Let us establish right from the outset that one thing they're not is some ghastly mayonnaise-infused excuse for sushi. No. In a nutshell, being "trick rolled" is slang for being surreptitiously drugged and robbed by a prostitute. While a woman can also be referred to, derogatorily, as a "trick," the term's more common slang usage is for a male who pays for sex (in the same way "john" is used) -- hence, a prostitute's business is known as "turning tricks."
When it comes to trick rolling, our anecdotal insights suggest that such situations often don't involve a female who's obviously a "lady of the night" touting for biz in an up-front manner; instead, the woman (or guy) may be far more subtle and appear to be a regular "civilian" who just strikes up conversation at a bar, isn't particularly provocatively dressed, and appears simply to have mutual enthusiasm for a casual tryst with the hapless mark.
But at some point, perhaps just before you both ascend to your hotel room, she'll slip something akin to (or that is actually) Rohypnol, the notorious "date-rape" drug, into your drink. Suddenly, you'll start to feel inexplicably fatigued and you'll find you can't actually move your body anymore, although you'll probably be vaguely aware of what's going on as she cleans out your wallet -- you just won't have the power to do anything about it. You might not even last that long, and will merely wake later (much, much later) feeling like crap and wondering how the hell you lost 16 hours of your life and all of your money and credit cards.
This writer knows more than one trick-roll victim and it's not by any means a practice limited to Las Vegas. Many years ago, a former boss of mine had it happen to him on a business trip to New York. He missed the entire meeting, for which he'd specifically flown in from London, but in this instance the hooker had a kind heart and at least left him enough cash for a cab back to the airport "because he was a nice guy." (She was right about at least one thing!) In another instance, which also didn't occur in Vegas but in another casino destination, the guy was part of a professional gambling team that had just made a big score in a tournament. He was the custodian of the their $35,000 winnings and was just celebrating with the nice "school teacher" he met at the bar. She probably had gotten wind of the fact that there was a large amount of cash to be had from this group (yes, alcohol was involved and probably tongues got loose or discretion got sloppy). Let's just say that was the last that was ever seen of the dough, although the lady was seen again -- in court.
Why this question is topical is because back in 2014 (and prior) there was a lot of buzz around Club Paradise, the topless club across from the Hard Rock, involving allegations by multiple customers, claiming in some instances to have been drugged at the property, who later found unauthorized charges to their credit cards. And we're not talking about a few hundred bucks -- one guy's cards had been maxed out to the tune of $80,000!
The first documented case we're aware of dates back to as early as 2009, when a certain James Hackett of Andover, MA, was in town for a trade convention. According to court filings, Mr Hackett had a few martinis at what was then the Las Vegas Hilton and at some point apparently "dropped" his wallet. The wallet was returned to him by a "kind citizen" but Hackett noticed that his credit cards had been moved from their usual spot. He claimed that at some point after this he "blacked out" but that when he called his wife back home to relate "all" that had happened, it turned out that almost $30,000 in "unauthorized" charges had been billed by Club Paradise to his Amex card.
While Hackett didn't mention visiting the strip club, Club Paradise was able to produce authentic receipts signed by Mr H., along with signed testimonial that he was not intoxicated or acting under any duress; as a result, American Express refused to reverse the charges. We spoke with Hackett's attorney back in 2013 for a QoD on the subject, and were informed that his client had opted to "just let the matter go."
At the time, we figured that was the end of that and that Hackett was probably just another guy attempting to wriggle out of some unfortunate charges he'd wrung up and later regretted. But in light of subsequent developments, that ain't necessarily so!
Evidently, there's no smoke without fire and in 2014 the club was raided by the FBI and other branches of law enforcement, after many bona fide customers reported similar experiences to Hackett's. The club, which was blatantly "mobbed up" back then, was sold and remained closed for some time. The case has taken a while to run its course, but just last week came word that five former employees had been indicted. Here's what the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported:
Men paid upward of $2.4 million for dances and drinks they never received at Club Paradise, prosecutors alleged Thursday in an indictment against five women. The credit card fraud and conspiracy charges are the result of a long-running investigation into dancers, cocktail waitresses, and managers at the strip club. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said authorities had received more than 400 fraud complaints from January 2013 and June 2014. The indictment highlights activity for the first six months of 2014 ... A club manager, John Carcilli, and two dancers, Giovanna Chico and Bibi Rambharan, pleaded guilty to fraud charges last month, according to online court records. Their deals with prosecutors were sealed." As far as the other five accused are concerned, a civil trial is set for September.
For more about this story -- and some more recent developments -- check out the copious coverage at ToplessVegasOnline.com. But the salutary -- if common sense --message to take away from all this is to always be on your guard: Don't leave your drink unattended or un-monitored while in the company of strangers; leave your valuables in a hotel safe or safe-deposit box; and should you require the services of a hooker, stick to the legal brothels in Pahrump or you'll simply be asking for trouble.
