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00:00There's some man, he's been done, he's been kicked out of my life, bro!
00:05Ah!
00:08The traffic light's green!
00:11You can go!
00:12Where?
00:14OK, they're having...
00:15Las Vegas, baby!
00:21I'm Tir Dondi, journalist and presenter.
00:25I'm in Las Vegas, where I've seen how the city has transformed its image.
00:30From the home of shotgun weddings and dingy poker rooms.
00:34To a destination for world-class entertainment and sports events.
00:40Bringing in billions of dollars of revenue.
00:45But now, it's time to dig a bit deeper.
00:49I want to find out how this transformation has impacted the city's famous sex industry.
00:55If anyone was leaving in cuffs, it was going to be me.
00:57It's not safe for us right now.
00:59And see just how much this glossy new image is disguising a darker reality.
01:04Reporters won't write on it.
01:06They don't want the violence to be known of what goes on here.
01:10And, with poverty rates higher than the national average,
01:14I want to know if any of the billions spent by visitors on the Vegas Strip
01:18are used to help the city's most vulnerable people.
01:20Things that happen in other states, we cannot allow that happen here.
01:25How long have you been here for?
01:27About four years.
01:28About four years, we're back to the city of Missouri.
01:29How long have you been here for this part of the city?
01:35Right.
01:36How long can you do?
01:37A lot of excitement here, where dreams are made, you know, maybe some dreams lost.
01:54Yeah.
01:55But it's unlike any other city in the world.
02:00A reputation for adult entertainment and sex has been part of the popularity of Las Vegas over the years.
02:07But where does sex fit in the family-friendly image the city is selling today?
02:16I'm meeting Willem on the Strip.
02:19As a former club promoter who's lived in the city for 25 years, he's seen firsthand how things are changing.
02:26So here you've got Flamingo.
02:30So there's like a burlesque show in the hotel?
02:32Yes.
02:33They're limited nowadays, but there's a few of them at different properties.
02:37Over the years, Vegas has got more family-friendly.
02:40I mean, I'm not going to lie. I've seen a lot of advertisements for strip clubs.
02:46Yeah.
02:47Naked women.
02:48Yeah.
02:48All of that kind of stuff.
02:50Yeah, of course.
02:50That's one of the things that people come here to Las Vegas to indulge in.
02:54Yeah.
02:55Is, you know, anything that they're not getting at home.
02:58Yeah.
02:59Sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
03:01Strip clubs here are perfectly legal.
03:11And in many parts of the state of Nevada, so is selling sex.
03:15But in Las Vegas and the surrounding county, it's illegal.
03:22The exact number of sex workers operating illegally in Las Vegas is difficult to determine, but
03:29estimates suggest it could be up to 10,000.
03:36As an adult content creator and a companion, Nina Nova knows the industry well.
03:41Hi.
03:43Hi.
03:44Nice to meet you.
03:45Lovely to meet you.
03:46I'm Tiff.
03:46How are you doing?
03:47I'm great.
03:49I love the pink light.
03:51Can I sit here?
03:52Of course, yeah.
03:52You can sit here.
03:53Well, I get a little bit of makeup on my face.
03:56The sex industry in Vegas must be massive, right?
03:59It's massive.
04:01It's huge.
04:02Sex sells.
04:03You literally, like, go to a bar.
04:05There's go-go dancers, like, scantily dressed, dancing on tables.
04:10They're passing out little, like, cards with girls on them and numbers to call to get them
04:15straight to your hotel room on the strip.
04:19So how old were you when you first started?
04:21I was 18.
04:23I originally got started as a cam model at a cam studio.
04:26I started making mainstream porn, and then it took me even longer before I felt comfortable
04:32to start doing companionship.
04:34And what's companionship?
04:35A lot of people might know it is escorting.
04:39It's not my primary source of income.
04:41I get most of my fan base from my porn work because more and more people just want to get
04:45the chance to meet me.
04:47It's where the money is.
04:48Like, we're in Sin City.
04:52You're clients, are they more locals or tourists?
04:58Definitely more tourists.
05:01Are there a lot of Brits?
05:03Are there?
05:03There's been a few, actually.
05:06Really?
05:06I recently just had a Brit.
05:09We've been getting more foreigners in general, actually.
05:11Really?
05:11For sure.
05:15After you.
05:16Thank you so much.
