Casino plays Ace

The newly opened Paris Casino in Blackpool isn't just a stylish destination for gamblers, it's also a lesson in impressive security installation.

Top-of-the-range equipment, supplied by Norbain and installed by Ace Security, acts as a deterrent and provides peace of mind for both the casino and its customers.

Based on a Parisian salon, the casino is close to the up and coming South Shore area in Blackpool.

Having previously worked with local supplier Ace Security Systems UK Ltd (Ace), owner Pierre Coulon was aware of their knowledge and dedication to high quality service. Ace, a family-run firm, set up by MD Barry Evans and his wife in 2001, has been involved in a number of prestigious contracts in the Blackpool area.

"Working around an old, gutted building was not an easy task," explained Evans. " It is easier to do a new building. In an old building like this you have to find routes where you can take the cabling floor to floor, and there is the fire aspect - you have to ensure that the safety procedures are followed at all times".

The tables were also re-positioned several times during the project, which meant that considerable flexibility was called for in locating and relocating the CCTV equipment. A top-of-the-range system was installed, based around Sanyo fixed dome and PTZ domes and DVRs.

In the casino room, there are ten high-definition JVC TKC920E hi-res colour fixed dome cameras, one above each gaming table, to give a detailed real-time view of the action. Two high-definition Sanyo VCC9300P internal colour PTZ domes provide an overview, zooming in to provide high-res detail when needed. VDD28V1214P 2.8mm-12mm direct drive varifocal Vista lenses have been fitted to the cameras viewing the gaming tables. Vista VA35V814PE 3.5mm-8mm auto iris varifocal lenses were supplied for the remaining cameras.

Two further JVC TKC920E fixed dome cameras are trained on the cash desk and in the count room. Another fixed-dome camera covers the reception area, close to two Vista VPC9032/CM cameras used for ID. Two further VPC9032/CM colour/mono Vista cameras, both with Dennard D2010 housings, cover the underground car park and front exterior.

The 18 cameras are linked to a Sanyo MPX-CD162P 16 channel Colour Duplex multiplexer which hosts two Vista PVD1510DG monitors in the casino's control room and distributes both audio and video images, recorded in real time via RG59 cabling, to a bank of 18 networked 240GB Sanyo DSR-M800P 240GB single channel DVRs.

A Vista VVRL27 24 hour time-lapse video recorder captures images from the sole, discrete fixed external camera. Further equipment includes a Vista VTD31 31 tape dispenser and two VCD9Le Vista multiplexers.

Tablet covers all the action

The DVRs can capture from a week to a month's worth of data depending on the definition required and the frame.

All the equipment was supplied through Norbain apart from the PC that controls the security network and a wireless tablet PC from Hewlett-Packard.

The tablet PC is wirelessly linked to the security network and its software allows the user to view (and hear, through microphones embedded in the tables) all the action from any of the cameras covering the gaming tables. Images are displayed live in the downstairs control room. If a customer believes they have placed a bet on a particular number on the roulette table and the croupier has not seen it, the tablet, a portable mini-PC, enables the manager to instantly provide, in front of the gambler, a real-time review of the play.

"There are two reasons for the CCTV," said Coulon. "For the customers' assurance and for the staff. They are human, they can make mistakes, but the camera doesn't lie and it is for the benefit of the customer as well as ourselves to have the system."