Stepping up weekend overnight security
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has leveled up its weekend overnight security in the face of increased violent crime on the Strip, rolling out new measures this past weekend.
Every Friday and Saturday from 6:00pm to 6:00am, the Vegas hotel and casino’s security perimeter will include specific doors for entry and exit, with metal detection checkpoints located at the entrances. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers will be stationed at each entry point at the relevant times.
specific doors for entry and exit, with metal detection checkpoints
From there, only guests with hotel or restaurant reservations, rewards members, and casino guests will be allowed entry. All incoming guests will undergo checks with detection wands for metal and have their bags searched. “Oversized alcoholic beverages or glass products” will not be permitted on the property and must be “consumed or disposed of” before entry.
The tightening of the Cosmopolitan’s overnight security comes as a direct result of increased Sin City violence. According to some local industry experts, the spike is directly linked to casino-resorts lowering room rates in an attempt to recover from the financial impact of COVID-19.
Safety-first approach
The casino-resort’s new procedures will remain in place “for the foreseeable future”, a Cosmopolitan statement specified. “These enhanced procedures are a continuation of our dedicated effort to protect the health and safety of all those who enter the resort,” it read.
dedicated effort to protect the health and safety of all those who enter the resort”
The Cosmopolitan’s heightened security measures seem to be a growing trend with casino-resorts in Las Vegas. Last week, Wynn Las Vegas and the Encore announced a Friday-through-Sunday-evenings security enhancement which includes screenings, additional security personnel, extra LVMPD police officers, and even a K-9 team.
Casino-related violence spreading
The LVMPD is currently dealing with multiple homicide investigations, including a stabbing and a shooting, which were both fatal. The two incidents occurred on October 4 near the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa.
Recent cases of violent crime reportedly taking place in and around casinos go beyond the state of Nevada. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating an officer-related shooting that took place in Pine County on Friday 9. Following a 911 call from the victim of “an alleged domestic incident” at the Grand Casino Hinckley, a mobile police unit noticed the suspect’s vehicle. During the ensuing pursuit, a Pine County deputy shot the fleeing suspect, who then crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The suspect was later pronounced dead at the scene.
In another casino-related weekend incident in Nevada’s southern desert neighbor Arizona, 50-year-old Richard Guy Wasson Jr was arrested Saturday for the assault of a federal officer at Tucson’s Casino of the Sun. According to the FBI, Wasson also pulled a gun before the officer fired twice, both shots missing.