VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: Women Shouldn’t Wear Red in Casinos

There is a pervy reason why some women will not wear red when choosing what color to wear to a casino.  According to a 2001 book, if the cloth is sufficiently thin, casino security cameras may see through the color.

In his article "Why Shouldn't a Woman Wear Red in a Casino?" casino surveillance specialist George Joseph detailed how "red chips (or any red colored item) appear as an off white" on black-and-white security cameras with infrared capabilities.

"The human eye sees between 400 and 700 nanometers of light, while the infrared capability of a black and white camera sees up to about 1100 nanometers of light and can be set to see much higher,” Joseph continued. “To the average surveillance operator, this information means very little until a woman walks into the casino wearing a flimsy red colored silk dress or top.

“In many cases, the camera doesn’t see much of the color red and, in affect (sic), you see through the dress.”

Infrared Light District?

This argument is weak, even for someone who has no idea how infrared light works and is more adept at spelling the word "effect."

Joseph began by describing how red appears as off white to infrared cameras.  So why should a red dress's crimson look invisible rather than just off-white?

Another expert in casino monitoring is Fred Del Marva.  His customers have included Caesars Palace, The Mirage, and the Golden Nugget since he began providing consultancy services to casinos in 1986.

“I’ve never heard of this,” Del Marva told Casino.org, “and casinos consistently look for potential liability issues to deal with, so I would have heard of it if it was true.”

A 1998 CNN report about a camera with infrared night vision that Sony removed from the market in 1998 because it could see through clothing was the only proof Joseph's book provided to back up its assertion.

In fact, Sony's NightShot camera could depict sheer synthetic fabrics—typically black or red—as semi-transparent before it was altered.  However, this impact was only observed under brilliant sunlight, which is strongly infrared radiated by the sun's heat.

The IR intensity needed to replicate this effect is absent from any indoor casino lighting.

Complete Ignorance

According to every reliable internet source we could locate on the topic, most clothing, including thin silk, blocks or absorbs enough infrared light indoors to make it impossible to discern anything more distinct than hazy outlines and heat patterns.

It is impossible to see body parts or even underwear in depth.

 Clearly, Joseph needed a catchy title to help get his one and only book, which he self-published, out there.  And even though the book, which provides solutions to this and a hundred other concerns about gambling in Vegas casinos, only devotes three inadequate paragraphs to substantiating its scandalous title, "Why Shouldn't a Woman Wear Red in a Casino?" was successful.

“All the big casinos have people in their organizations with as much knowledge about infrared cameras as the guy who made these accusations,” Del Marva said. “If his claim were true, it would be the obligation of every casino to give women notice as soon as they enter.

“And they’ve never done that, so this is just a bunch of bullshit.”