I am sure some of you have seen the recent news reports of facial recognition equipment that is now being tested in some airports in the US to replace boarding passes, paper or electronic. You simply walk up to a screen and it bio metrically identifies you. Generally using your passport photo.
Many of us are certain of this technology in a growing number of casinos as I have been ID'd and subsequently asked to not play or leave when there was no other rational explanation. SLS, Ceasars and Cosmopolitan on the Vegas strip are high probability candidates. (forgive the gratuitous swipe)
I believe this technology will be implemented at an exponential growth rate in the casino industry and we all will be subjected to unassisted identification.
There are many discussion on here regarding the use of players cards and there benefits for stuff and cover. The existence of the casino databases that hold either drivers license or passport data and photos will make most players well known in theses environments. Total Rewards has over 40,000,000 records in it and that is only one of the systems, are you in one or more of them? OSN and other surveillance systems will become obsolete for identification.
The AP community has professed the downfall of blackjack for years, while it may have deteriorated, it remains difficult, but somewhat viable. Facial recognition will be the next big blow. There are already casinos that will control your betting and often charge a commission if you do not have a card (read, they have your ID and photo). For new players, especially AP types, the cost of being ID'd is going up. You will be able to "get away with it" for much shorter periods of time. Getting blown up in one store may, at some point in the future, stop your play everywhere.
We can expect the rate of its implementation to match the casinos willingness to spend capital to replace existing equipment. They usually will not until the existing equipment is fully depreciated and technically obsolete. If it is a new casino you can expect facial recognition, in some form to be present at the opening. I predict five years will produce major inroads into wide scale implementation and 10 years it will be a standard.
What interactions have you had with this technology?
Certainly my message of gloom and despair overlooks the ingenuity of AP's to find ways to beat the house, but the game and its access are changing and we better pay attention.
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