05:19Despite Vegas cleaning up its image, if tourists do still come here to pay for sex, where does
05:25that leave the sex workers serving that market illegally?
05:28Thank you so much.
05:31Thank you so much.
05:32Cheers.
05:33Cheers.
05:34To Vegas.
05:36The legalities of sex work in Vegas seem, like, quite crazy to me.
05:41Because, you know, I've walked up and down the strip.
05:43It's in plain sight.
05:45That's illegal.
05:46It's the fantasy that makes Vegas what it is, right?
05:48Like, people are not coming to Vegas just to drink, let's be real.
05:51But the girls who are actually doing the work are getting arrested and sent to holding.
05:56So, I do know people who have spent months in jail.
05:59You know, like, literal months in jail.
06:03How has New Vegas or the entertainment industry in Vegas changed sex work?
06:07There's definitely a push for Vegas to be more family-friendly, more palatable.
06:12Vice is really cracking down on the strip.
06:15When there are big events happening in Vegas, like, we have the Super Bowl, there were stings
06:19all over the place.
06:20Like, Vice will be out hot and heavy.
06:22There's no mercy.
06:24So, do people involved in the sex industry, even Nina doing her legal work as a companion,
06:30feel protected by law enforcement?
06:33What would happen if, you know, something really awful happened?
06:36Is it quite hard to seek help?
06:38Yeah, absolutely.
06:39And that became true for me, too.
06:41It's you and one other person.
06:43And there was a circumstance where it went south and I was raped.
06:49I didn't really feel like I could call anyone because I knew that if anyone was leaving in
06:54cuffs, it was going to be me.
06:55I'm so sorry that that happened to you.
06:57It's something I tell people when they get into this industry.
07:00It's not an if, it's a when.
07:02It happens to you.
07:03Like, unfortunately, like, it's not safe for us right now.
07:11Data suggests the police are cracking down on illegal sex work.
07:15In 2024, they said there had been a 50% increase in arrests for prostitution offenses due to increased
07:23enforcement.
07:24But if people working in the sex industry are too scared to call the police when they
07:36need them, they could end up in grave danger.
07:40There's no official data available.
07:43But searching online, there are some reports of sex workers being violently attacked or even
07:48murdered in Las Vegas.
07:49I'd like to know if these reports are a true reflection of the risks to sex workers.
07:58Hi, I'm Tia.
07:59Nice to meet you.
08:00Ivy, nice to meet you.
08:01I've come to a local courthouse to meet Ivy, a volunteer for the charity Red Umbrella, who
08:07supports sex workers in Las Vegas.
08:09They often attend criminal trials at courts like these, where the victims are sex workers,
08:15to show unity and draw more attention to the dangers they face.
08:20Ivy claims that what we see in the press is just the tip of the iceberg.
08:24There's kind of a saying we have, people come to Vegas to kill sex workers.
08:31That happens a lot here.
08:32We are losing friends, we're losing community members at an absurd rate.
08:37If not murdered, overdosing from a client or someone drugging them.
08:42I think the only people that know the real numbers are us here on the ground that are doing
08:45the work.
08:48A study conducted in 2018 found that Nevada had more individuals being sold for sex per
08:54100,000 residents than any other state in America.
08:59And Las Vegas had the highest amount in Nevada.
09:03It's hard to imagine how that many sex workers can operate here illegally when police are clamping down.
09:10Las Vegas in recent years has become a lot more tourist friendly.
09:14With the dazzling light, you know, fine dining or sports, Vegas was very rooted in sex workers
09:21walking the floor, being in your casinos, sitting by the bar, and that has definitely changed.
09:26They aren't able to anymore.
09:28And is that all to do with New Vegas?
09:31I've heard the words cleaning up their app, making it more friendly for tourists.
09:35Yeah, but with that, what they're doing is really pushing sex workers further underground,
09:39making them not visible, pushing them to the streets, being street-based workers, and that's
09:46a perfect storm for criminalization.
09:49What scale are we talking?
09:51In recent years, we do see an enormous amount of sex workers that are harmed.
09:56Tourists are changing how they're really approaching these situations.
10:00We have cases where recently someone met with a client, and they had actually drugged the
10:06condom they used, and she was in the ER for a few days.
10:10There's people that slip pills into drinks, people that strangle people, and then, of course,
10:17people unfortunately passing away.
10:19And how do the police react to these sort of cases?
10:22They really try to hide it and push it underground when they can.
