I Wasn’t Ready For The Real Las Vegas

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]What's up, guys? Welcome back to my channel. And if you're new here, then welcome to our little corner of the internet. Just recently, we watched a video on Las Vegas and how it's not exactly what it used to be and now it's more for rich people and there's less people there and all of that. But I saw this video after I saw that one. It's called Inside the Veas, you don't see casino hoods. And I don't know. I'm intrigued. Let's see what this video is about.

[00:00:31]the gleam and and the glamour. It's not what you think it is, right? Cuz you know, people get broke because of that.

[00:00:37]Lights, camera, action.

[00:00:38]>> 10 years ago even, it was a completely different city.

[00:00:41]>> We got more churches than in the other city and they shot a helicopter down out the sky.

[00:00:46]>> I go riding every day and see things that I've never seen before.

[00:00:51]>> Vegas is America's shiniest city.

[00:00:54]>> Oh my goodness. I've never seen >> them before. I've seen like the Vegas I guess it's called like the Vegas street. I don't know what it's called, but the main street. But that looks so cool with the huge M&M's. Is that like a M&M factory and the CocaCola?

[00:01:17]That's really cool.

[00:01:19]>> This [snorts] is America's >> I've never seen anything like that before.

[00:01:22]>> Tiniest city. Parties, celebrities, casinos, and shows. Yet just minutes from the strip's bright lights is this the real Vegas.

[00:01:32]>> Angels in darkness in all cities. And we got the biggest weirdest name on the planet. No seeing city.

[00:01:39]>> So what's Vegas [music] really like?

[00:01:41]What aren't the tourists seeing? To find out, we headed from downtown to the hood. And in the process, we found a workingass city that has little of the glamour for which [music] it's known. To understand the real Las Vegas, come with us off the strip. Our visit in Sin City would end with a saint. But before we get there, you need to know that the strip isn't downtown.

[00:02:02]>> Even when we work down here, we call it strip air because it smells so bad down here.

[00:02:08]>> Technically, it's not even in Vegas.

[00:02:10]It's in [music] an unincorporated community called Paradise where Clark County makes the laws that makes it cheaper for casinos.

[00:02:17]>> But these photos are from Vegas, the center, right, >> to operate. For a long time, Vegas locals would hang out on the strip.

[00:02:24][music] But now high price >> strip. Yeah.

[00:02:27]>> Crowds have driven them out.

[00:02:28]>> So people who live in Vegas, they don't spend much time on the strip unless they're work.

[00:02:31]>> Absolutely not. None of us touch the strip with a 10-ft pole unless we have family in town or we're going to work.

[00:02:37]The city is beautiful. Like I would never leave this city. I just personally would never come down here in my free time.

[00:02:41]>> I don't even gamble. I don't even go to the strip cuz you see it. You've seen it so many times it's like eh. Instead of the strip, locals often head to Fremont Street next to downtown and around six miles north of the strip. Here we got the first taste of the real Vegas.

[00:03:00]>> We're making a video about the side of Vegas. You don't see >> that part.

[00:03:04]>> So, we're on Fremont Street, which is one of the main thoroughares heading in and out of downtown. And what the locals have told us is that you need to drive down this street to see how Vegas transforms from the tourist Vegas to the [music] real Vegas. So, that's what we're doing. heading east down Fremont out of downtown to where the people really live.

[00:03:23]>> It looks everything looks so like there's a huge mantis and a huge shoe.

[00:03:28]It just looks so unreal. But yeah, I get that though. It's like here um you know when you live in somewhere very touristic like for you it isn't like that you know like I don't go to the tourist spots like ever ever ever but that's normal.

[00:03:47]>> [music] >> It looks really pretty. [music] >> It just changed a lot.

[00:04:03]>> She like that.

[00:04:03]>> When I came out here, you couldn't go in the hotel. It was racist. Like they gambling now with no blacks allowed. No blacks allowed in the casino. All that [ __ ] change. Now we go to the casino and gaming like everybody else. But back in the 60 when I came out here with none of that could uh you can't come in here. No blacks in here. Tell me you got to go to the back with all the whites up front.

[00:04:24]Man, [ __ ] you. I said why.

[00:04:29]>> All right. Vegas has changed.

[00:04:32]>> Vegas.

[00:04:33]>> Ain't nothing change, man. 1968 and then 2026. Oh, that [ __ ] been changed.

[00:04:38]>> Yeah.

[00:04:39]>> When I came out here, Vegas was racist.

[00:04:41]Very racist. White going to school. We got to go to school. Why?

