The Las Vegas Sign Scam is Alive and Well

We’ve written about Las Vegas scams before, and this one in particular, but the
“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign scam remains one of Sin City’s most irksome and
blatant, and remains in full effect on The Strip.

When visitors hit the Las Vegas sign, they often encounter someone posing as the
“official” photographer or attendant of the Las Vegas sign. They offer to help with
photos in exchange for tips.

These attendants and photographers, though, aren’t official anythings. This, despite
the fact they often wear “credentials” or clothing with official-looking patches or
emblems.

Las Vegas sign scam
He may act like he’s The Guy, but he’s really just a guy.

These clever individuals make a lot of tips (untaxed, by the way), and can even be
helpful at times. During our most recent visit, there was a long line for photos,
and the “attendant” was reminding visitors they can simply bypass the line and take
a photo from the side to speed things up.

Still, these “attendants” are taking advantage of unsuspecting tourists, and our
advice is to let another visitor take your photo rather than “feeding the pigeons.”

At the Las Vegas sign, there are no reserved times, there are no designated
photographers and, well, let’s let the County do its thing.

Las Vegas sign scam
Want to make a scammer mad? Let them take your photo, say “thanks” and walk away. Glorious.

On a related note, when exiting the parking at the Las Vegas sign, make sure not to
turn right (back toward all the hotels and casinos). That stretch of road goes one
way (south), and a right turn into oncoming traffic could be disasterous. Not that
anyone would ever do that. Especially a Las Vegas blog. Probably.