10:27Reporters won't write on it.
10:28They do what they can, really, to keep sex workers out of mainstream media because of the
10:34stigma.
10:35It's only really talked about when we push it.
10:38When we bring the awareness, when we show up in court, the police don't want those cases
10:43to be visible, to be read, because they don't want Vegas to be seen as an unsafe city.
10:48They don't want the violence to be known of what goes on here.
10:52I want to try and understand just how dangerous this life can be.
11:03I've made contact with a sex worker who's been working in the Las Vegas area for eight
11:08years.
11:10We've agreed to protect her identity because she fears being targeted for speaking out.
11:18Every sex worker I know, for the most part, has experienced violence of some sort.
11:22It's paranoia and fear.
11:28Every time you go see a client, that's a possibility of you not coming out of that.
11:34I have been sexually assaulted.
11:38I've been robbed.
11:40And when that happens, what do you do?
11:43Nothing.
11:43Can't really do anything about it.
11:45You just kind of have to deal with it and hope for the best because it's better to let
11:52them do whatever, then leave dead or with a broken face, you know?
11:58That's our reality.
12:01That's so scary that you can go through something like that.
12:05Yeah.
12:06We have nobody that looks out for us but each other.
12:09People don't realise how bad the police are here.
12:15Is there a part of you that's scared of the police force?
12:18Always.
12:19Not even just here, just always everywhere.
12:22There's violence that is perpetrated against sex workers by law enforcement.
12:26She tells me that before Vegas, she was working in neighbouring California, where she alleges
12:34she was the victim of an appalling abuse of power by a police officer.
12:40Police take advantage of their position by extortion or, you know, threats of arrest if
12:48you don't have sex with them.
12:50To me, that has happened.
12:52What?
12:53Yeah.
12:55For a long time, it wasn't something I talked about to anyone ever.
12:59I was 17 at the time.
13:01It was when I first got in the industry.
13:03What did you do in that situation?
13:06Just did it and took it and lived with the trauma from it.
13:12I'm really sorry.
13:13That's horrendous.
13:14I was scared, you know, as a teenager.
13:17Like, what am I going to do?
13:18No one's going to believe me, you know?
13:20Like, nothing's going to happen.
13:21This is a cop.
13:22I mean, we can't do anything.
13:26Like, if we're on the job, we can't report that.
13:30We can't go to the police because we're the ones that get arrested for committing a crime.
13:34In 2025, a change to the law in Nevada was proposed that would protect sex workers from being charged
13:42with prostitution offences if they called for medical assistance or reported a crime to police.
13:48But law enforcement opposed the change, but law enforcement opposed the change, and Nevada's governor rejected it.
13:52We put the concerns about sex workers feeling unprotected to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
14:00They declined to comment, but in a debate over the proposed law change last year, the Metro Police claimed that taking legal action against a sex worker when they report a medical emergency does not happen.
14:12They said it was an inaccurate narrative, which increases the mistrust of the police by sex workers.
14:18They encouraged sex worker victims to come forward without fear of prosecution, and said the police will investigate allegations of battery, sexual assault, or any other crime, as opposed to prostitution offences.
14:31In 2024, the rate of violent crime overall in Las Vegas was 26% higher than the national average in America.
14:51Many businesses here have turned to private security firms for extra support.
14:55One of the biggest, Protective Force International, has agreed to show me the type of work they do.
15:04Hello.
15:04Hey, how's it going?
15:05Good, thanks. I'm Tia. Nice to meet you.
15:07Alan, nice to meet you.
15:08I'm the assistant chief with Protective Force International.
15:10This is our headquarters here in Vegas.
15:13There are now nearly four times as many security guards as police in Las Vegas.
15:19PFI has 200 armed officers.
15:21In the past year, they've been hired by 18 casinos and many other private properties in the city.
15:28Here's where we have our virtual reality training.
15:31They are permitted to use their firearms to prevent imminent harm to themselves or others.
15:37Down here is our surveillance room. It's kind of where we monitor everything.
15:42Oh, wow.
15:43Yeah.
15:43You've got cameras in a lot of places.
15:45520?
15:46Yeah, 520 cameras.
15:47520 cameras total, yes.
15:49And what are you looking for in particular?
15:51Illicit activities, crime occurring, people trying to steal vehicles, to even just vagrants on property that would need to be moved on.
15:58Does it happen a lot? Do you see things a lot?
