Why Casinos Are Spying on Their Ultra-Rich Clients
It turns out surveillance is the highest form of indulgence — and the future for the rest of us.
The surveillance room of Les Ambassadeurs casino in London, where 10 of the building’s 400 cameras track the faces of its elite members.
Photograph: Parmy Olson/Bloomberg
You could easily miss the exclusive Les Ambassadeurs casino in London. Just off Hyde Park Corner, it sits at the end of a quiet side street populated only with chauffeured black vans waiting to whisk wealthy guests to five-star restaurants or soccer games. The casino’s sole imposition on the street is a red awning above the door. A wall of fragrance, floral and citrus notes to the fore, hits as you cross the marble tiles to be greeted by a receptionist.
Owned by Paul Suen Cho Hung, a China-born businessman who also counts Birmingham City Football Club as a U.K. trophy asset, “Les A” is among the most exclusive gambling dens in the British capital, charging £25,000 ($31,340) a year for membership. Most of its more than 20,000 active members visit from Asia and the Middle East and include billionaires, royalty and celebrities. British retail billionaire Philip Green reportedly won £2 million at one of its roulette tables in 2004.