The Big Scam In Las Vegas
So I thought I had brought this up in a previous entry but can’t seem to find it and a recent email from a reader brought this to my head and definitely wanted people to know about it and what a huge scam it is. Some people may think that agencies are scams but if you read my blog about agencies in my first timers guide you can understand how they work a little better and not feel ripped off. Anyway this is what Gary wrote to me in an email:
“When I was in a cab. The driver tried to convince us to go to place that he would only identify as ‘HB’ (insisting he couldn’t divulge any further details due to the camera in the car). $150 would get us in the door and another $150-$300 would get us ‘anything we wanted’. We would be allowed to choose the girls, etc. He said it was like The Ranch – but without having to drive to the middle of nowhere for it. I guess what he was describing was essentially a “massage parlor” in LV city limits. Do you think this was all legitimate?”
These places (which the cabbie was referring to Hard Bodies and of course I would never trust a soul if someone wouldn’t tell me the real name of where I was going) are notorious for taking your money and leaving you high and dry. Obviously prostitution is Illegal here and these places play the game against you and making you believe you will get whatever you want but the truth is, prostitution is still illegal! Then they act dumb when you don’t get the services you thought you were getting.
This is what happens in these joints: You walk in, pay some sort of cover charge (that immediately goes to the cabbie who brought you there and he bails once he’s paid), you go in the back and pick your girl, then she goes over their “packages” which you assume are for different sexual acts, and pay anywhere from $150-$1000. You go in the back with the girl, who doesn’t usually even take off her top, and she proceeds to give you a hand and ear massage. That’s it. The customer gets frustrated, pissed, angry, and wants his money back (of course!) but about that time a big security man comes in and literally throws you out because you were wanting an illegal act that they don’t offer. Your taxi guy, who you want to kill by this point, is of course long gone and a new eager driver is ready to take you away from the rip off joint. What does this new cabbie suggest? Unfortunately he suggests one of the legit agencies that sends girls to your room. Why I know all of is because I get to hear about it every time I am sent to a cab referral’s customer who has been to one of these chop shops. This of course now makes my job much more difficult because the agency fee sounds like the start of the scam he just left, and it’s not.
So the moral of the story is? Don’t ever do an “incall” type of service where you are taken to because in the end you will get exactly that.. taken.
Why doesn’t the city or county do anything about it? Because at no point are the girls soliciting sex, you are just foolishly hoping and believing they are selling sexual services. Sadly, in the end they make the customer look like the idiot.
(Oh and by the way, the cameras in cabs are not on constantly like people think. These cameras are only around when a wreck happens and are automatically triggered by a sensor to record the 5 seconds before and 5 seconds after the wreck, otherwise they are not on. So never fear, you can your girl friend can still get frisky in the backseat without worrying about being on Taxicab Confessions)
Crazy! Something for nothing is still nothing! 🙁
August 12th, 2009 at 6:29 pmHow does the camera know to go on 5 seconds before the accident?
August 12th, 2009 at 11:13 pmThe Taxi camera knows to go on 5 seconds before… because it is always on. Only instances of doors opening (photographing passengers in case a robbery occurs), any significant vibration to the taxi, or the driver pressing a hidden button in the taxi, will trigger a flag telling the cab camera supervisors that a significant incident has occurred worth reviewing. the passenger information is overwritten after a few days, however all other video is saved to be seen by ?????? You give your consent to be photographed every time you enter a cab or limo.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:37 amThe ripoff joints exist because some legitimate places do exist operating in the same manner. These places often deal with much harassment by vice and therefore have changed their operation to “clip” customers because this is somehow legal. These businesses are left alone because it does deter “Johns” from pursuing this activity. Most cab drivers do not know which are legitimate or a ripoff. Don’t be so hard on the cab drivers, just tell one you know the “game” and he will likely be good to you. If you are an ass-hole, you will definitely go to a clip joint!!!
EX Driver, Strip Club Manager
Yea I forgot about the cameras being triggered by the driver in case of robbery/car jacking/etc.
As far as the joints go… I know the drivers don’t really know which is what all they care about is who pays the most. Just like the strip clubs… Spearmint Rhino and Treasures may be the best in town, but they will take the guys to the Diamond Cabaret dump because they pay more. Sucks but that’s the way it is…. there are good cabbies out there and I have met some (and they have referred customers to an agency I work for and are very honest) but it’s few and far in between.
August 17th, 2009 at 2:11 amGood advice… don’t be an asshole and they wont treat you like an asshole (sometimes) lol
Wow, great info! (about the cabs) The site is great, lots of good information. I am visiting Vegas for the first time in October and I am gathering all the intell I can from all sources. Your site is very entertaining, thanks!
September 15th, 2009 at 3:06 pm[…] seen a lot of these problems are at the “spa clubs” and parlors that I talked about in this entry I wrote. I know of a a few agencies not too far from these clubs and the cops are called out several times […]
June 13th, 2010 at 4:16 pmI got ripped off at one of these places when I first came to vegas. It was a place called Passions located Near the Crazy Horse Too a little further down the road. Is that industrial there ? Anyways, ya it was exactly how it was. I gave the fee up front which was like 100 bucks or whatever and then got in the back and got the cheapest package they had for like 125 bucks. This chick is massaging my hand for like 30 minutes trying to get me to purchase one of the V.I.P packages. The entire time it was the shadiest thing I had ever seen. I ended up leaving after the “hand” job on my hands and felt entirely ripped off. I was meaning on going back to the place and putting a brick through the window at a later date but I was only a tourist and didn’t have a car. Such a shady scam. It only worked for $225 bucks on me cause I was totally wasted otherwise I would of sniffed it out.
June 24th, 2010 at 1:41 pmMike: Funny you say that because I have literally seen a brick thrown through one of those places. Sad because it makes us all look bad since they try calling us next after that rip off, and with agency fees then getting tipped it sounds like the same thing but in the end I give the real entertainment 🙂
June 24th, 2010 at 2:09 pm[…] the trust of the local cabbies (which is why Nevada Taxicab Authority got involved). Here’s a previous blog post I wrote about it warning any readers about the huge […]
August 10th, 2010 at 4:46 pm