16:00There's always activity, especially here in Vegas.
16:09Today, Chief Officer Jonathan Alvarez is leading the team.
16:13You're going to get your own vest and a radio.
16:16I'll get you to sit down.
16:19So, this is just in case anything happens, then?
16:22Yeah.
16:22We want you to be safe.
16:23Just in case.
16:24Yeah.
16:28PFI patrols cover parts of downtown.
16:31Here, casinos and bars are pushed up against an area struggling with high rates of poverty and drug use.
16:37This whole block is essentially ours.
16:44The sidewalk is public property, so that's not our jurisdiction.
16:50What's up, Arner?
16:52You heading out?
16:56Unit one to control.
16:59Go ahead, unit one.
17:00Looks like I've got one sleeping under the, uh, brush here.
17:06You good, bro?
17:07Unfortunately, this is private property, bro.
17:09You can't be hanging out here.
17:10You know when to control.
17:11It's going to be code four.
17:12We're going to be providing him a golden ticket.
17:14It gives you all the details and stuff, but if you go there, they'll help you out, man.
17:22They'll help you out.
17:23All right, bro.
17:24Good luck.
17:27What does that golden ticket provide for them?
17:30We partner very closely with outreach programs from the shelters.
17:33These golden tickets provide somewhere to go out of the heat, uh, food, water.
17:38That organization itself has resources to get them the help that they need.
17:42If they're high, they're, you know, intoxicated, they have a detox center there.
17:47You can go to that place, and there's a laundry list of help that they provide that whoever truly wants to get off the streets and, and start a fresh life, you can do it through that organization.
17:58Our top priority is making sure that the properties are safe and our residents are safe, but our secondary mission is making sure we get, we have some sort of solution for these issues that we face on a daily, not hourly basis.
18:11Do you think that society is doing enough to help homeless people here?
18:14I have not seen a city that is so, that provides such an outpouring of help like Las Vegas, but I think at the end of the day, homelessness is a significant choice.
18:27And if they choose not to be part of society, it ends up consuming them.
18:33Uh, they turn to narcotics, they turn to substance abuse, to alcohol, and then they kind of spiral down.
18:38Our properties, our businesses, they have to thrive.
18:41And nobody is thriving with, you know, hundreds of homeless people, you know, defecating in front of the door of businesses.
18:49Like, things that happen in other states, we cannot allow that happen here.
18:59Do you think the homeless population knows that this is kind of a no-go area now?
19:07Yeah, we've been able to educate them a lot further than, oh, here we got, we got somebody here.
19:13Oh, the same guy?
19:16Same guy.
19:17Oh, God.
19:23Partner, this is our area, bro, I told you.
19:26Pretty much everything from Maryland to the Fremont Street is all ours, bro.
19:30Head out there.
19:32Drop your ticket, bro.
19:37So he dropped the ticket?
19:39Yep.
19:39We give him the opportunities and the resources, so you saw exactly firsthand.
19:45He just threw the ticket down.
19:47Do you ever feel bad about moving people on?
19:51No, it's sad, but we hope that one day he does get the help that he needs to get off the streets.
20:00Unit one in control.
20:02Jonathan spots some other belongings.
20:05I'm going to make contact with a second one.
20:07It looks like just a bunch of things, though.
20:11Stand by.
20:15Somebody's stuff is here.
20:18Obviously, that's a visual deterrent for, you know, tourism and things like that.
20:22Like, that has to be cleaned up.
20:24This individual came out from our property over there, but he's just walking through.
20:33We're not Gestapo's.
20:35We're not, like I said, we're not the police department.
20:37So we don't make contact if they're just going through, walking through.
20:42Because Vegas does have his eccentric individuals.
20:46Good morning, sir.
20:48Hello.
20:49You doing good today?
20:52Hey, partner, is that your stuff over here?
20:54No?
20:55Okay.
20:59It is your stuff, though, right?
21:01Well, you can't have it on the property, my man.
21:03Nobody's giving you a golden ticket yet?
21:04Dude, I'm a veteran.
21:06So am I, man.
21:07We got something in common.
21:08Here you go.
21:09Well, that'll be the best thing to do.
21:10They can help you out with everything.
21:11I went to the hospital like two days ago, brain surgery.
21:14Oh, man.
21:15Well, you look great for that.
21:16You look like you're doing good.
21:17Yeah.
21:18All right, man.