[00:04:45]>> I don't know if the video captured it, but this guy was out here selling some kind of like cell phone thing or something. When he stood up, he had [snorts] a big gun on his hip. I mean, openly carrying. And immediately when you get half a mile off down Fremont there, the vibe of this city changes. I mean, this is not the Vegas that we've seen until now. We're going to head deeper in. That is really, really sad though because if you think about it, that man has gotten clearly traumatized by past experiences and now it's kind of very on top of his head into this.

[00:05:26][music] >> How's the city?

[00:05:28]>> Uh, it's okay. Just got to be careful.

[00:05:33]>> Shooting stuff like that or what? Yeah, sometimes.

[00:05:37]>> You from here? Born here?

[00:05:38]>> Yes.

[00:05:40]>> Has it always been rough or no?

[00:05:42]>> Yeah.

[00:05:45]>> So, where where are like the bad areas street?

[00:05:54]>> Many of the neighborhoods here are rough like these, and they're home to many workers who work on the strip.

[00:05:59]>> When everyone comes here, they see the strip, they see Fremont. What should they know about what the city's really like? You know, that's just, you know, the little sugar coat and stuff, man.

[00:06:06]But it really goes down out here, man.

[00:06:08]You know, it's, you know, lights, camera, lash, and boom.

[00:06:12]It ain't it ain't easy >> in a neighborhood like this. I mean, this looks like a pretty nice chill neighborhood now.

[00:06:17]>> It It is at times. All these lights and stuff like that that the gleam and and the glamour, it's not what you think it is, right? Cuz you know, people get broke because of that. So broke, people get desperate.

[00:06:30]>> What kind of work people like in a neighborhood like this? They work, >> you know. working 9 to5, you know, whether it's casino work or whatnot.

[00:06:37]>> Even your broad daylight, it changes.

[00:06:39]>> Really?

[00:06:40]>> Yeah. Las Vegas is a chameleon.

[00:06:42]>> I I'm from LA. I'm from California. I'm trying to get back to the city right now. This [ __ ] boring.

[00:06:48]>> Vegas so boring.

[00:06:50]>> Yeah. Ain't no money ain't enough money out here for a bill >> in Vegas.

[00:06:54]>> In Vegas.

[00:06:56]>> But that's also true. Like I don't know. I feel I feel that because at least where I live there's so much like touristic places and everybody's like oh my goodness like you have so much to do but unless like it's a different thing to go there on vacation and live there >> money out here for nobody I ain't going to lie it's too cheap I'm from Cali where they where they where they get $20 an hour >> you said you're a pep huh you said you're a pep Who? Me?

[00:07:30]>> Darren. Is that just a phrase?

[00:07:32]>> That's just a phrase.

[00:07:33]>> Okay. I was about to be like He's from Wisconsin.

[00:07:36]>> He doesn't know.

[00:07:37]>> Oh, bro. You can't just be asking people that. You can't People be that you go to jail for that. 15 years for pimping.

[00:07:46]You can't just say, "Yeah, I'm a >> pimping ain't easy."

[00:07:49][ __ ] no.

[00:07:54]>> Oh my god. That looked like Los Poo Armanos, you know, like from the from Walter White. What is it? Uh, you guys know what I'm talking about. But that looks exactly like it, doesn't it?

[00:08:14]>> What's Vegas [music] really like?

[00:08:16]>> Vegas is a nice nice city. It's growing.

[00:08:20]I saw it grow. See where that church that used to be a bar. We had bars all on the west side. Bars we could go to.

[00:08:30]Now they cancelled all that everything to move out to the strip. Now they they put everything into the hotel. They have a little dances and everything. Now we walk out. I could come out the house around the corner. They go a bar >> and now it's all residential.

[00:08:46]>> The church. Yes.

[00:08:47]>> Yeah. We do. There's a church here.

[00:08:48]There a church there. There church everywhere. We got more churches than any other city. But a lot of the churches used to be barred. I don't seen it grow, man. Used to be just tumble weed used to blow through here. Big weed. Yeah. Dust stone, but they done filled it up so much.

[00:09:08]>> Yeah. So back then you had tumble weeds and now you look at now now it's a big city. I mean >> Yeah. And it started growing all the way up. this tumble weed that the bowl that goes like through the desert. Is that an actual thing? I've never seen one. I would love to see one. Oh my god. I might see one in America maybe. Do you guys have that still somewhere? How do you like Can you hold it or is it Does it pinch you? I don't know. That's so cool.

[00:09:37]>> The west side. Oh, imagine like a little video clip of standing in the middle of the desert and then there's just a tumble weed going past and it's like the sun is going down. It's all golden hour.

[00:09:53]Not me immediately thinking about the video production part of it, but [laughter] >> mostly Mexican taking it on now, but a lot of black still here. They closed down a lot of the black hotel and they moved them way out. Oh man, we had some the G over there used to be real dangerous back in the 80s, man. They shot a helicopter down out the sky. Then they were gang banging in the 80s, but boy gang banging out. That's dead. They don't do no more. They get color. You couldn't wear certain colors, you know.

