Deep inside Caesars Palace on Las Vegas’s Strip, hidden cameras sweep the gambling floor, while above the casino security specialists scan a wall covered with closed-circuit television monitors. But even the savviest expert would pay little mind to the blonde-haired party girl making her way across the marbled and mirrored casino floor.

She enters a high-limit area where minimum bets are $100 and tonight’s clientele includes a clutch of NBA stars and actor Michael J Fox. Looking dazed, she checks out various blackjack tables before settling on one, seemingly at random, and buys in for $3,000.With shaky hands and a blissed-out smile, this apparently brain-blotted club-kid loses three hands in a row before trying to bet her backpack.