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Searching for stories to write in the classic format of 5 things you should know about. Well, I’m not sure if this is a good or bad idea but searching on YouTube for a touch of inspiration (I think that’s the word) and I find this video about Las Vegas prostitutes. I’m looking for the magic number 5. I found it. As a disclaimer, I’ve never been to Las Vegas or had any interest in soliciting the services of a prostitute. I’m sure she would say: ‘You’re one of those talkers, hey?’ Anyway, if you find yourself in Vegas then these five pointers may just save you some embarrassment, cash, ultimately arrest or death. 

So much for Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.

Lets get down to the good stuff!

No wonder it’s called Sin City. It’s a strange how all these vices are somehow legal.

(Well, mostly legal).

Prostitution is Legal in Nevada but not all parts of Nevada. In fact, 10 of the 16 counties it is legal. However, it is only legal in certain places and inside a brothel. Any county with a population over 700,000 cannot have legalised prostitution. Las Vegas and the Strip has over 2 million residents. So it is not legal in Clark County. However, escorting, which is simply paying someone for their company, is perfectly legal. This is regardless of how much or little clothing they are wearing. If you are arrested for a first time offender for prostitution you can face up to 6 months in jail or $1000 fine. Plus a $400 fine and $200 civil penalty. This may be dismissed from your record if you pay a fine, do a little bit of community service or go to an AIDS awareness class [often called John’s School]. Now you have the basics lets take a look at the 5 ways you could get scammed.

1) Walking along The Strip…like you do. If you are in a group or walking on your own along the strip you may bump into a group of prostitutes who show you a little bit of affection while stealing a phone or your wallet out of your back pocket who hands it to another one. If you notice you’ve lost something and ask about it they will show you their hands and say: ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ And they simply walk off with your property.

2) If you are out at a bar or a restaurant with a prostitute they may drug your drink. The bloke in the video recounts a time when a man walked in off the street with three prostitutes into a strip club. All of them sat down at a table and one of the strippers joined them. That was unusual because generally strippers hate prostitutes coming into the club because they are competing against each other to try to make money. Long story short, one of the hosts has to carry the guy to the front door. He was zonko and almost a dead weight. Worse than it drunk. It was found out that not only did they drug the bloke but also the stripper. Whether they robbed the man wasn’t told but the only reason they drug someone is to get their hands on his money. Thankfully he was in a place where people looked after him. If he had been somewhere else he would have put himself in real danger.

3) If you make it back to the prostitutes room you have even more to worry about. This is the best of three scenarios. So listen up. This could happen if you are on the Strip, which, isn’t a legal setting for prostitution. You’ve talked to her, agreed to a sum of money, and you agree to go back to your hotel. You may get what you paid for but if you’re going to get robbed [best case scenario] she takes your wallet and runs out of the room! You may have been drugged, go to the bathroom, it could be any number of things. It’s an opportunist theft. Even if you catch her and make a scene you’re in trouble. Someone will call security. They will ask what happened for their report. That may lead to the police being called. You may be thankful you simply lost your wallet, cash, identification and bank cards. At least they can be replaced.

4) This is one of the worst case scenarios to be in [but not the worst]. You make it back to your room. However, she texts someone your room number. This could be a pimp, several guys, or even someone dressed as a policeman. They come up to your room and you are not ready for it. That’s why you need to be careful about giving your room number as a condition of her going to it. They may say it’s so she feels safe by letting a friend know where she is. It all sounds fair and square. You are totally unprepared. You may even have your pants down. You will be outnumbered, probably have a gun pulled on you to guarantee you will be forthcoming with the goods. You’re money, bank cards, watch and anything else of value. The only hope is that with some bigger establishments is that people will be stopped by security or not have a key to the elevator. Those long corridors may just give you a little bit of time if you see someone following you.

5) This is the worst scenario. You go to her room rather than your own. This is truly a terrible idea. She controls that setting and what is going to happen. If you find yourself in this position you are probably going to get robbed. You may find you have a gun in your face. The south end of the Strip has a lot of sketchy hotels and guest houses. To be fair there are a lot of shady places all over the world. But these are the kind of places you don’t want to end up going. If you think about a small motel verses one of the major casinos. A lot of things that can protect you are gone. There’s no barrier to people getting to you. In fact, your room is a knock on the door away. There’s no security, no police on site, no security cameras, so it’s much easier to set someone up to get robbed. Someone could be waiting outside or even in your room. You simply have no idea.

Enjoy your stay at Las Vegas but keep safe and be one step ahead of the scammers who may have their eye on you.