Courtesy of: http://www.press-citizen.com
By Rachel Gallegos
Iowa City Press-Citizen
To keep tabs on the goings-on in Iowa casinos, it requires more than one level of security.
Each casino hires its own security staff. But the state also assigns six to seven Gaming Enforcement Bureau agents from the Division of Criminal Investigation to work from each location. As one of the larger casinos in the state, the new Riverside Casino & Golf Resort will have seven when it opens Thursday.
By doing background investigations and enforcing gaming regulations and state law, the DCI works so "the integrity of the gaming in Iowa can be as high as it can be," said Eugene Meyer, director of the DCI, a division within the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
DCI agents have been in place in Iowa casinos since riverboat gambling began in 1991.
For all casinos, DCI agents do background investigations of employees as well as investigations of the companies that do business with casinos. Some of these investigations include traveling across the country and around the world, Meyer said.
Other concerns are the same as any other law enforcement agency -- theft, intoxication, drunken driving and domestics.
"We look at these casinos as a miniature city," Meyer said, because the number of people coming to the area for the gaming and other features raises the population significantly.
Riverside's population is about 925 people, city clerk Tina Thomas said.
Officials said they estimate 1.6 million people a year will visit the casino and resort.
Divided equally over the 365 days in a year, that's more than 4,300 guests a day -- almost five times the normal town population. All seven of the agents placed in the Riverside location are new to casino security, but all are veteran law enforcement officers, including former state troopers and a former state narcotics agent, Meyer said.
Because all of these agents had significant law enforcement training, they only needed to learn casino-specific items, such as training in gaming and surveillance, he said. The agents have been training at casinos in the Quad Cities, Meyer said.
"They'll be just fine," he said.
DCI agents will work in their surveillance room, separate from the casino's security office, as well as walk the casino floor.
The DCI will handle everything on the casino property while they are on duty, except for accidents in the parking lot, which are part of the sheriff's department's jurisdiction, Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar said.
The Washington County Sheriff's Department also will respond to calls during the times of day when there are no DCI agents on duty and as backup for fights or volatile situation calls, Dunbar said. The Washington County Sheriff's Department has 16 sworn deputies -- Dunbar, two civil deputies, 10 patrol deputies and three sergeants -- to cover more than 550 square miles.
"We're not always there," Meyer said, but estimated DCI agents are on site 18 to 20 hours a day most days.
Unlike all other casinos in the state, the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort will be in a town without a police department. But Meyer said he did not see this as an issue for the DCI.
"We've been at this long enough where there's a good understanding of our role," he said.
DCI agents are plain clothes officers, while the sheriff deputies and casino security will be in uniform.
The state agents also will be the only officers based inside the casino that have police power, including the ability to make arrests, Meyer said.
For example, if there is a customer who has had too much to drink, an employee at the casino would first alert the casino security. Options would be suggested, such as taking a cab or staying at the hotel instead of driving home. If the customer still insisted on driving home, a DCI agent could be called in. The agent would continue to suggest the options, or could arrest the person, Meyer said.
A problem for Iowa casinos, unlike those in Las Vegas or Reno, is that people can't walk down the street to their hotel after a night of gambling and drinking, he said. Instead, many want to drive the vehicle they came in back home.
"That's what we want to prevent," he said.
Iowa DCI agents also are alert for problems such as money laundering and professional cheats who travel the country. DCI agents share information with other agents across the state and around the nation, Meyer said.
"We are always looking for the money laundering end," including drug or embezzled money, he said.
Just like in other areas of the state, such as Council Bluffs, Dubuque and Clinton, DCI agents keep a close eye out for underage people.
"We pay a great deal of attention to that," he said.
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