{"id":244222,"date":"2023-06-09T08:05:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T13:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=244222"},"modified":"2023-11-24T10:08:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T16:08:42","slug":"vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR’S NOTE: <\/strong>“Vegas Myths Busted” publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. <\/em>Today’s entry in our ongoing series originally ran on Dec. 2, 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Those signs depicting a camera with a red slash through it weren’t placed inside casinos by police. Taking a photo in a casino isn’t an activity you’ll ever face a judge for engaging in, and it’s never been against the law. It’s merely a self-imposed policy that casinos try and stop you from violating. Similar legal but frowned-upon policies include counting cards at blackjack, not wearing a shirt, or being too intoxicated.<\/p>\n

\"Casino
Taking a photo inside a casino was never an illegal act, despite what Las Vegas casinos often encouraged visitors to believe. Now, some casinos actually encourage selfies. (Image: feelingvegas.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike the other myths this series has explored, casinos are the ones perpetuating this one. They want guests to have second thoughts about taking photos to protect the privacy of their other guests. Not everyone patronizes a casino wanting everyone else in their lives knowing about it. That guest unwittingly caught playing craps in the background of your Instagram post may be a public official or an undercover cop. And that woman gambling next to him may be his mistress or a prostitute.<\/p>\n

As far as your smartphone camera goes, casinos would rather you just keep it in your pants.<\/p>\n

\"No
A typical “no photo” sign is displayed at the Ellis Island casino. (Image: Scott Roeben)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Myth Understanding<\/b><\/h2>\n

According to former Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> investigative reporter A.D. Hopkins, this myth traces back to the early days of Las Vegas, when people didn’t want the folks back home seeing them in an environment associated with sin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would often be told we could not take photos in a casino because it was illegal,\u201d said Hopkins, who first began reporting on Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s. \u201cThen I did a story on (future South Point owner) Mike Gaughan. He said, \u2018That’s just bull****!\u2019 He not only allowed me to take his picture in his casino, but insisted that I do. He figured that some security chiefs decided it was easier to tell newspaper photographers, untruthfully, that it was illegal than it was to make sure they had the consent of everyone in the picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dueling Priorities<\/b><\/h2>\n

The standard \u201cno photography\u201d casino policy is running headlong into a changing world. Just about every casino guest now has a high-definition camera in their pocket. People in almost every age group are now accustomed to commemorating any excitement in their lives with live social media posts \u2013 posts that have become an undeniably valuable source of advertising for casinos.<\/p>\n

People want to capture their experiences to share them,\u201d said\u00a0 Scott Roeben, founder of Casino.org<\/em>\u2019s own Vital Vegas <\/a><\/em>blog<\/a>.<\/em> \u201cRigid rules alienate customers and create unnecessary tension between guests and staff. Casinos already face serious challenges, as younger players aren’t thrilled with spending money to sit and push a button on a slot machine. They create another barrier with old-fashioned and intrusive policies around photography.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No one has been confronted for casino photography in modern Las Vegas more than Roeben. (His best guess is \u201cdozens of times.\u201d) He\u2019s been booted from the Palace Station for photographing a bingo game, and from the Sahara just for carrying a digital camera. He was even back-roomed once, a la the movie “Casino,” for photographing a restaurant sign inside Jerry\u2019s Nugget.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve also been commanded to delete photos on numerous occasions,\u201d Roeben said. \u201cI often remind visitors they do not have to follow this directive. No one can force you to delete photos or video. You may not be welcome at the casino anymore, but it’s your decision to comply or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Four
An encouraging sign hangs in the Four Queens casino on Fremont Street. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bigger Picture<\/b><\/h2>\n

Because there’s nothing casinos can do to stop selfie-taking, most are slowly relaxing, or seriously rewriting, their photo bans. Photo tolerance varies by casino. Caesars Palace and the Sahara, for example, have always tended toward the less tolerant end of the spectrum. The Strat, on the other hand, actively encourages selfies, placing their social-media hashtags on their baccarat, blackjack, and craps tables. Four Queens and Rampart casinos also encourage selfies.<\/p>\n

In the middle are casinos such as Park MGM, which dedicate specific zones on the floor \u2013 away from live tables and slots \u2013 for selfie-taking.<\/p>\n

