Chapter 4
The next morning Bill stopped by Red’s office with the results of the interviews the police had with the witnesses. “Remarkably, most of the witnesses gave the same information regarding the robber’s description. From the sound of the robber’s voice it was a man. He spoke with no distinguishing accent or sound to his voice. He’s approximately six feet tall, medium build, light complexioned and was wearing tan chinos, tan socks, brown Vans, a beige jacket zipped up to his chin and sunglasses. He wasn’t wearing a hat, his hair was dark brown and it was thick and wavy. The guy lying on the floor that snuck a peek and saw the robber running away said the guy must be in pretty good physical shape because he flew up the stairs. That’s it. It’s not much to go on, but it’s a start.”
“Thanks, Bill. You’re right. It’s not much, but at least we know he’s not a midget.”
At 2 p.m., all of the casino managers are sitting around the Palladian Palace conference table and Red stands up to bring the meeting to order.
“I believe everyone is here, so let’s get started. Before we begin, I want to thank all of you for your willingness to get together to see if we can come up with something that will lead to the capture and incarceration of the person or persons involved in the cheating that is going on at the Palladian Palace. If we can, our solution can be applied in all of your casinos and insulate you from the frustration and Excedrin headaches I’m going through.” This last brings a few chuckles from the gathering and Red continues.
“So, let me start out by introducing my head of security, Bill Kieffer, who will fill you in on what has been going on here and what we have done so far to discover who is behind all of the chicanery. Bill, the floor is yours.”
Bill gives them a rundown and then says, “We’ve been working around the clock looking for clues that might help us catch who’s behind this, but so far have come up with zip. Whoever is doing this is very clever and very careful to blend in with the crowd and not leave anything behind that might implicate him in any way. He has exceptional knowledge of casino operations, especially ours, and possibly might be a former or current employee of a casino, including the Palladian Palace.
“We were surprised that we weren’t hit over the holiday. The large crowds would have provided an excellent opportunity to do some serious damage. The reason for this though could be something as simple as the flu.
“Gentlemen, we don’t want to remain in a reactive state, hoping that whoever is behind this cheating will make a mistake serious enough to lead to their apprehension. This might never happen and the longer this cheating goes on the greater the chances are that the Palladian Palace could wind up in the has been pile. We believe that the only way these guys are going to be caught is by luring them into a trap of some kind. The bait must be irresistible, the trap inescapable. Does anyone have any idea how this might be accomplished?”
The ensuing silence was discouraging, but then Ted Weinstein who manages Player’s Paradise came up with what was needed to get the creative juices flowing. “From what Bill has told us, I think there’s a strong possibility that only one person is doing the cheating. The reason I say this is because of the high quality of the equipment being used. If there were more than one person using it, the losses would be much higher. I’m also going to make a couple of assumptions, the first being that the cheater is deliberately keeping the losses down because he has an agenda that has nothing to do with the money in and of itself. If that were the case, the losses would be much higher and have occurred in more of a hit and run fashion and in other casinos as well.
“I believe the person behind this is not interested in the money or in any other casino but the Palladian Palace. I believe the first step in coming up with a plan to catch this individual is to come up with some motive or motives for making the Palladian Palace the target for all of this cheating.”
As Ted finishes up he has all of the other managers nodding in agreement and Joe Amato picks up the ball with, “What you said makes a lot of sense. Let’s just brainstorm, making up a list of all the possible motives we can think of and then eliminating them one by one until we have something we’re comfortable with to build a plan around. I’ll start it off with a couple of the obvious. An unhappy loser or a disgruntled employee or former employee.”
After about an hour they had come up with the following:
Revenge:
- Unhappy loser
- Disgruntled employee/former employee
- Job applicant that was denied employment
- Someone who perceives mistreatment of someone else close to the cheater
- Someone harboring a lot of hatred/resentment aimed at senior management
Money:
- A competitor who seeks ruination of the Palladian Palace
- Someone needs a limited amount of money for a specific purpose
Jealousy:
- Someone jilted by an employee of the Palladian Palace
- Someone who envies a position held by an employee of the Palladian
- Palace
Status:
- Someone who seeks to benefit by gaining a higher status or more
- recognition internally or externally through the negative impact that the
- cheating could have on the Palladian Palace
When the creative juice well appears to have run dry, Red says, “Well, it looks like we’ve brought to light the most probable motives. Bill and I have been knocking our brains out scanning our employee roster, looking for someone or something that might make someone standout as a possible suspect and we’ve gotten zilch for our efforts. Now that we have identified a more complete list of things we should be looking for, we’ll have at it again and I’m hoping we’ll have better results. The more I think about the situation, the more I’m becoming convinced that I may be the target this cheater is aiming at. I sure am a likely target for anyone having any of the motives we’ve listed. One thing is for sure, we’ve got to come up with something quick or this guy may hit the target dead center.”
Bill picks up on Red’s train of thought by saying, “I think Red is onto something. If everything that has been going on is being restricted to the Palladian Palace, it’s quite plausible to think that Red is the real target of all this harassment and not the casino. I suggest we examine each of the motives we’ve listed and how they might relate to Red specifically. We might uncover a new path that will lead us to the identity of this malcontent.”
