{"id":330053,"date":"2024-09-09T14:30:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T19:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=330053"},"modified":"2024-09-10T19:52:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T00:52:49","slug":"lost-vegas-first-documented-trick-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/lost-vegas-first-documented-trick-roll\/","title":{"rendered":"LOST VEGAS: First Documented \u2018Trick Roll\u2019 by a Prostitute"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u201ctrick roll\u201d is one of the most lucrative crimes on the Las Vegas Strip. It\u2019s also probably<\/em> the most popular, though no one can say for sure because it\u2019s the crime least likely to be reported by its victims.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Two scandalously attired (at least for the late 1930s) women shade themselves under the awning of the Arizona Club, the largest legal saloon and brothel on Block 16. (Image: UNLV Special Collections)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trick roll is when a sex worker expertly burglarizes (rolls) a customer without his knowledge at the time. Rolex watches<\/a> are typically involved. Sometimes, so is a certain female body part that the Rolexes are concealed in.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost the norm in Las Vegas,\u201d Jonathan Sullivan, a former corporate investigator for the Wynn, told Casino.org.<\/em> \u201cI would average at least one trick roll complaint a night. But victims of trick rolls are usually reluctant to report them, and rarely want police involvement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Little do they probably know, but today\u2019s unscrupulous Las Vegas sex workers are following a local tradition that\u2019s well over 100 years old.<\/p>\n

Gravy Train<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Gold miners pose at the entrance to the Mohawk Mine in Goldfield, Nev. circa 1900-1905. (Image: Wikipedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Union Pacific Depot in downtown Las Vegas (the site of today’s Plaza Hotel) wasn\u2019t George Wood\u2019s final destination on the cold morning of Jan. 13, 1915.<\/p>\n

Wood was a prospector — one of the most common occupations among the 80K or so residents of Nevada at the turn of the 20th century. He was headed 184 miles northwest to Goldfield, so named because of the $86 million in gold discovered there between 1903 and 1940 (in then-current<\/em> prices).<\/p>\n

But the 10 a.m. train to Goldfield wouldn’t arrive for several more hours. So Wood sauntered two blocks northeast to Block 16, Las Vegas\u2019 only official red light district,<\/a> for some entertainment. He had $190 cash on him, just short of $6,000 today.<\/p>\n

\n

The chance to become instantly rich just by digging or panning in the right place attracted thousands of single men to Nevada from around the US back then. It also presented a corresponding opportunity for the sex workers of Block 16.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here, in words chosen in 1915 by an uncredited reporter for the Las Vegas Age<\/em>, the young city\u2019s largest newspaper, Wood \u201cmet a congenial companion or two, took a few drinks and lost interest in trains,\u201d then \u201ctook another drink or two and lost consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those companions was Camille Smith, among the most popular Block 16 workers of the day. The other was her accomplice, 21-year-old Glen Harwood, whom the Age <\/em>bluntly described as \u201ca dope fiend.\u201d The pair slipped \u201cknockout drops\u201d of an unspecified variety into the drinks they served Wood.<\/p>\n

Walk of Shame<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the morning of January 14, according to the Age<\/em>, a deputy sheriff Lockett found the victim \u201cwandering about the streets in a dazed condition, only partially clothed and nearly frozen.\u201d Wood had been relieved of all of his cash, most of his clothing, his ticket to Goldfield, and naturally, his watch.<\/p>\n

Wood\u2019s last memory was being led by Smith into one of the back hotel rooms at the unidentified saloon — nearly all of which on Block 16 featured them.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Located on today\u2019s First Street between Ogden and Stewart Avenues, Block 16 was cleaned up during WWII. (Image: UNLV Special Collections)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harwood caved under questioning from Lockett, according to the website Mayhem in the Desert.<\/a> while Smith maintained her innocence. Since Harwood had a longer criminal history, the district attorney pinned all the charges on him.<\/p>\n

\n

Harwood served a couple of months in Clark County Jail, then turned his life around and became an auto mechanic. Whether the same can be said of Smith isn’t known, as her name never appeared in the local media again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On Nov. 4, 1921, The Record-Courier<\/em> of Gardenerville, Nev. reported that a George Wood, \u201cwell known in Carson Valley, where he resided for several years, was killed in an automobile accident near Reno.\u201d Wood was described as \u201ca trapper\u201d who \u201cduring the summer months was employed in ranch work.\u201d<\/p>\n

We hope this was a different George Wood and that ours eventually made it to Goldfield to find his fortune.<\/p>\n

\u201cLost Vegas\u201d is an occasional\u00a0Casino.org<\/em>\u00a0series spotlighting Las Vegas\u2019 forgotten history.\u00a0Click here<\/a>\u00a0to read other entries in the series. Think you know a good Vegas story lost to history? Email corey@casino.org.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u201ctrick roll\u201d is one of the most lucrative crimes on the Las Vegas Strip. It\u2019s also probably the most popular, though no one can say for sure because it\u2019s the crime least likely to be reported by its victims. The trick roll is when a sex worker expertly burglarizes (rolls) a customer without his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":330056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,81886],"tags":[85374,82490,23,84113,82757,82338,82758,88122],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLOST VEGAS: First Documented \u2018Trick Roll\u2019 by a Prostitute - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The \u201ctrick roll\u201d is one of the most lucrative crimes on the Las Vegas Strip. 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