What might the mass shooting tragedy in Las Vegas mean for the future of security measures in the hotels and casinos?

The aftermath at the Mandalay Bay

The horrific mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas, which left 59 people dead and over 500 injured, has brought the security checks in casino hotels into sharp focus. Gunman Stephen Paddock hired two rooms above the music festival and was able to get 47 guns in 10 suitcases past security.

The gun control issue in America is one of the most divisive and polarising issues in the country, one which sadly sees no hope of coming to a resolution anytime soon. So with that in mind, how might security measures change for those of you planning to travel to Vegas?

Anyone who has been to Vegas knows how for the most part you can just walk straight into the casino or hotel. Although the security presence is incredibly strong, you hardly ever see security guards unless somebody is being escorted out. Casino security has cameras everywhere, and sniffer dogs for drugs and bombs, but for the most part their attention is on problems on the gaming floor, drunks and people loitering around the hotel floors without a room.

Trawling through the plethora of news articles this week about security issues, almost all the security professionals interviewed believe this was an event that was hard to foresee using the current industry standard preventions. The only way in which it could have been prevented is by implementing airport style screening methods on the receptions. While somebody openly carrying a gun into the lobby of a hotel would be quickly dealt with, all the guns Paddock had in his room could be broken into smaller parts and stored in luggage.

The new normal

Security is taken very seriously at the Wynn

Those who are concerned about hotel security would probably be advised to stay at the Wynn in the future. Last year Steve Wynn warned Vegas was a 'target city' for some sort of horrible event like this and took measures to beef up security. This included invisible metal detectors and security guards specifically trained for terrorist attacks.

The Wynn also likely is showing the future of casino security, immediately after the attack they started inspecting customer's bags and scanning them on arrival. Where previously one could just wander into the casino, patrons now had to wait in line for 10 minutes. This is likely to become the norm in Las Vegas, which had 42.9 million visitors last year. It already is the norm in the Philippines after a gunman killed 38 people at the Resorts World Manilla in June.

Many have been warning casino bosses about how vulnerable gambling venues are (indeed poker had its own casino security scandal with the EPT Berlin robbery) but those concerns have fallen on deaf ears because it has always got in the way of ensuring the high rollers get to the tables as easily as possible. No casino that wants to thrive in the aftermath of this horrendous incident will be able to take security measures this flippantly again.

Has this incident put you off going to Vegas? Let us know in the comments: