It's real. It's just matching the patterns created by your facial features. I"m not sure if Vegas cameras are actually doing that or if they would be connected to some kind of ID database, but the technology exists .I BELIEVE that the British Govt using some kind of technology like that in their public surveillance cameras. I THINK they do that, but I know that the ability is there. I had thought that TSA was going to role out something similar at the airports to look for bad guys or something.
OTOH, I've been drinking tonight.
That sort of thing has been trialled in UK airports, eg as reported by
The Register. Whether it works is another matter. One report claims 100% accuracy, which frankly isn't credible, and another only recognised 30% of the faces it was supposed to. I'm doubtful that the casinos have better technology, and I'm wary of their vested interest in hyping up their success rate as a deterrence.
It's even less likely to work with public surveillance cameras because their quality isn't great, nor is the infrastructure. The UK government is better at cock-up than conspiracy.