The River Cree Resort and Casino, a casino and entertainment venue near Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, recently upgraded to the Genetec Security Center solution for unified alarm management, secure evidence sharing and more.

“An open platform has been key for us,” said Bob McDonald, director of surveillance and compliance at River Cree Resort and Casino. “With Security Center, we know that no matter what we’re looking to do, we’ll have options for new features, built-in modules, cloud solutions, and third-party integrations that will serve our needs.”

Each year, more than 45,000 guests visit the resort and casino. River Cree offers a full-service hotel on site, a popular venue for private events. The Enoch Cree Nation owns and operates the business, and all profits are invested back into a charity that supports social programs in the First Nation community.

Over a decade ago, the surveillance team began experiencing issues with the business’s analog video system. The security team was also having trouble with an aging access control system. Dealing with these recurring device failures and performance issues was time-consuming and heightened security risks. For River Cree Resort and Casino, finding a solution that could evolve alongside new business objectives over time was critical.

Within Genetec Security Center, the team set up various event-to-actions. Operators receive alarms when certain doors are accessed, if a panic button is pressed in the cages, or if there’s a problem in the pit. All associated video is tied to the alarm, making it easy for operators to act quickly.

When River Cree Casino needs to send footage to various partners, it’s a simple and secure process using Genetec Clearance. Using this evidence management system, they can also streamline the auditing process by quickly sharing information and reports with the gaming commission as needed. 

River Cree Casino is also simplifying operator tasks using Plan Manager, the map-based interface of the Genetec Security Center. All cameras, doors and other sensors are plotted on a map of the property, so operators can quickly find devices and see where alarm notifications are coming from.   

During the pandemic, the team deployed Genetec’s KiwiVision People Counter analytics within Security Center. Though they already had a head-count system, having the people-counting solution allowed them to verify that numbers were accurate to avoid any compliance issues. Post-pandemic, they rely on the people counting analytics for fire and safety codes. “They’ll get notified when we’re bordering occupancy limits, so we can take appropriate action,” McDonald said.

Today, River Cree Casino is using Security Center to manage more than 1,150 cameras and about 150 doors. They’ve also connected their fire alarm system and 25 DMP panic buttons within the unified platform. This enables both surveillance and security operators to work from a unified view of the casino and resort, helping them see what’s happening across the property and quickly respond to alarms with all information at hand.