The Real Hustle Does Las Vegas
I like watching Vegas-centric videos and I recently came across this show on YouTube. The Real Hustle is a British series that shows how various scams are perpetrated using hidden cameras as the hosts swindle (supposedly) unsuspecting rubes. Season 5 was filmed in Las Vegas and all of the episodes are available on YouTube.
The show fairly enjoyable. In each episode, they have a segment on Dealer Scams, a segment on how to win proposition bets for free drinks in bars, and then other general con jobs. Many of the scams and tricks are quite clever - especially the dealer scams which require a lot of ingenuity and slight of hand. Some are ridiculous and you'd have to be a complete idiot to fall for them (e.g., buying a device that can predict Keno results). This Vegas season contains a lot of scams that are gambling-specific. However, some of these scams could be done anywhere. The two male hosts, Alexis Conrad and Paul Wilson, seem like savvy guys. The female host, Jessica-Jane Clement, doesn't seem to have much bunko skill apart from being a good distraction because she's hot AF.
While watching one episode I was reminded of the first time I went to Vegas in the early 00s. My girlfriend at the time and I were walking in front of Caesars and saw a big Samoan guy running a 3-card Monte game. We watched for a bit as we witnessed several very similar-looking Samoans step out from the crowd and awkwardly lay down ridiculous bets (like $500) and win every time. The crowd looked on like an audience of parents at a really bad Christmas play. It was almost endearing. My girlfriend (who wasn't the brightest bulb) turned to me and asked, "Do you want to play?" I couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the day.
At the beginning of each episode there is a disclaimer that all of the scams are done on real people who gave their permission to air the footage after-the-fact. I find that hard to believe in a few cases. Nevertheless, a good way to kill at half-hour here and there. I'll post the episodes below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFkS-flNwws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixUvZjIK_Ms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gjbV6oamcE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE2oC2noNQ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JHGU00Q7Pw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z8f5Cqqdes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4JKERi-nfo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5zIX09dPI
