Nestled into the base of the Sierra Foothills and on the way to California’s Yosemite National Park, the Chukchansi Gold Casino and Resort offers visitors and locals alike a scenic gaming and entertainment destination.
It is owned and operated by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians and features 56,000 square feet of gaming space with 1,750 slot machines and 36 table games as well as a nightclub, players club, and dining and entertainment services.
The Casino originally opened in 2003 with a Pelco video security system, including Pelco cameras and the Endura Video Management System (VMS), designed and built by system integrator – SSI. And while casino security was happy with the Endura VMS, it was looking for increased efficiencies, more functional monitoring, and a video security system that also would allow for growth.
The Casino also needed a method to improve its ability to monitor gaming table and slot machine activities, cash rooms, and other areas of the property while establishing the groundwork for future scalability. In addition, it needed to establish security for a recently- added service station and convenience store.
Adding complexity to the challenge, the Chukchansi Gold Casino and Resort must comply with strict tribal, state, and federal gaming regulations that include specific video security requirements.
Per the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), tribal government gaming is subject to more stringent regulation and security controls than any other type of gaming in the USA.
The Casino gave the go-ahead for SSI to replace the existing Endura VMS with Pelco’s newest VMS, VideoXpert. “We have worked hand in hand with Chukchansi for the past 14 years and knew they would benefit greatly from the efficiencies and expansion Pelco’s VideoXpert VMS offers,” said Todd Flowers, President of SSI.
Todd Flowers adds, “The upgrade from Endura to VideoXpert was seamless and the changeover was accomplished with little to no disturbance of their operations.” The VideoXpert VMS solution tackles the Casino’s need for more functional monitoring and control of the video security system.
The software’s extensive capabilities allow the Casino to plan for growth and added functionality through onboard features, as well as third-party integrations. With an intuitive browser-like interface that utilises tab views for a single source experience, views can be called up via sequencing, alarm tabs, and via event viewer features such as the bookmark feature.
This allows operators to quickly review incidents by capturing scenes from multiple angles and then synchronising the video, utilising VideoXpert’s powerful investigative engine that quickly locates and collates video.
Another important feature for improving efficiency is tagging, which allows cameras to be tagged with multiple names, providing the means for very specific and dedicated search operations. Another new function for the Casino’s VMS is the control and management of cameras deployed in the newly-built service station and convenience store on the property. Video from these cameras is monitored from the same control room as video from the casino, enabling the system to continue to scale and grow in a manageable way.
Infrastructure upgrades are often finished before implementing a new video security and control system; in Chukchansi Gold’s case, the infrastructure upgrade was concurrent with the VideoXpert VMS and new control room install. These capabilities allowed for a smooth crossover because SSI could install the new VMS in parallel with the Casino’s existing Endura system.
As an example, the integrator could map Endura components nearly one-to-one with VideoXpert. Pelco’s simple migration application also enabled Chukchansi to migrate their entire Endura database, ensuring a relatively seamless transition between the VMS solutions.
The migration process transfers user names, roles, permissions, and associations for all three items, allowing authorised Endura users to maintain their same roles and permissions when using VideoXpert. The migration process also transfers all camera names, numbers, groups, and locations. Plans for the changeover also included the Casino repurposing its existing Endura-based storage. All that was involved was to upgrade the NSM licences and then deploy the cameras and migrate them over to VideoXpert.
This saved the Casino considerable budgeted funds that were subsequently applied to adding new Pelco IP cameras and a more efficient control room. According to Flowers, this made economic sense in several ways for Chukchansi Gold.
Another system advantage can be seen in the control room. The decluttered workstations contain only an enhanced keyboard and a 3D mouse. Operators trained on VideoXpert are usually less than a day, allowing them to quickly take advantage of the new VMS’s faster access to video data for better and more informed decision making. Chukchansi Gold is confident that their newly upgraded Pelco video security and control system puts them at the forefront of tribal gaming trends in California.
“We have been able to meet regulatory demands and ensure a safe and secure experience for our staff and guests by leveraging new technology,” said Tommy McDonald, Surveillance Manager, Chukchansi Gold Casino, and Resort, adding “We couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”
“Our latest release of VideoXpert provides Chukchansi Gold with the user intuitive operation, scalability, performance, and versatility they required to implement all of the system upgrade objectives they set out to accomplish,” said Miki Manjal, Global Vertical Market Manager – Casinos & Gaming at Pelco.
Miki Manjal adds, “Additionally, the open platform will allow them to further enhance business operations by implementing any technology integrations in our growing portfolio of solutions to deliver functionality beyond surveillance and security applications.”
