Vegas Strip - verbal harassment

I have read a couple of quick lines in others posts relating to the hecklers on the streets wanting to send you to dinner and give you chips etc... but I have to say I was amazed at how many there were this year. I wanted my wife to see the Cosmo and a few other casinos because we usually spent the majority of time in the B and simply ride to wherever our show might be.

We walked from the B to Cosmo - to Aria/Crystals - to Hardrock/MM Shops - to Paris - back to B

Sounds simple but between each stop at least two came up to us heckling, unfortunately these guys wont take a hint anymore. There are teams of them now instead of one single guy. At one point in time it only took a firm "No" or "No Thanks" and looking past them for them to leave you alone but it seems much much worse now. One guy from the escalators at the B walkway walked beside us yapping all the way to Cosmo.

I know people have to make a living but I find it hard to believe Vegas is letting this get so bad. I'm very laid back and will give anyone the benefit of the doubt but it hurt the experience it was so bad. Since Vegas is about the experience I am a little surprised it has gotten this out of hand.

Even in the MMshops around Hardrock I had to practically beat people off of me trying to sell me battery chargers.

So I guess I am looking for two things - 1) who is paying these guys? 2) why is the town letting it happen? Again, to me it wasn't like before when you could simply keep walking and say no to get your point across. As of right now I have less problem with the porn slappers because I don't have to grab their advertisements and they don't run after you.

 

I suspect this is going to fall under the free speech argument that allows porn slappers to line up and the "tip for a photo" clowns to congregate. How is somebody hassling you to buy tickets or anything else different than people passing out literature for "women direct to your hotel?"

I am certain these have been addressed before and I've missed them: Why is it that you don't encounter porn slappers downtown, yet they're all over the strip? I know there's a permit that is required to peddle on Fremont, but why can't porn slappers stand on sidewalks down by the Plaza or near Neonopolis?

Does Gene Simmons and every showgirl that works for tips on Fremont need a permit? If not, why not?

More so years ago I'd notice that all the porn slappers would congregate in one area, seemingly the stretch of LV Blvd. where they were least likely to get chased away... they never staked out their own corners, they always grouped together. There are more of them now, but they still congregate. Why?

Why do I see costumed characters outside Bill's Gamblin' Hall, but not porn slappers?

Why wold somebody wants to badger me for 250 yards as I walk down LV Blvd.? People must give in and buy. Me, if I'm not interested, I'm not going to be more interested the longer they badger me. If I'm trying to sell something and somebody doesn't want to give me the time of day, my instinct would be to let them move on. Why is my logic flawed?

 

This is exactly my feeling - I don't have a problem with them trying. It is the constant attack.

 

It wasn't that bad when we went in March but it wasn't good either. We did go on a timeshare venture for $125 in FP and will never do it again. Wasted 3hours of our life and cut a nice chunk of our vacation out for a measly $125. The guy swore it took at most 2 hours. BS.

We had some people downtown ask for things, my dad goes with us every time and he only allows 1 NO before he gets a little loud. Funny thing is he is the shortest person in the group and is always smiling but once he gets frustrated with someone he gives the that face that makes them wonder if the next word out of their mouth is going to be joined with a fist. LOL.

I hope it's not that bad. I think my fuse has shortened over the last few visits. Before I would let them talk the entire time and even joke with them. Now I am pretty sure I will give them a no pretty loudly.

I think of Vegas like the Carnival. You always get hecklers trying to get you to play their games. It's worth for couples that are alone because they usually "test" your manhood by asking you to win your girl something or child something. I am not very good with people degrading me so there have been many times I have been real close to coming to blows with carnival folk, but Vegas folk I usually ignore since I don't want to mess up the trip for anyone.

 

I guess I don't get it either (and trust me, I am an "I get it!" kind of guy).

For the sake of my argument, let's differentiate between costumed carachters posing for tips (they are, in effect, just panhandlers) porn slappers and club people (they are, in effect, advertisers) and water/ticket people (they are, in effect, vendors).

Many cities in this great land have ordinances against panhandling. I can't believe that Paradise and Las Vegas can't craft a proper ordinance against it based on verbage of other cities ordinances. I am not a legal guy, but I know panhandlers get rousted in many cities. Forget that most of the people on the Strip or Fremont St are tourists... This is simply about getting people begging for money out of the faces of those going about their business.

Porn slappers and club people are advertisers. There has to be a law or ordinance against advertising on public sidewalks. I know in Wisconsin, there is a state law that on a state highway, no signage can be placed at the curb or in a median that is not approved first by the state. I can't believe that Nevada can't craft a similar law. Using the "free speech" nonsense (I do believe in free speech. But advertising is commerce, not speech) should allow McDonalds, MGM, the 51s, etc to erect big billboards on the sidewalk with no village/city/county approval. I am sure McDonalds can't do that, I can't believe that porn slappers can.

