To most, a four-day bond conference in an over-air-conditioned mega-hotel with boozed-up traders talking shop all day is a tough sell. Unless, of course, you’re a regulatory agency looking to get your fingers closer to the pulse of wrongdoings in the industry. All your key players are in one enclosed place, loose-lipped among peers and open bars.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have reportedly been making their rounds on the conference circuit, from Miami to Las Vegas, according to Bloomberg, combing through attendee lists, scouting name tags for people of interest, and handing out branding swag reminding conference-goers to report malfeasance.

Regulators have gotten creative in the wake of the financial crisis, in which Wall Street skirted the agencies with practices that ultimately pulled the rug out from under the American economy. Approaching bankers in their natural habitat in order to score some tips about practices that may be inappropriate seems to be one of the tricks up their sleeves. Regulators send out e-mails to names they score from the invite list and ask to meet with attendees while they’re in the same place, inviting them to spill the tea on what’s going on and who’s doing what in the world of finance. Some flat-out refuse, not wanting to appear like they are cooperating with the government, particularly while so closely surrounded by their colleagues. But there is an incentive, beyond a moral imperative, which, of course, is so strong on Wall Street. The Dodd-Frank Act does set aside cash for people who provide regulators with tips. Bloomberg said that the S.E.C. paid out more than $30 million to a tipster in an undisclosed case. With Wall Street bonuses sagging this year, and the drinks at these conferences flowing, that sounds like the best deal that could ever come out of a Las Vegas hotel.