Joe Amato steps in with, “What you suggest might be a good place to start even though it doesn’t address how we’re going to catch this guy. It might, however, provide something solid on which we can build an escape proof trap. Before we get started though, nature’s calling me. I think we should all take a break to stretch our legs, visit the restroom, grab a cup of coffee or whatever.”
Red responds with, “That’s a good idea, Joe. Let’s resume at 4:15.” As the meeting recesses, Red turns to Bill and asks, “What could I have done that was so bad that someone would go to such lengths to bring me down for it?”
“Nothing immediately comes to mind, but I’m glad we’re doing something constructive that might give us the answer to your question.” and with a smile he adds, “At least we’re no longer floundering around like fish out of water. Floundering, fish, flounder, fish, get it? Am I clever or am I clever?”
Red groans and says, “I knew I should have hired that security gal from Brinks instead of you. She’s not only better looking; she would also be much more sensitive to my plight.”
Bill laughs, turns to go get some coffee, but stops when his cell phone begins to sound off. He answers, listens for a few seconds then disconnects. “That was my admin. Guess who’s waiting for me in my office?”
“The producer of American Idol. He wants you to audition for his show. Take my advice, don’t do it. You’ll bomb.”
“Very funny. Well, laugh this off. It’s Commissioner Crowley and he wants to talk to me regarding some breaches of security he’s hearing rumors about.”
“Uh oh. I know I shouldn’t be surprised that word has leaked out what with the number of people familiar with what’s been going on around here. I wonder how big the leak is and who’s flapping his gums. It could be someone in the Bettendorf Police Department, someone attending this meeting or one of our employees. I’m also wondering about who else might have heard these rumors. If these rumors become public knowledge, our survival will depend on how quickly we can get to the bottom of what’s happening here and put a stop to it. Aw, nuts, nuts, nuts! Call your admin back and have her tell Crowley that apparently you have left the building and she will have you contact him first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully, we’ll have a better idea by then about what you should say to him.”
Bill complied and as he hung up the other casino managers began taking their seats around the conference table.
For the next several hours these managers demonstrated their willingness and commitment to help by developing a wide variety of plausible scenarios that might reflect who was behind the cheating and why. Every possibility imaginable was examined closely with off the wall ideas flying around the room like a swarm of bees around their queen. One by one, each idea was evaluated for its merit and subsequently discarded. Everyone was beginning to feel as though they had set for themselves an impossible task. Each and every scenario they came up with was no more feasible than any other. Nothing stood out. They were about to pack it in when the manager of the Place Your Bet, Ron Stahlberg, who had been more restrained with his input compared to his colleagues, came up with an interesting alternative.
“Gentlemen, I believe I’m safe in saying that all we’ve accomplished here today is now we know that what we set out to do is impossible because there are too many variables. Has it been a waste of time? I don’t think so because now we know we must try a different tact. We’ve got to look at the problem from a different perspective. We all agree that the reason behind all of these incidents most likely has something to do with Red. If we work with this assumption, it’s logical to also assume that Red has done something that has really ticked off the person committing all of these crimes, so much so that this individual is willing to take considerable risk to make Red pay for what he has done. I also want to make one more assumption. I believe this person is very skilled at creating a wide variety of disguises and this is why the casino’s cameras haven’t been able to spot him as a possible suspect. This guy is a real chameleon.
“Instead of trying to catch this person by determining what Red might have done and who it might have affected, instead of looking for clues in video tapes, lets work with what we know. Let’s use this person’s anger and determination to ruin Red to our advantage. Let’s come up with something that will tempt this guy to take even greater risks than he’s taken to date, something that will allow us to set the ideal trap.”
Suddenly, everybody is re-energized. Joe Amato suggests, “Red could put on a one day gaming table tournament from noon to midnight with a participant entry fee of $25,000. The prize money would be paid in cash with the winner getting a million dollars; second place would pay $500,000 and third place $250,000. The minimum number of players required to begin the tournament would be 100. The fees from the first 70 players would cover the prize money and the fees from the other thirty would cover promotional expenses, food and drink for the participants and put some profit in the Palladian Palace’s bank account to boot. If more than a hundred sign up, the additional profit can be split between the other casino managers to cover the expenses they’ll incur in providing additional resources to help Red catch this thief and maybe put some profit in their casinos’ bank accounts as well.
“We could have our advertising people launch a publicity campaign that utilizes all of the media for maximum exposure, one that would not only attract players, a gallery and the attention of the curious for miles around, but also entice this joker to try to do something to put the tournament in a bad light and discredit Red in the process because of the audience he could reach. We’re convinced that money is not this guy’s primary motive. Character assassination is what this guy is trying to accomplish. Let’s give him what he’ll consider to be an extraordinary opportunity to get what he wants.”
Red responds with, “This guy knows our operation very well. He knows we’ll have extra security people all over the place to handle the crowds and be on the lookout for trouble makers. This kind of tournament, however, could be the right catalyst to get this guy to overreach himself, take risks he wouldn’t normally take and hopefully make some serious mistakes that could lead to his downfall. Okay. I like this idea. Now what kind of trap could we set and how inescapable can we make it?”