Water/ticket people are vendors directly selling a product. They should not be on any village/city land without a permit, and permit sales should be monitored and approved by the city council.

So basically, the fact that panhandlers, advertisers and vendors are monitored and controlled in some areas of Paradise/Las Vegas and not others, almost leads me to believe that the local government approves of them.

Or have I just watched too many Law and Order-type shows?

 

Turn around and take their picture. That will shut them up.

 

re: Porn Slappers

I've never really had a problem with porn slappers. They aren't aggressive, the only real problem is with the litter all over the area. Local administrators are trying to come up with a way to deal with this:http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jul/17/anti-littering-ordinance-takes-aim-strips-porn-sla/

 

I agree with mjames in regards to differentiating between them to some extent. The advertising removal makes sense because as the poster mentions commerce is not speech. Nor is the product selling but generally those people are removed. There's just so many of them that the policing constantly isn't likely worth the expenditure.

The costumed people I would put in a whole different catagory. They're more akin to Buskers. Buskers I have no problem with. The more time and effort they put in to the costume and act, the more reward they get (with the exception of cleavage which I strongly suspect requires much less effort than the guy with the ridiculously well trained parrots.)

To me the costume ones have some value.

 

It always takes a serious incident before something is done.

Somebody will have to shot or stabbed before the local govt. wakes up and does something about all this crap.Negative publicity is not good for business. Maybe CNN or somebody should do a special about this letting visitors know what to expect on the strip these days.

 

A trick I use on my solo Strip adventures: wear headphones. Even if you are not listening to anything (although I usually am). If they think you cannot hear them, they leave you alone

 

The guys hanging out between the Bellagio walkway and Cosmo are pretty aggressive.

There should be a law, somewhere, somehow.

 

Do realize that the strip is Clark County, not the city of LV. Different ordinances, abilities to restrict, and private property setback requirements.
For every ten people who complain, there is one lawyer defending the street folks "rights" to do so.

 

I'm such a New Yorker that I don't stop for no one. I work in Times Square and we have Comedy Show people, Naked Cowboy with his offshoots, guys selling their new rap cd and then there's the fake characters. The one's I dislike the most are the character's. To me, they serve no function. What the xxxx does Elmo have to do with anything? I can ignore them all, but I wish they all went away.

 

Have you seen the number of people that walk by the Plaza and Neonopolis? There is probably 5% (probably much less than that) of foot traffic that passes by that place compared to the strip foot traffic. Most of the foot traffic downtown is confined to under the FSE canopy, wouldn't be worth it to put porn slappers in areas outside of the FSE canopy because there just isn't a big amount of foot traffic outside of the canopy. Plus I would assume that the Neonopolis and Fremont street East would be covered as part of the FSE district so no peddling in the area. With the bad gambling at the Plaza there just aren't that many people walking around the area compared to the strip.

There are only certain areas on the strip that are not privately owned. Most of the areas directly in front of the hotels are considered "private" (such as in front of the bellagio fountains). If you notice, the porn slappers and street vendors (are supposed to) hang out only in the gaps between the hotels that aren't owned by the hotels.

While the porn slappers have been pretty good to obey the laws there are a few vendors (the guys trying to give you club passes for a small fee) that I see all the time in certain areas, not sure why the police allow them to peddle but not porn slappers.

As for the badgers/hustlers, I think it's best to just ignore them and not even answer or respond to them, look forward when walking and act like they aren't there.

 

A simple "go fuck yourself" always works for me.

 

On a related note, if you ever walked across a street in NY the way people do in Vegas, you'd be mowed down.

 

Either way, do not speak to any of them, not even a "no" or "no thanks." Giving them ANY response only makes it worse. I always advise people it is much better to not acknowledge, not make eye contact, and not speak at all.

 

As it should be! :evillaugh

 

I seemed to be hassled more on the Strip than downtown. The most I've been bothered downtown was a wino asking for a quarter. On the strip crossing over the road, homeless with their poodles sarcastically say that they take MasterCard if you don't have any change! At least the guys selling water serve some useful purpose. People are asking for money, cigarettes, slapping porn, hawking trips to the grand canyon, show tickets and lots of drunks sleeping at bus stops.

I'm sure that there are plenty of ordinances for panhandlers as well a vagrancy but realistically, LV is a big city along with the 32 million people that visit and cops just don't have the manpower to meaningfully enforce peddling, panhandling and the like with violent crime and drugs to contend with.

Jimbo338

 

The wife doesn't like it, but that's always my go-to response as well.

What it's going to take is one of these morons going a step too far or too close and getting his lights punched out by a gambler on a losing streak. At that point they will be dealt with, and not before.