Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.
New currency specially designed to foil counterfeiters is scheduled for release this fall, but in Las Vegas an additional layer of protection against phony funds already exists.
The thousands of casino cashiers who handle the millions of dollars that pass through the city's megaresorts are working to ferret out fake bills, said Colleen Knighton, a cashier supervisor at the Bellagio.
"When you handle money all the time you really pick up on the feel of it," said Knighton, who has worked as a cashier for 19 years. "The feel is what gives you the clue that there may be something different, and that's when you pull that bill out and look a little more closely.
"No. 1 is the feel, and No. 2 is how it looks."
The new bills' hard-to-copy colored ink is designed to make counterfeits easier to spot, but in the end the public is the best defense, said Doug Coombs, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office of the Secret Service.
"Whenever we get a counterfeiting case the cashier always says, 'I felt it,' when we ask them how they knew," Coombs said. "It almost becomes mechanical for them. You see it with bankers and here in Las Vegas with the casino cashiers."
The new $20 bill, which features a blue eagle in the background and a metallic green eagle and a shield to the right of Andrew Jackson's portrait, is expected to appear in September, with new versions of the $50 and $100 bills to follow in 2004 and 2005.
The bills will also continue to feature watermarks -- faint images that are part of the paper and can be seen from both sides when held up to light -- and a security thread, a vertical strip of plastic embedded in the paper that reads "USA TWENTY."
Of the $650 billion in currency circulating in the United States one or two bills in every 10,000, is believed to be counterfeit, Coombs said.
"Las Vegas is probably a little less than the national average," Coombs said, again pointing out the work of casino cashiers in catching counterfeits.
Counterfeit bills usually hit Las Vegas casinos in waves, Knighton said.
"It's not something that happens consistently where I can say we see something every month," Knighton said. "What usually happens is a casino will get hit by someone trying to pass a bunch of bills, and we get a heads-up. The casinos have a network to keep everyone in the loop if some bad bills start turning up."
The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is planning on making changes to U.S. currency every seven to 10 years in an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters who are putting computer technology to use making bogus bills.
"In the mid-1990s less than 1 percent of the counterfeit bills we were seeing were utilizing digital technology, and now that number is at 40 percent," Coombs said.
While the majority of counterfeiters still use offset printing machines and must have detailed knowledge of printing techniques in order to make a passable note, many are learning that computers are cheaper and easier to use.
"What we want to do is continue to add complexity and obstacles that make it a little harder for the counterfeiters," Coombs said.
While the new bills may be more secure, some adjustments will need to be made by businesses and others handling the bills. The Secret Service will work with casinos and area businesses through training seminars to explain the new security features and how to easily identify them.
The new currency will force the replacement of computer hardware on video poker and slot machines so that they will be able to accept the new bills.
A similar change occurred when new currency was introduced in 1997, said Ed Rogich, spokesman for slot manufacturer International Game Technology.
"What basically needs to happen is a computer chip needs to be replaced so that machine will take the new bills," Rogich said. "Once the chip is ready it will be an overnight job for the slot technicians at the casinos."
Knighton says she expects counterfeiters will also make a quick adjustment to the new notes.
"There is always going to be someone who figures it out," Knighton said. "We try to stay a step ahead, but there's always someone out there who's going to try to find a way around it."
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