Griffin Investigations
Encyclopedia
Griffin Investigations was once the most prominent group of private investigator
s specializing in the gaming
industry. The company was founded in 1967 by Beverly S. Griffin and Robert R. Griffin.
The company maintained dossiers on card counter
s, serial jackpot winners, and other individuals, chiefly professional gamblers using legal techniques to gain an advantage in casino
games; these profiles were regularly published in the Griffin Book, and distributed to subscribing casinos. Griffin Investigations was instrumental in ending the MIT Blackjack Team
’s winning streak, after a Griffin investigator purchased the names, photographs, and other details identifying the group’s members and the company distributed the information to casinos. Roughly half of the major casinos in the U.S.
once subscribed to Griffin’s services.
Griffin also marketed a controversial face recognition
system that used computer software to compare gamblers' faces against several volumes of mug shots. Beverly Griffin, co-owner of Griffin Investigations, estimates as many as half of Southern Nevada
's casinos now use biometric technology to identify the faces of card cheats or other undesirables. However, a Las Vegas
casino surveillance director (writing under the pseudonym Cellini) reported in the 2004 book The Card Counter's Guide to Casino Surveillance that biometric technology was considered virtually useless by actual casino surveillance operatives because of overwhelming numbers of false reads.
reported on September 13, 2005, that Griffin Investigations had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in light of legal costs and damages from a successful defamation lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit had been brought by two gamblers, Michael Russo and James Grosjean
, claiming they had been improperly detained, labeled as cheaters and arrested, on the basis of information supplied by Griffin. According to the judgement of a jury in Clark County District Court in June 2005, Griffin Investigations was ordered to pay Michael Russo $15,000 and $10,000 to James Grosjean in punitive damages. Each company (Griffin Investigations and Caesars Palace
) was ordered to pay Russon and Grosjean the actual damages of $25,000 each.
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
s specializing in the gaming
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
industry. The company was founded in 1967 by Beverly S. Griffin and Robert R. Griffin.
The company maintained dossiers on card counter
Card counting
Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...
s, serial jackpot winners, and other individuals, chiefly professional gamblers using legal techniques to gain an advantage in casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
games; these profiles were regularly published in the Griffin Book, and distributed to subscribing casinos. Griffin Investigations was instrumental in ending the MIT Blackjack Team
MIT Blackjack Team
The MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
’s winning streak, after a Griffin investigator purchased the names, photographs, and other details identifying the group’s members and the company distributed the information to casinos. Roughly half of the major casinos in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
once subscribed to Griffin’s services.
Griffin also marketed a controversial face recognition
Facial recognition system
A facial recognition system is a computer application for automatically identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source...
system that used computer software to compare gamblers' faces against several volumes of mug shots. Beverly Griffin, co-owner of Griffin Investigations, estimates as many as half of Southern Nevada
Southern Nevada
Southern Nevada is the region of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. Southern Nevada also includes the areas in and around Goldfield, Hawthorne, Pahrump, and Pioche. Geographically, Southern Nevada is partly, and in some cases, fully within the Mojave Desert. The population of the...
's casinos now use biometric technology to identify the faces of card cheats or other undesirables. However, a Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
casino surveillance director (writing under the pseudonym Cellini) reported in the 2004 book The Card Counter's Guide to Casino Surveillance that biometric technology was considered virtually useless by actual casino surveillance operatives because of overwhelming numbers of false reads.
History
The Las Vegas SunLas Vegas Sun
The Las Vegas Sun is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper. It is one of Las Vegas, Nevada's two daily newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group....
reported on September 13, 2005, that Griffin Investigations had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in light of legal costs and damages from a successful defamation lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit had been brought by two gamblers, Michael Russo and James Grosjean
James Grosjean
James Grosjean is a gambling expert and author best known for his 2000 book Beyond Counting: Exploiting Casino Games from Blackjack to Video Poker. He became a professional player while studying as a graduate student at the University of Chicago's Department of Economics. Grosjean's book...
, claiming they had been improperly detained, labeled as cheaters and arrested, on the basis of information supplied by Griffin. According to the judgement of a jury in Clark County District Court in June 2005, Griffin Investigations was ordered to pay Michael Russo $15,000 and $10,000 to James Grosjean in punitive damages. Each company (Griffin Investigations and Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
) was ordered to pay Russon and Grosjean the actual damages of $25,000 each.