Bill holds up his hands and says, “Let’s back up a minute. If this guy is not interested in money per se and won’t be willing to attempt another robbery because of the increased security that will be in place, do you really think an opportunity to discredit Red would be a strong enough reason to tempt him to show up in the midst of all that security?”
Joe replies with a resounding, “Yes! The tournament would provide an excellent opportunity for this person to do something that would put the Palladian Palace in a bad light and greatly embarrass Red. Haven’t we concluded that all of this cheating and perhaps the robbery are for this purpose? If we widely publicize this tournament, the degree of damage that could be done to the casino’s reputation and to Red’s in particular would be astronomical.”
Red adds, “We know that this individual is no dummy. Whatever he comes up with will be ingenious. The phony chips and roulette balls he’s using are so good that they’re impossible to detect during play and, since he’s a master of disguise, we have no reliable description to work with. Devising a plan that relies on our being effectively reactive to whatever ploy this guy uses, trying to anticipate what those ploys might be, playing the guessing game, all of these things have a very slim chance of working. We can greatly improve our chances of cornering this guy if we can influence his behavior, come up with something that will cause him to take a particular course of action. I’ve got some ideas about how we can do this.
“First, let’s remove some of the tools he’s been using from the playing field, namely the counterfeit chips and the roulette balls. I’ll announce at the beginning of the tournament that to commemorate the occasion we will be using special equipment, gold $100 chips and green roulette balls, since both colors are frequently associated with money. The chips will have unique art work that pertains to the tournament.
“In addition to this, I have been reading about a marvelous new piece of equipment that has just come on the market which can detect any tampering done to a die and will arrange to have this equipment installed at all of our crap tables. Before every toss, the stickman pushes the dice into a small opening on one side of the device; they are scanned and then ejected out of the other side. If anything is wrong, a red light will flash.
“Doing these things will level the playing field and force our unwanted guest to take another course of action. Since he can’t cheat and is highly unlikely to try robbery because of the increased security, there is only one option left to him that will allow him to keep his anonymity; lying, starting a rumor that would reflect badly on how the tournament is being run.
“For example, the rumor could be something about unscrupulous employees working the gaming tables who are under orders to keep anyone from running away with the tournament by controlling how much any one player wins until the last hour of play. This will keep people in the casino and hopefully gambling. Whatever the rumor might be, he will have to improvise quickly because the tournament will be over in twelve hours.
“Now for the iffy part of my scheme. With all of the publicity, the media will probably send reporters over to cover the event. We can set up a section just off the gaming floor where live broadcasts can take place and the reporters can interview participants and observers. With time being of the essence, there would be no better way for our bad guy to do his dirty deed.
“We can keep the section under observation with hidden miniature cameras and microphones. If this guy takes the bait, he will probably appear in disguise, say his piece and quickly split. I don’t want to have the cuffs put on him for starting a vicious rumor. The punishment for that is nowhere near what he deserves. I want to put this guy under surveillance to find out where he lives and who he is. When we know that, we can continue to monitor his activities until we can catch him in the act of cheating or doing something worse. Bill, do you think you can talk your brother in-law into having a surveillance team put together to help us catch this guy?”
“I’ll get right on it. I’m pretty sure Chuck will go along with us.”
“Okay! Well, folks, I think we should call it a day. We’ve gotten a lot accomplished and I want to thank each and every one of you for your contribution. In the interest of time, I will co-ordinate security arrangements and establish a dialogue with all of you via e-mail regarding the development of an appropriate publicity campaign. Dinner’s on the Palladian Palace if any of you want to stick around.”
With that said, the room emptied and Red and Bill returned to Red’s office to review what had taken place in the meeting and to discuss how Bill should handle tomorrow’s conversation with the Commissioner.
As they sat down in the remarkably comfortable chairs that Red has in front of his desk Bill says, “How about giving me some of those smart pills you must be taking. This game plan you came up with is terrific.”
“To remain a member in good standing of the Mensa crowd, I occasionally have to demonstrate that I’m not a complete moron. They think I must have cheated my way in because no intelligent person would ever settle for a job as a casino manager. Come to think of it, they might be right. Nobody in his right mind would want to deal with situations like the one we’re facing now.”
Bill smiles, knowing that Red is indeed a member of Mensa, something that he keeps to himself because he gets no satisfaction from someone thinking he should be treated any differently because of his IQ. Bill found out accidentally when a letter to Red from the Mensa organization wound up on his desk in error.
“I think your plan has a real good chance of working. I’ll call Chuck the first thing tomorrow morning to get the ball rolling on surveillance before I place my return call to the Commissioner.”
Red says, “Speaking of the Commissioner, I think the best way to respond to Crowley’s inquiry is to tell him the truth, but as little as possible. In other words, don’t volunteer any information. Just answer his question as succinctly as possible without appearing to be covering something up. After you talk with him, get back to me and let me know how it went.”
“Will do.” After a brief review of the meeting and setting up a tentative agenda for implementing Red’s plan, they head for home.