21:19I'm John.
21:20Army veteran as well.
21:21Well, I'll give you some time to pack up, brother, all right?
21:24All right, my man.
21:28But I guess, you know, you just move them on from this area,
21:35then they just go somewhere else.
21:37Yeah, and that's the unfortunate thing.
21:40Typically, what ends up happening is those areas end up calling us.
21:44The local authorities in Vegas do offer services for homeless people,
21:59including a large resource center co-funded by donations from some casinos.
22:04But despite the billions of dollars coming into Las Vegas every year,
22:12Nevada's homeless rate is one of the highest in the U.S. and rising.
22:16I'm visiting a homeless shelter, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission,
22:24to try and better understand the scale of the problem.
22:32Other shelters will do, like, a breakfast or a lunch during the day.
22:36But we're known for our dinner every evening.
22:39We serve about 800 trays of food a day.
22:51But we're seeing that number really increasing steadily over the months.
22:56British-born Heather Williams has worked for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission for 10 years.
23:01She began by volunteering around her corporate career.
23:04Now, she's here full-time as Director of Development.
23:07In terms of the beds that you have here, how full are they?
23:12We're pretty much full.
23:14We have just over 300 beds on property.
23:17I've heard that Las Vegas Rescue Mission is one of the only places
23:20that houses women and children. Is that true?
23:23We're definitely one of the only open shelters that do that.
23:27Most shelters will only have space for men,
23:30but the need for women and children's shelters is growing a lot higher now.
23:37Hi, Juana.
23:43I'm here. Nice to meet you.
23:45Nice to meet you.
23:46Thanks so much for meeting me today.
23:49Juana is a single mother trying to rebuild her life and hold on to her children.
23:53This is where we sleep, my kids and I.
23:59These are our beds.
24:02How long have you been here for?
24:04I've been here for going on three months.
24:07My kids have been here for about a month and a half.
24:10How many of you live in here?
24:11There's three other families apart from myself and my kids.
24:17There's two, four, ten of us all in all in here.
24:20I was homeless since like the middle of the year last year.
24:24I was sleeping in the back of a laundromat, you know, like in the street, anywhere I could sleep.
24:30So I'm glad I'm here.
24:32Like I'd never want to go back to those streets.
24:34Can you tell me what that experience was like for you?
24:38It was scary, especially because I'm a female.
24:41You know, they called it Sin City, the devil's den.
24:44It's not for nothing.
24:45And it's not even just the people and the drugs and all these other problems.
24:50It's the weather and like the weather itself.
24:52It's so hot outside.
24:54How did you cope with that?
24:55I couldn't.
24:57Yeah, like it was, I would try to stay in the shade as much as I could.
25:02It was hard.
25:02It was rough, you know, that it's really hard to handle.
25:05There's a lot of days where you just want to give up.
25:08I was always just trying to get high.
25:10What sort of drugs were you taking?
25:13Crystal methamphetamines.
25:14And I know nowadays they lace it up with fentanyl.
25:16I was to the point where I was hearing voices and I was walking down the street talking to myself.
25:21If you don't mind me asking, when you were on the streets, where were your kids?
25:24They were with my sister.
25:25I put my kids through more than what I put myself through.
25:29You know, because at the end of the day, they're the ones that suffer.
25:32I'm 64 days sober today.
25:34Congratulations.
25:37I ended up going to jail.
25:38I got sober and I got closer to God.
25:41When I got out of jail, I decided, like, I got to change my life.
25:45I just got them back.
25:57So I'm really happy.
26:02How did it feel for you when you eventually got them back?
26:04Like, like, no drug in the world could ever top the love that I have for my kids.
26:15I couldn't ask God for, like, a better situation at the moment.
26:18I think what became apparent to me today was the homelessness problem here is massive and you've got blazing heat.
26:35You know, it's almost 45 degrees.
26:37I can't imagine what it's like being out here all day for a lot of people.
26:41And while the homelessness shelter is doing everything that they can, there's a lot of people here who have slipped through the cracks.
26:55Paramedic Sam helps some of the city's most vulnerable homeless people.
27:01Those who are avoiding the searing heat by living underground.
27:06In a network of storm drains known as the tunnels.
27:11Hi, Sam, how are you?
27:14Hey, Tia, doing well. How about yourself?
27:15I'm good, thank you.
27:17Sam's one of the few people who can take me into the tunnels, which are thought to shelter more than 1,000 people.
