realize that most human prey are leery of looking at folks dead on, as this is an aggressive attitude. And that is just the kind of attitude you want to have in a casino or hotel.
If you think someone is eyeing you, following you, or getting too close to you, turn and look him right in the face. In fact, make it obvious that you are trying to remember what he looks like. Unless the individual is a psychopath who is intent on killing you (in which case it doesn’t matter if you look at him or not), most criminals don’t want to be seen and will quickly scurry into the woodwork when you stare them down.

7. Don’t Get Taken for a Ride
Never get into an elevator with someone who makes you think, "Should I get into the elevator with this person?" If you feel the least bit uncomfortable, if a single hackle goes up, don’t get in!
Many women I know ignore that little voice that tells them to wait for the next elevator. Instead, they rationalize, "I’m just being paranoid. He’ll feel bad if he knows I didn’t get in the elevator because of him."
The hell with his feelings! It’s your safety that is of paramount concern. If the person’s dress, or look, or carriage, or comportment, or anything about him makes you a little fearful, then take the next one. It’s better to hurt someone’s feelings than to chance being assaulted and having your purse or wallet stolen, or worse, your body and soul traumatized.
I believe that nature has given us a sixth sense when it comes to danger but most of us ignore it to our obvious peril. Trust in your feelings when it comes to danger. The worst that can happen is some guy’s feelings are hurt and you get to your room a few minutes later than you planned.

8. Up Against the Wall
When you are in the elevator, try to be up against either the side or back wall. You want to be able to see everyone clearly.
Jimmy P., an Atlantic City player and a member of the Captain’s Crew, had his wallet lifted in an elevator. "The elevator was crowded too and I was pressed up against the front door. I didn’t even know it was gone until I got to the room."

9. Hand to Money
If someone bumps, jostles, or even rubs gently against you, immediately grab your purse or wallet. Then look to see what’s going on. The quick reflex must always be hand to money!

10. Valet is the Way
Always use valet parking, even if you have to pay for it. This was dramatically brought home to me when I saw a video of a man who was assaulted in The Mirage parking garage, a well-lit, relatively secure facility. In fact, the cameras picked up the assault in graphic detail. But that wasn’t much of a consolation to the innocent victim as the bad guy punched and pummeled him. And even though I think the perpetrator was caught, the lifelong trauma such a victim experiences from such an event can be overwhelming.

11. Yell "Fire!" in a Crowded Building
If you are on your floor and walking down the hall and someone accosts you, do not yell for help. Instead, yell "FIRE!" at the top of your lungs. Very few people will physically put themselves on the line for someone who is being mugged, but almost everyone will run out of their rooms if they think there’s a fire. Continued on...