48 Hours on the Dark Side of Las Vegas

Penthouse orgies fueled by pill-pushing bellhops. A drug den stocked with sex slaves. Hidden homeless camps under the casinos. The real Sin City is even seedier than you imagined.

GIFs by AJ Ovio and Ifanyi Bell | Edited by Brendan Spiegel

There is a tension in the crowd, a sizzling silence as words and cheers cut short and all eyes focus on the same point, everyone holding their breath, every jaw and fist clenched like in the final moments before a fight, as if everyone is about to explode at once. More people are huddling around the table now, closer to the action, pushing against one another until there are no distinct bodies anymore but rather a single compacted entity made of suits and cleavages and spilled glasses, a wordless human volcano ready to erupt under the wary watch of the floor muscle, the entire casino going silent as the wheel spins and spins and spins. “Black eleven,” the croupier announces as the ball stops in a jolt. And the volcano goes off. A deafening cry of victory immediately surges from the crowd’s collective throat. Strangers shout at the top of their lungs until their lungs are shut out of air. You can feel the heat being released li…