27:26So what do you usually do when you go down?
27:28It starts with a wellness check, making sure, you know, seeing if anybody needs anything, seeing if they have any medical issues that we can address.
27:35I've got some basic medical gear with me, toiletries, some food, some water, some snacks.
27:41We're going to be walking underneath the freeway.
27:49So we've got the freeway right there, we've got Caesars Palace, and the tunnels basically run right underneath our feet.
27:54Wow.
27:56We're going to see if we can walk down.
27:58All right.
27:58Above ground, it's nearly 40 degrees Celsius today, so for many, the cool tunnels are a refuge for when there's nowhere else to go.
28:14Hey, guys.
28:16Hello.
28:17How are you guys doing today?
28:18We're at the medical.
28:20We're down here just checking in, seeing if you guys do anything.
28:23You guys keep cool?
28:23At the entrance, I meet Louie.
28:29Would you say that there's facilities that help people like you?
28:34I don't know.
28:34I don't go to them.
28:35Do you not?
28:36Why?
28:36You start asking, you know what I mean, questions that have no bearing on whether you're homeless or not.
28:41You know what I mean?
28:41I came to the police, they're trying to set me up to take me to jail, so I don't go to jail.
28:46OK.
28:46So you think a lot of people don't go because they're scared that maybe they'll...
28:50I don't think you're scared that you don't want to go to jail.
28:52Do you want to go to jail?
28:53I don't want to go to jail, no.
28:56Definitely not.
28:58You know what I mean?
28:59Mm.
28:59You know what I mean?
28:59You've got to figure out who your friends are, and my friends ain't going to take me to jail.
29:03And that happens a lot.
29:04Do shit like this, trespassing, whatever.
29:06In 2025, a camping ban made it a misdemeanour to camp, lie down, sleep, or store personal property in public places.
29:19Violating this law can result in 10 days in prison, or a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted.
29:27Has that ever happened to you?
29:28Do you have your kind of idea?
29:31Twice in, what, a week?
29:33Twice?
29:33What, this week?
29:35Yeah.
29:35Okay, thank you, Louis.
29:38No problem, thank you.
29:45You can see the graffiti down here and burn marks from the people's fires.
29:53God, it's so dark down there.
29:55It is so hot outside, but down here, I feel completely cool.
30:00It's almost like it's aircon.
30:01It's like a ventilation system.
30:03Up here, we should have a storm drain that's emptying out.
30:07Yes.
30:07Oh, God, look, you can see it all coming out there.
30:10When it rains, this can be filled top to bottom of water.
30:13You know, an entire, just this entire channel is just full of water.
30:16And so, you know, if you're caught in a flash flood down here, you know, you're probably not surviving it.
30:20In another part of the tunnels, we meet David.
30:29Nice to meet you, I'm Tyr.
30:30Hi.
30:31Do you mind if I sit down with you for a sec?
30:33Yeah, good.
30:33Thank you so much.
30:35Do you need anything from Sam?
30:37He's a medic.
30:37How do you do it on socks, toiletries, toothbrush, toothpaste?
30:40Well, socks off.
30:41Take socks?
30:42All right.
30:43How long have you been here for?
30:45About four years.
30:47How do you find it living down here?
30:51Out of sight, out of mind.
30:52Out of sight, out of mind.
30:53David offers to guide us further into the tunnels.
31:02Hey, anybody home?
31:05You guys need a toothbrush or anything?
31:07Sure.
31:08How about some waters for you guys?
31:10Yep.
31:12The view above this person's makeshift home...
31:15Oh, my God.
31:19..is Caesar's Palace Casino.
31:23Down below, you have homeless people.
31:34And above, you have these lavish casinos,
31:38which have five-star hotels in them.
31:53Vegas is a city of two worlds.
31:59If you compare it to the pool party that I went to,
32:03or some of the casinos that I've been in,
32:07it's sad to see people living out of society in the dark.
32:14Billions of dollars have been invested into the Strip
32:32in the last few years,
32:33and it's paying off for the big corporations.
32:35In 2024, visitor spending in Vegas hit an all-time high
32:42for the third consecutive year,
32:44an average of $1,300 per visit.
32:48Despite a relative decline in spending on gambling,
32:52the city's new entertainment, sport,
32:54and dayclub offerings are generating huge incomes.
