Casinos in Nevada are forbidden to use a critically acclaimed AI firearm-detecting system due to state gaming laws. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

System not permitted

The past three months have seen multiple fatal casino-related shootings in Las Vegas but, because of Nevada gaming law compliance issues, casinos in the state are forbidden to use a critically acclaimed AI firearm-detecting system.

used by Nevada’s Regional Transportation Commission

ZeroEyes digital detection gun-finding system is used by Nevada’s Regional Transportation Commission at its transit centers and by River Spirit Casino in Tulsa. The Oklahoma establishment is believed to be the first casino property in the US to install the system.

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday cited River Spirit’s Director of Compliance Travis Thompson as stating the deadliest solo mass shooting in US history in Nevada prompted his establishment to proactively search for a system like ZeroEyes to prevent a similar disaster in Oklahoma.

Despite the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, however, a Nevada industry expert has said current gaming laws prevent casinos in the state from implementing the AI-powered system.

Reasons and regulations

Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association President and Caesars Palace Vice President of Security, Rick Vonfeldt, admitted to the Review-Journal he “was impressed” with ZeroEyes.

Despite his praise after a demonstration of the firearm-detecting system at Caesar’s Horseshoe Las Vegas, Vonfeldt said ZeroEyes would not be allowed in Nevada casinos. The security chief said the reason was that operators viewed ZeroEyes monitoring systems remotely, not onsite at the casino, which contravenes Nevada gaming law.

There are no such restrictions under Oklahoma tribal gaming law, and River Spirit Casino’s owner-operator, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, found ZeroEyes “kind of fit” its bill around the time of the Mandalay Bay shooting.

June 2022 shooting at Tulsa’s Saint Francis Hospital

What gave officials from the tribe’s corporate parent, the Muscogee Nation Gaming Enterprise (MNGE), even more impetus to implement ZeroEyes came after the June 2022 shooting at Tulsa’s Saint Francis Hospital, when a gunman killed four people before committing suicide. 

Thompson said the tragedy “hit kind of close to home to us,” stating the hospital was close to the MNGE casino.

The AI-powered system further appealed to MNGE officials because it did away with the “intrusiveness” of using metal detection arches at casino entry points. Thomson explained that ZeroEyes machine learning detection software is linked to a mass database of firearms. “It’s constantly using the camera feeds as a secondary stream to send that to an AI server.”

Pros and cons

The MNGE and the RTC actively use the AI system to detect patrons carrying firearms into casinos or onto buses, respectively. Both organizations seem satisfied with ZeroEyes, which is also used in schools, businesses, and government settings in 40 US states.

RTC CEO MJ Maynard said after the Nevada body installed ZeroEyes in June that: “Tens of thousands of people depend on our transit system every day, and we continually look for ways to improve their safety and security.”

Thomson stated ZeroEyes “allows us to react faster” to gun threats. 

Retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer Joel Kisner, however, said ZeroEyes may have “logistical problems” when a gun is detected and security officers want to take immediate action. “Precious seconds are spent matching the found weapon to a database.”

“ZeroEyes won’t give you 100 percent detection,” Kisner added.