Las Vegas Weekly

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Slots and table games aren’t the only ways Las Vegas separates visitors from their cash. Conniving criminals have crafted endless ways to scam unsuspecting travelers out of their hard-earned dough.

Caught with your pants down: One of the latest schemes sweeping casinos happens right in a bathroom stall. Crews of thieves rush women’s bathrooms, reaching over the doors to grab purses off the hooks. “By the time you get off the toilet and make yourself decent to run after them, they’re gone,” says Officer Jose Hernandez with Metro’s Public Information Office.

The dine-and-dash: You meet an attractive stranger and have been hitting if off all night. He or she claims to have won big at the tables earlier and offers to take you out to celebrate. Too good to be true? It usually is. When that charming stranger goes to use the bathroom at the end of the meal, they aren’t coming back—leaving you to foot the exorbitant bill.

The John D’oh!: One of the most common scams Metro sees involves a prostitute conning her john. The client brings the woman to his room, where she suggests he “go freshen up.” When the john goes to the bathroom, the prostitute cleans out his pockets, wallet and the room, taking whatever she can carry.