32:57The food, service, and hospitality sector
33:03is the largest employer here,
33:06but Vegas' wages are lower than the national average.
33:09And the cost of living has rocketed here in recent years.
33:13So what's going to happen if workers like Mohamed
33:16can no longer afford to live in the city?
33:19Hi, how are you?
33:20Hello, I'm good. How about you?
33:22I'm good, thank you.
33:23So this is where you grew up, is it?
33:25Yes, it is.
33:26The outskirts of what they don't show.
33:29I met Mohamed earlier on in my trip
33:31at a boxing gym supporting young people in the community.
33:36That's the house I grew up in.
33:39What does it feel like looking at it now?
33:42Bringing back good and bad memories.
33:44Yeah.
33:45It looks way different now.
33:48It's been eight years since I've been here.
33:50Eight years, really?
33:51Yes.
33:51Why so long?
33:52This whole area, especially this street,
33:54was very dangerous.
33:56A lot of shootings and a lot of violence.
33:59This street, I had about three friends live on this street.
34:02We knew everybody.
34:04A lot of blood, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears,
34:07a lot of laughter was shed in this neighbourhood.
34:11Seems pretty quiet to me.
34:12Has it changed over time?
34:14From what I've seen, yes.
34:15Because during the daytime,
34:16this whole place would be active back when I grew up.
34:19Really?
34:19Yeah, but it's quiet now.
34:23The people I really know, like neighbours and stuff,
34:25are no longer there.
34:28Why do you think it's changed so much since you were here?
34:30Do you think it's not really affordable
34:31for people to live here anymore?
34:33Oh, yeah.
34:34Most definitely.
34:35OK.
34:36So do you think a lot of people from this area have been pushed out?
34:40Yeah.
34:42It's not that it's hard to get a job, it's the pain.
34:45There's not enough jobs that are paying enough for us to survive here.
34:49Like here on the east side, it's about $1,500 a month.
34:52And that's just your rent a month.
34:54People are just making enough to have a place to live, not to eat.
34:57So they're starving out here.
34:59And in the suburbs where I moved to to get out of this environment,
35:02I'm paying $3,400 a month in a nice area,
35:05and I'm still struggling to get by myself.
35:07$3,400 a month is quite high as well.
35:10Oh, yeah.
35:10Like, more than London rates.
35:12It used to be cheaper out here,
35:13but everybody from California and all around us are moving over here
35:17because they heard, oh, it was cheaper.
35:19From the east side, west side and north town,
35:22if you drive all around those areas,
35:24you'll see a whole lot of vacant homes.
35:35The city has become an attractive place to live,
35:38but that's pushed house prices up.
35:42One report says only 20% of homes for sale in Las Vegas
35:46are affordable to families on an average income.
35:52That's left lots of houses vacant.
35:55Others are converted as tourist lets,
35:57and many are snapped up by investors.
36:00In one deal I've seen,
36:01a corporate landlord purchased 264 of the area's homes in a single day.
36:06According to the latest figures for 2025,
36:10in total, Nevada has nearly 124,000 empty homes.
36:19I'm heading back out with the private security company PFI.
36:24They help some property owners secure their empty homes.
36:26So where are we heading?
36:31We're heading to one of our apartment complexes
36:33that is known for a lot of squatting
36:37in the vacant units that they have on property.
36:39So we're going to go see if we can clear it out.
36:42There's a fair few of you, isn't there?
36:44Yeah.
36:45We have a lot of properties in this downtown area,
36:47so this area's pretty saturated with all of us.
36:50In these vacant units you can find
36:52anything from human trafficking,
36:56drug trafficking, prostitution.
36:59It's comforting knowing people like us are out there
37:01to help solve the problem.
37:04Is this the property?
37:06This is, yes.
37:06So we'll get out here.
37:22They've got a key to the property
37:24that they're going to check.
37:26Police security.
37:32I'm scared you're going to make a topo now.
37:36There's someone in there.
37:38There's lights on.
37:40So they're checking it now.
37:43Do a full sweep in there.
37:55It's coming.
37:58So this one, actually,
38:00somebody's been in there.
38:01Right.
38:02Yeah, I can see stuff on the floor.
38:03Yeah.
38:04They'll come in here,
38:05and they'll use the restroom.
38:07You see, I mean, it's real dirty.
38:09There's a lot of...
38:09Oh, God.
38:11And with these ceilings,
38:14sometimes they like to hide things up here.
