With over 30,000 visitors daily, the Full Throttle Saloon is the place to be during the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota each year. This year’s 70th Sturgis Rally was August 9-15, and the Full Throttle’s 300 employees, including 100+ bartenders, were able to focus on keeping their thousands of customers happy while Clearwater and IQinvision took care of minding the cash and recording any patrons that might want to celebrate a bit too much.

Jeff Haasb, owner of Clearwater Security and Investigations, and his team of security experts have an arsenal of tools deployed at the Full Throttle that are more powerful than some of the casinos in Las Vegas: “Using cutting-edge surveillance cameras from IQinvision has made our daunting task much easier. Imagine trying to keep an eye on 30,000 visitors and 100 bartenders. You've got to follow the cash, each transaction, and make sure that Ballard's money stays where it’s supposed to stay.”

Amazingly, 10 IQeyes—six Mini Domes, three Alliance domes, and a single Sentinel—are all that is needed to do the job of protecting people, cash, and all other assets during the week-long celebration and for the rest of the year. Managing high-performance HD megapixel network cameras can be a challenge without the right software, so Haasb chose Milestone Open Platform IP management software to ensure he gets the best from the IQeye cameras.

Haasb’s been impressed with the system’s functionality, “With IQinvision's Alliance Series megapixel cameras, we're able to digitally pan, tilt, and zoom in so close that we can literally count each bill that is placed in the cash register.” In addition to closely monitoring the saloon’s high-volume cash transaction areas, this year Haasb has added cameras to other sensitive areas like the Full Throttle Saloon Bank, which allows his team to monitor the cash as it makes its way through thousands of bar patrons, to the teller, and into the vault.

“The new cameras we've deployed this year in the bank will allow us to count each bill, track what the teller is entering into the bank's computer system, and observe the teller place each cash register's net deposit in the vault,” Haasb explained. The Full Throttle Saloon stores over 10 terabytes of video, and it can be recalled as necessary for law enforcement, internal documentation, and/or insurance purposes.

Full Throttle’s owner has been pleased with the increased level of protection his system provides, “Four out of five businesses go out of business because of theft, and bars are close to the top of the list. This system is well worth the investment—it has paid for itself each year,” commented Michael Ballard.

Managing the massive crowds at the Full Throttle Saloon is also an important security system objective. “With our IQeye cameras, we're able to detect problems a lot of times before they even start,” said Haasb. This critical addition to standard bar security enables ground security staff to respond faster and make necessary interventions before problems erupt, leading to a safer, more enjoyable, rally experience for all.

“I remember my first Sturgis Rally in 1978,” recalled Mark Nazarenus, IQinvision Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing. “It’s amazing to see how much this event has grown. In 1978, we were just hoping there would be enough outhouses. Now, the Full Throttle Saloon is utilizing our leading-edge surveillance technology to keep watch over all the festivities. We are pleased that IQinvision is central to the security solution that helps makes this event safer for everyone.”