A former security officer at Reno’s Peppermill Casino claims its facial recognition technology routinely misidentified customers, sometimes producing as many as 12 false matches with 100% confidence in a single shift.
In a sworn declaration filed in federal court, Aaron Michael Gamino also alleges that casino security personnel were pressured to arrest suspected trespassers even when they produced identification indicating they were someone else.
The allegations have emerged in a civil rights lawsuit brought by Jason Killinger, a gambler who was arrested at the Peppermill in September 2023 after its facial recognition system mistakenly identified him as a previously banned customer.
The case has attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Innocence Project, which filed a joint brief supporting Killinger’s legal challenge last week.
Gamino worked as a Peppermill security officer from October 2024 until July 2026, according to his August 28 declaration.
He claims the casino’s facial recognition technology frequently produced erroneous matches, including alerts assigning 100% similarity to people who clearly did not resemble those in its database.
“I had that happen sometimes 12 times on a single shift,” he stated.
Gamino also alleges that security personnel received little training in facial recognition technology and were never told that a match should be treated as an investigative lead rather than proof of...
A former security officer at Reno’s Peppermill Casino claims its facial recognition technology routinely misidentified customers, sometimes producing as many as 12 false matches with 100% confidenc...