Griffin Investigations

Griffin Investigations was a United States private-investigation company founded in 1967 by Beverly S. Griffin and Robert R. Griffin. It became particularly associated with the casino industry, where it supplied intelligence about gamblers whom casinos regarded as potential threats, advantage players, card counters, or suspected cheats. At its peak, the company was described as having subscriptions from roughly half of the major casinos in the United States, making it one of the most prominent specialist information providers in the gambling-surveillance sector. The company’s best-known information product was the Griffin Book, a collection of profiles concerning gamblers and other individuals of interest to casino security departments. The dossiers reportedly included card counters, serial jackpot winners, professional gamblers using legal methods to obtain an advantage, and people suspected of cheating or other undesirable conduct. Griffin distributed these profiles to subscribing casinos, allowing surveillance and security personnel to compare visitors with information gathered across the casino industry. The business model depended on the value of shared intelligence: casinos could use the company’s data to identify people whose play or conduct had previously attracted attention elsewhere. Griffin Investigations became especially well known through its role in identifying members of the MIT Blackjack Team. A Griffin investigator reportedly obtained names, photographs, and other identifying information about members of the team, after which the company circulated the information to casinos. This helped casinos recognize team members and contributed to the end of the team’s sustained winning streak. The episode illustrated both the commercial importance of Griffin’s database and the conflict between casinos and gamblers who used lawful mathematical strategies to gain an advantage. The company also marketed a facial-recognition system intended to compare gamblers’ faces with multiple volumes of mug shots and other images. Beverly S. Griffin said that biometric technology was being used by many Southern Nevada casinos to identify card cheats and other unwanted individuals. The technology was controversial, however. A casino surveillance director writing under the pseudonym Cellini later argued that practical casino use of biometric systems was undermined by a very high number of false matches. This criticism reflected a broader tension in Griffin’s business: its services were designed to improve casino security, but inaccurate or poorly verified information could expose legitimate gamblers to exclusion, detention, or legal action. That tension became central to the company’s legal and financial difficulties. Gamblers Michael Russo and James Grosjean sued Griffin Investigations after alleging that information supplied by the company contributed to their being improperly detained, labeled as cheaters, and arrested. In June 2005, a Clark County District Court jury awarded punitive damages of $15,000 to Russo and $10,000 to Grosjean. Griffin Investigations and Caesars Palace were each also ordered to pay Russo and Grosjean $25,000 in actual damages. The litigation and associated damages contributed to Griffin Investigations filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2005. The company’s later position is not established by the supplied reference material. Minutes from the Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board dated June 18, 2008 recorded Beverly Griffin saying that her former husband had retired and that she was seeking to purchase his half of the business. She also stated that Chapter 11 payments were current and that, on legal advice, the company had changed how information was supplied by using data encryption. No reliable current operating status, ownership record, headquarters, or official website is established here.

Griffin Investigations was established in 1967 by Beverly S. Griffin and Robert R. Griffin as a private-investigation business focused on the United States gambling industry. It developed a specialist role serving casino security and surveillance departments, particularly by collecting and distributing information about gamblers whose methods, identities, or previous conduct were considered relevant to casino risk management. The company’s central information product was the Griffin Book. It contained profiles of card counters, serial jackpot winners, professional gamblers, suspected cheats, and other people of interest to casinos. The profiles were distributed to subscribing casinos, enabling them to identify individuals who had previously been documented by another property. At one point, roughly half of the major casinos in the United States were reported to subscribe to Griffin’s services, making the company a significant information intermediary within the casino sector. Griffin Investigations received substantial public attention because of its involvement in the identification of the MIT Blackjack Team. A Griffin investigator obtained names, photographs, and other identifying details concerning team members and circulated the information to casinos. Once the players could be recognized, casinos were better able to restrict their activity, contributing to the end of the team’s winning streak. The case also highlighted the controversial status of advantage gambling: the team’s methods relied on mathematical techniques that were generally lawful, while casinos treated the resulting losses and coordinated play as a security concern. The company expanded its offering beyond written intelligence by marketing a facial-recognition system. The system was intended to compare gamblers’ faces with collections of mug shots and other images. Beverly Griffin estimated that biometric tools were used by as many as half of Southern Nevada’s casinos to identify card cheats and other unwanted individuals. Practical criticism came from a casino surveillance director writing under a pseudonym, who argued that false matches made the technology of limited value to working surveillance personnel. Legal challenges later exposed the risks of distributing adverse information about gamblers. Michael Russo and James Grosjean alleged that Griffin-supplied information caused them to be improperly detained, characterized as cheaters, and arrested. In June 2005, a Clark County District Court jury awarded punitive damages of $15,000 to Russo and $10,000 to Grosjean. Griffin Investigations and Caesars Palace were also each ordered to pay $25,000 in actual damages to the two plaintiffs. The company subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the consequences of legal costs and the judgment. In June 2008, minutes of the Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board recorded Beverly Griffin discussing the company’s post-bankruptcy position. She said that her former husband had retired and that she was seeking to buy his half of the business. She also stated that Chapter 11 payments were current and that the company had changed its information-supply process by adopting data encryption on legal advice. The supplied references do not establish whether Griffin Investigations continued operating after that period, nor do they provide a confirmed current owner, headquarters, website, or trading status.

