You're playing a machine or sitting at a table when two security officers walk up and ask you to come with them. A few minutes later you're in a small room off the casino floor with no idea how long you'll be there. Maybe they think you took someone's ticket or chips. Maybe they think you cheated. Maybe it's a misunderstanding.
What you do in the next hour can shape everything that follows. Here's what you need to know.
Casino security can hold you, within limits
Casino security officers are private employees, not police. But Colorado law, like the law in most states, allows a business to briefly detain someone it reasonably suspects of theft. The detention has to be reasonable in how long it lasts and how it's carried out. In practice, casino security usually holds a person only until law enforcement arrives: Black Hawk police in Black Hawk, Gilpin County Sheriff's deputies in Central City, or a Colorado Division of Gaming investigator.
That means you generally shouldn't try to push past security or walk out while they are detaining you. Physically resisting can lead to new charges, such as assault or resisting, that are often more serious than the original accusation.
You don't have to explain yourself
This is the most important thing to understand. You are not required to answer security's questions, and anything you say will be written down. Security officers often write a detailed report, and that report goes to law enforcement and eventually to the prosecutor.
Many people feel they can clear things up by explaining. Usually that backfires. A nervous, half-remembered explanation can be compared against the surveillance video, and any small difference gets described as a lie. It's better to stay calm and polite and say something like:
- "I'd like to cooperate, but I'm not going to answer questions without a lawyer."
- "Am I free to leave?"
The Miranda warnings you've seen on TV generally apply to police, not private security. That's one more reason not to treat a conversation with casino security as off the record.
Don't consent to searches or sign statements
Security may ask to look in your bag, your pockets, or your phone. You can say you don't consent. You may also be handed paperwork, such as a written statement form or a trespass notice.
- Written statements: You can decline to write or sign a statement about what happened.
- Trespass notices: Casinos often ban people they suspect of wrongdoing. A trespass notice usually just tells you you're no longer welcome. Read it carefully before signing anything. And take a ban seriously: going back to that casino later can lead to a separate trespass charge.
When law enforcement or gaming investigators arrive
Once a police officer, sheriff's deputy, or Division of Gaming investigator arrives, the situation becomes a criminal investigation. Gaming crimes under Colorado's Limited Gaming Act are investigated by the Division of Gaming, often alongside Black Hawk police or the Gilpin County Sheriff's Office, and are referred to the First Judicial District Attorney.
You may be released with a summons, or you may be arrested and taken to the Gilpin County Jail. Either way, the same rule applies: be respectful, give your identifying information, and decline to discuss the accusation until you've spoken with a lawyer.
The video can help you, if someone preserves it
Casinos record nearly everything, and gaming investigators rely heavily on that footage. But the clip in the report is usually only the part that supports the accusation. Other angles and the minutes before and after can tell a very different story. Did you actually see the ticket left in the machine? Did someone hand you the chips? Did you try to return them?
Surveillance systems don't keep footage forever. Recordings that would help you can be overwritten if nobody asks for them to be saved. That's one of the main reasons to get a lawyer involved quickly.
What kinds of charges come out of these detentions?
The most common charges include:
- Theft, often involving cash-out tickets, credits left on a machine, or chips (see theft and fraud defense in Black Hawk)
- Cheating and other gaming offenses under the Limited Gaming Act
- Underage gambling and possession of a fake ID
- Trespass, especially after a prior ban
- Disorderly conduct or assault, when a detention turns physical
Talk to a lawyer before you talk about it
If you were detained by casino security in Black Hawk or Central City, don't assume it's over just because you were allowed to leave. Charges are sometimes filed weeks later. As a former prosecutor, I know how gaming cases are presented, and I know how to challenge the video, the reports, and the people who wrote them. Learn more about casino crime defense in Black Hawk, or call for a free, confidential consultation.
This article is general information about Colorado law, not legal advice about your situation. Every case turns on its own facts, and laws change. Reading this article or contacting this office does not create an attorney-client relationship.