Why do women choose street prostitution in Las Vegas?

 

Why do women choose street prostitution in Las Vegas?

 

It’s no secret that there are a lot of prostitutes in Sin City but why do women choose street prostitution in Las Vegas?

 

We are not referring to what many consider “higher class” prostitutes like former Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton but rather the street variety.

 

The ones that are either out on the street, asking for “dates”,  plying their trade on craigslist or traveling what is known as “the circuit” with their pimps

 

Oh wait, you thought you heard that craigslist abolished their adult section?

 

Hardly.

 

I know they had a big publicity blitz saying that they did, however, all the exact same types of ads are still being accepted and published on craigslist. The ads now appear in the “casual encounters” section of craigslist.

 

Much like the Massage parlors in Las Vegas that some people would like for you to believe have gone away.  They haven’t. Massage parlors have morphed into “Foot Massage” joints because it’s easier to obtain a license.

 

For the women involved in street prostitution in Las Vegas, many do not just ply their trade and then go home.

 

It’s their lifestyle. Their entire being.

 

They are usually managed by Pimps.

 

Pimps who say they will offer “protection” but, in reality, beat them up and take most, if not all, of their money.

 

For the girls that work for a better connected pimp, they get to travel the circuit, going from city to city selling themselves.

 

But many still have nothing to show for it.

 

No money, no possessions, nothing.

 

If they weren’t already addicted to drugs, many quickly become users and, before they know it, are addicted.

 

Even after they become scraggly looking, they keep at it. For year and years.

 

Just look at the 50+ year old prostitutes on the Las Vegas Strip. Yes, they are there and there are people who purchase their services.

 

There are hookers available any time of day on West Tropicana Avenue – just a stones throw west of the Las Vegas Strip walking up and down West Trop looking for “dates”. It’s become so prevalent that potential clients are approached inside the convenience stores and fast food restaurants.

 

We observed a girl on West Tropicana Ave that we coined, “The Walgreens Hooker”.  Almost daily, she could be seen walking near the Walgreens on West Tropicana and Decatur. She was gorgeous, with long flowing blonde hair and and had a physique to match.  She would wear 5 inch stilettos and short shorts and could be seen numerous times walking back and forth on West Trop.

 

She really stood out because of her beauty and cars driving by would continually honk their horns at her.

 

The streets took their toll and within months, the Walgreens Hooker was dirty looking and unkempt, her good looks marred yet she could still be seen walking up and down West Trop.

 

Some were, at one time, beautiful, like the Walgreens Hooker, even stunning, but apparently the lifestyle has caught up with them and they bear little resemblance to their former selves.

 

So why do they do it? Why do women choose street prostitution in Las Vegas?

 

Many will say that it because they come from abusive homes and were easy targets.  Some are runaways.  Some are seeking a father figure.

 

Still others seem fairly gullible and appear to be seeking a relationship with the new guy they met. The one that promised them an exciting and wonderful life. And they will do anything for their “boyfriend” including selling themselves and sharing their boyfriend with his other “girlfriends”.

 

There are some women who just want to do it. Not just the Suzy Favor Hamilton’s of the world who are simply bored with their upper echelon lifestyle. Some girls, unbelievably, see it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.  They aspire to be high class call girls and imagine a life where men pamper them.

 

The pimps seem to have an innate sixth sense and know exactly who to target.

 

The beautiful girl who has no friends, the cute girl from a small town who is bored or the girl next door looking for more out of life can equally fall under the spell of a pimp.

 

For them it’s a great lifestyle.  The more girls they have giving them money – the more they make.

 

It is so profitable for them that will not let one of their money makers voluntarily leave, and will do whatever it takes to keep the girls in line.

 

Some girls, like Jesse Foster, who is now presumed dead, seemed to come from good homes.

 

Foster, who was from Canada, hooked up with an alleged Pimp, Peter Todd, who owned a luxurious home on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

 

She was living with him but he has emphatically denied any involvement in her presumed murder.

 

Her body has never been found and she has never been heard from again.

 

Perhaps the lure is what many believe to be at the root of all evil – money.

 

Many girls are attracted to the glamor, the excitement and what they perceive as power.

 

Lindsey Marie Harris was a casualty of the prostitution lifestyle.  She came to Las Vegas with a “boyfriend” , Solomon Barron, and quickly racked up the arrests for prostitution. Although she did appear to have money – she drove a Mercedes and had a very expensive watch, her life ended at the much too young age of 22. After meeting a “client” at a Las Vegas Strip hotel, she disappeared while walking back to her car.

 

Her severed legs later turned up in Illinois.

 

Two other young women who were working as prostitutes in Las Vegas met similar fates.

 

Partial remains of Misty Seans’ were found off of State Route 159 in the Nevada desert. Jodi Brewer’s partial remains were located in California, near the Nevada border.

 

A 16-year-old prostitute, Sara Gruber, was found dead in the Las Vegas hotel room of a client.  The girl, a child, met Michael Hathaway at a casino bar and went back to his room where he strangled her.  At least her murderer was caught.

 

Unfortunately, the list of victims goes on and on.

 

The link between street prostitution and human trafficking is undeniable and women involved in the industry can be in very real danger.

 

Kara Nichols disappeared from Colorado.  She was involved in the adult world in Colorado and disappeared while going to a modeling “gig”. There were rumors that she was working in Las Vegas as an escort or worse, has fallen in with a group of human traffickers.

 

Some are even able to escape but for how long?

 

April was a prostitute under the control of a notorious Las Vegas pimp, Oscar Fleming, better known on the streets as  “O”.

 

She tried to escape the clutches of Fleming and jumped into a neighbors car.  Fleming reportedly dragged April out of the car.  She was found alive, a few days later, with visible signs of being badly beaten-up.

 

Fleming was sentenced to “life”, but in certain states, “life in prison” does might not necessarily mean life.

 

He is eligible for parole after just 5 years, although he must first serve his sentence for other related charges so he will likely be incarcerated for at least 15 years.

 

For the girls that become involved in street prostitution in Las Vegas, or anywhere for that matter, things can, and often do, go sour.

 

Yet tragically when some of these girls are provided with an opportunity to get their lives back together, not that many accept.

 

Ironically, man will say that they will not work for a paltry $10 an hour yet, even though they make much more than that, they rarely see any of the money they make for selling their bodies.

 

For those that do accept offers of help, it can be a long, tough road and a good amount end up right back on the streets with their Pimp.

 

Street prostitution in Las Vegas can be very dangerous yet it is glamorized in the media and more young victims fall victim to it’s lure daily.

 

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