• 2008

  Reported ownership and encryption changes

  [1]Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org

  Beverly Griffin told a Nevada licensing board that she was seeking to purchase her former husband's share and that the company had changed its information-distribution procedures to use encryption.

• 2005

  Defamation judgment and Chapter 11 filing

  [1]Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org

  A Clark County jury awarded damages to Michael Russo and James Grosjean, and the company filed for Chapter 11 protection amid legal costs and damages.

• 1967

  Company founded

  [1]Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org

  Beverly S. Griffin and Robert R. Griffin founded Griffin Investigations as a private-investigation company serving the gambling industry.

• Griffin Book becomes a major casino-information product

  [1]Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org

  The company built a broad casino-surveillance information business around dossiers on advantage players, suspected cheats, and other gamblers of interest.

• MIT Blackjack Team members identified

  [1]Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org

  Griffin obtained and distributed identifying information about members of the MIT Blackjack Team, helping casinos recognize the players and limiting their continued success.

A specialist business-to-business intelligence and private-investigation provider for casinos, positioned around identifying advantage players, suspected cheats, and other individuals considered security risks.

• Casino intelligence database

  The Griffin Book

  The Griffin Book was the company's signature information product for casino subscribers. It compiled profiles of people considered relevant to casino surveillance, including card counters, serial jackpot winners, professional gamblers using lawful advantage techniques, suspected cheats, and other individuals regarded as undesirable. The material allowed casinos to compare visitors with records gathered from other properties and was central to Griffin Investigations' role as an industry-wide intelligence provider.

• Private-investigation service

  Casino surveillance and gambler dossiers

  Griffin Investigations maintained and distributed dossiers intended to help casinos identify gamblers and assess potential security or financial threats. The service focused on collecting names, photographs, behavioral information, and other identifying details, particularly concerning advantage players and suspected cheats. Its use could affect whether a gambler was monitored, excluded, detained, or reported to law enforcement.

• Biometric casino-security technology

  Facial-recognition system

  The company marketed facial-recognition software designed to compare gamblers' faces with several volumes of mug shots and related images. Beverly Griffin associated the technology with casino efforts to identify card cheats and other unwanted individuals, particularly in Southern Nevada. Its practical usefulness was disputed by casino surveillance personnel who cited the system's allegedly high rate of false reads.

• 2005

  Russo and Grosjean defamation lawsuit

  Gamblers Michael Russo and James Grosjean alleged that Griffin Investigations supplied information that led to their improper detention, characterization as cheats, and arrest. A Clark County jury awarded punitive damages and ordered Griffin Investigations and Caesars Palace to pay actual damages. The case contributed to Griffin's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

  Source

Read more

• 2008

  Change information-distribution proceduresStrategy

  Background

  The company was operating under Chapter 11 obligations and faced scrutiny over the handling of information about gamblers.

  Action taken

  Beverly Griffin reportedly said that the company had changed how information was supplied and had begun using data encryption on legal advice.

  Aftermath

  The supplied references do not establish the long-term commercial or regulatory result of the change.

  Source

• 2005

  Seek Chapter 11 protectionOther

  Background

  The company faced legal costs and damages following the Russo and Grosjean judgment.

  Action taken

  Griffin Investigations filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

  Aftermath

  By 2008, Beverly Griffin reportedly said that required Chapter 11 payments were current.

  Source

• Market facial-recognition technology to casinosProduct launch

  Background

  Griffin sought to extend its casino-surveillance business from written dossiers into biometric identification.

  Action taken

  The company marketed software that compared gamblers' faces with mug-shot databases and other image collections.

  Aftermath

  The offering attracted attention but was criticized by a casino surveillance director who considered biometric technology unreliable because of false matches.

  Source

1. 1Griffin Investigationsen.wikipedia.org