38:16Typically, you know,
38:17sometimes we'll find drugs,
38:18we'll find guns.
38:26A lot of these properties look really nice.
38:28Yeah.
38:29But then we come to find out
38:30how many vacants they have,
38:32and then you find out where the problems are.
38:34Rent in Las Vegas has gone up by over 35% since 2020.
38:44You got a light on in the back left.
38:47Robert's here, you've been self-known now.
38:49One reason blocks like these might be empty.
38:53So this one, you can tell,
38:55is a little more trashed.
38:57Yeah, freshly vacant.
38:59You can smell it even.
39:00I can smell something, yeah.
39:02Yeah.
39:02These are signs of nefarious activities.
39:05You can see a little bit of resin on there
39:08from some sort of narcotic.
39:10Most likely either marijuana
39:11or maybe even black heart heroin.
39:13Mm-hmm.
39:21Property security,
39:22if anyone's here found off.
39:26With what we've heard
39:27about the housing crisis here in Vegas,
39:29a lot of squatters come in here
39:31and think that they can use them,
39:33looking for refuge, I guess.
39:35All around right now,
39:42it's very expensive to rent.
39:45It's also a lot harder now
39:47to even find a house to buy
39:49because a lot of corporations
39:50are buying the houses
39:52and only having them to lease.
39:54I think one thing to help
39:57minimize the amount of vacancies
39:59would be to lower the rent
40:02so you can actually fill them.
40:03Unfortunately,
40:04that's above my pay grade.
40:31Before I leave Vegas,
40:32I'm checking in with Juana.
40:35Hi, Juana.
40:36Hi.
40:37How are you?
40:38I'm good, how are you?
40:39Nice to see you.
40:40When we first met,
40:42Juana was getting back on her feet
40:44with help from the Las Vegas rescue mission.
40:47How's everything been since I last saw you?
40:49Pretty good, actually.
40:50We moved from the rescue mission,
40:53so we got into this program
40:55that helps us with housing.
40:57I'm working steady.
40:58Everything's going really well.
40:59Oh, I'm so happy.
41:00Yeah, staying clean,
41:02staying out of trouble.
41:04I feel like I look better,
41:06I can speak more clearly,
41:07I got a job lined up
41:08and everything's falling into place.
41:10And how are they feeling?
41:18They're good, they're happy.
41:19Like, everyone in my family tells me
41:21they're like,
41:21they look happier,
41:22they're cleaner,
41:23like, they're just,
41:24like, they're more,
41:25they speak to people now.
41:26They're not just like,
41:27all quiet with their heads down.
41:28Yeah.
41:29What are the plans for the future then?
41:31What do you have in store?
41:32I just want to go to school
41:34and find somewhere stable to stay,
41:37somewhere for us to call home.
41:39But, you know,
41:40right now we're just taking it day by day
41:41and that's how we,
41:42that's how we go.
41:45It's a relief to know
41:46there is some support available
41:48for people like Juana.
41:49But there isn't enough
41:52for everyone struggling in this city.
41:59I came to Vegas
42:00to find out more about its new image
42:02and how it's attracting
42:03a whole new generation of visitors.
42:08The resort and their pool parties,
42:11the nightlife,
42:12the live music,
42:13the sport.
42:15It all combines to create
42:16an exciting party town.
42:19And I can see why
42:21Brits come out here
42:21to experience it.
42:25But the more time I've spent here,
42:27I've realised
42:28there's a lot of things
42:29which are hiding
42:30beneath the surface.
42:31And my perception of Vegas
42:33has definitely changed.
42:35We've heard so many times
42:37what happens in Vegas
42:39stays in Vegas.
42:42There's a huge PR machine
42:43keeping up this perception
42:45of this glossy,
42:48lavish place.
42:49It's clear
42:55Vegas is a complicated place
42:57with a lot of challenges.
43:03And like many other U.S. cities,
43:06when it comes to luck and money,
43:08there will always be those who win
43:10and those who lose.
43:11Ain't it different?
43:19I'll lick my ting in LA
43:20I can't fly to the States
43:22cause I've got too much convictions
43:23Apparently all I talk is prison
43:25but I don't know no different
43:26Cause I was in jail up north
43:28when they're in a coalition
43:29Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:31Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:33Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:34Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:35Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:37Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:38Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:39Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:40Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:41Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:42Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:42Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:44Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:45Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
43:46Baby, I'm just a little bit of a deal.
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