What most casinos try to implement these days is a nuanced policy that considers the type of photographs being taken before guests are asked to refrain. Some types are more permissible than others. You still will frequently see a \u201cno photos\u201d sign, but it\u2019s primarily there to justify action against the less permissible types.<\/p>\n

What’s Allowed and What\u2019s Not<\/b><\/h2>\n

You\u2019re good taking one or two quick selfies just about anywhere on a casino floor these days. Most tourists do anyway. But photograph an active-play table, even in the background of your selfie, and you\u2019re taking more of a chance. In addition to potentially violating guest privacy, the casino may be concerned that your photo is part of a cheating scam.<\/p>\n

If you want to gauge the speed of a casino\u2019s security response, then photograph one of its cashier\u2019s cages. You may not even get a warning before being escorted out. There’s almost no justifiable reason a casino can see for snapping such a photo other than plotting a future robbery, such as the ones committed at Resort\u2019s World and Gold Coast in November 2022.<\/p>\n

Video Verboten<\/b><\/h2>\n

Because casinos consider moving images more disruptive to their other guests than still ones, videography, live streaming, and video conferencing are almost universally off-limits. Casinos break this rule only for social media influencers whose vlogs and slot channels are extremely popular. But even they must clear their live streaming ahead of time. Nobody is allowed to just randomly start FaceTiming in a casino.<\/p>\n

\u201cCasinos are grappling with dueling priorities,\u201d Roeben said. \u201cThey want the business that influencers can drive, but also don’t want to disrupt the experience of their best players, often in high-limit slot rooms. Recently, casinos friendly to influencers have reconsidered their policies, so the story is still unfolding. But it’s indicative of some of the growing pains related to technology and casinos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look for \u201cVegas Myths Busted\u201d every Monday on\u00a0<\/strong>Casino.org. <\/strong><\/em>Visit <\/strong>VegasMythsBusted.com<\/a>\u00a0to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Vegas Myths Busted” publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today’s entry in our ongoing series originally ran on Dec. 2, 2022. Those signs depicting a camera with a red slash through it weren’t placed inside casinos by police. Taking a photo in a casino isn’t an activity you’ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":244225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,81896,81886,88494,1],"tags":[83803,83802,83801,13363,81965,83799,83798,83800,83797],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"EDITOR'S NOTE: "Vegas Myths Busted" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EDITOR'S NOTE: "Vegas Myths Busted" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-09T13:05:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-24T16:08:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"802\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Corey Levitan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Corey Levitan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/\",\"name\":\"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-09T13:05:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-24T16:08:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/281fd7b5480c9afb75e84ffb75039f09\"},\"description\":\"EDITOR'S NOTE: \\\"Vegas Myths Busted\\\" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":802},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Las Vegas\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/281fd7b5480c9afb75e84ffb75039f09\",\"name\":\"Corey Levitan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-3-3-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-3-3-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Corey Levitan\"},\"description\":\"Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers gaming news on the US West Coast, including Las Vegas. Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city\u2019s history. (For \u201cFear and Loafing,\u201d he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.) Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post. Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook. Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corey-levitan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org","description":"EDITOR'S NOTE: \"Vegas Myths Busted\" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org","og_description":"EDITOR'S NOTE: \"Vegas Myths Busted\" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2023-06-09T13:05:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-24T16:08:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":802,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Corey Levitan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Corey Levitan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/","name":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino - Casino.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-09T13:05:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-24T16:08:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/281fd7b5480c9afb75e84ffb75039f09"},"description":"EDITOR'S NOTE: \"Vegas Myths Busted\" publishes new entries every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today's entry in our ongoing series","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/casinoselfie-feeling-vegas-dot-com.jpg","width":1200,"height":802},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vegas-myths-busted-its-illegal-to-take-photos-in-a-casino\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Las Vegas","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: It\u2019s Illegal to Take Photos in a Casino"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/281fd7b5480c9afb75e84ffb75039f09","name":"Corey Levitan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-3-3-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-3-3-96x96.png","caption":"Corey Levitan"},"description":"Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers gaming news on the US West Coast, including Las Vegas. Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city\u2019s history. (For \u201cFear and Loafing,\u201d he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.) Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post. Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook. Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corey-levitan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244222"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300368,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244222\/revisions\/300368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}