[00:10:27]But that was in the 80s.

[00:10:29]>> And today it's not like that. No, nothing about like that now.

[00:10:33]>> Is it pretty safe now?

[00:10:34]>> Yeah. Yeah, it's safe. Everybody walk everywhere. They don't care what color you wear. I got a 49 hat on. I'm a New Orleans Saint go everywhere black used to live. They here, they got all that.

[00:10:46]Black used to live. Mexican all over and nothing but me.

[00:10:50]>> So where' the black people go?

[00:10:51]>> They moved up for hours.

[00:10:53]>> Driving through [music] Vegas, two cities emerge. One is rougher and mostly black and Hispanic. The other is [music] a booming sunb belt city. Vegas is home to not just the casinos, but the headquarters, including of companies like MGM. [music] It's also increasingly a tech hub, which has led its population to more than quadruple since 1980. Like a normal time, I grew up here. Back then, there was only nine high schools in the whole city. Now there's like 35.

[00:11:17]Well, it used to be everything was [music] 24 hours. You'd go to the grocery market, 24 hours. quite interesting to see like how everybody's saying that Vegas had nothing and then suddenly it started you know growing really really quickly. I mean in around 50 years is fairly quick.

[00:11:46]No >> going to grocery market they got slot machines and all that but >> is is the change good or bad?

[00:11:55]Well, with uh tremendous growth comes bad stuff, good stuff. You know, if we didn't have this population, we wouldn't have the Raiders.

[00:12:04]>> Now, if you're one of the people who's gambling in the grocery store instead of the Venetian, [music] you may be interested in today's sponsor.

[00:12:10]Constantly higher prices are forcing ever more [music] families to rely on high interest credit card. Now, back to Vegas. Downtown, the city's two halves meet.

[00:12:24]I shaved my balls for this.

[00:12:29]It ain't going to spank into I would be so lost in Vegas. I'd be scared.

[00:12:34]I [laughter] don't know if I can do that.

[00:12:37][gasps] Don't bite the hand that Oh my days.

[00:12:42]I'm scared.

[00:12:45]I'm scared.

[00:12:48]My girlfriend beats me.

[00:12:51]Oh, no.

[00:12:58]>> I like downtown.

[00:12:59]>> I'm too soft clearly for Vegas.

[00:13:01]>> I go riding every day and see things that I've never seen.

[00:13:06]>> Or am I? I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Okay.

[00:13:09]>> And before I think it's just overkill.

[00:13:12]Everything's got a fee to it. To park, it's a fortune. You know, to go eat, you got to pay to park. Sure. Right.

[00:13:20]>> Far as the city changing.

[00:13:23]>> Yeah. Yeah. I've been here 38 years of my life, man. And this [ __ ] been flipped and tipped. You know what I mean? Just different people, you know, out of towners and stuff.

[00:13:32]>> For better or for worse.

[00:13:33]>> Oh, driving for worse. As far as the people, we don't know yet. Rent, y'all [ __ ] us up. They [ __ ] us.

[00:13:44]>> What was it like when you were a kid?

[00:13:46]>> Open.

[00:13:47]>> Is it safer? crime, stuff like that.

[00:13:49]>> This Las Vegas, it's it's Las Vegas, man. It's it's uh it's angels in darkness in all cities.

[00:13:58]You know what I'm saying? And we got the biggest weirdest name on the planet, you know, sin city. This [ __ ] get uh get ugly at night time, you know? People get weird and [ __ ] you know. So, >> what do what do you do? You got you got a I feel like you got a Vegas uh entertainer vibe.

[00:14:14]>> No, man. I'm just born and raised in this [ __ ] I'm actually in the construction. I'm in the union and [ __ ] But outside of that, all this [ __ ] is the hood.

[00:14:21]>> This is Yeah. You got to watch it. It's just the lifestyle. That's the That's the illusion. That's the illusion.

[00:14:29]That's when you get tricked. Y'all straight. Y'all straight out here. Y'all got to watch it now. I don't see this.

[00:14:33]>> $1,000 camera, that thing. You in the hood, you see all these lights and [ __ ] [ __ ] >> I feel that's a free come up.

[00:14:39]>> Feel me? Couple thousand dollar right now. Pop.

[00:14:45]I got no idea that guy was full of other than that. The vibe here is not bad. I mean, there's lots of people out.

[00:14:49]There's people walking around. There's cops driving around. And Vegas, statistically speaking, it's not a very dangerous city.

[00:14:56]>> Well, Vegas is booming. Um, I feel like America in in general, this might be very controversial to say, but seems very very peaceful.

[00:15:12]At least compared to where I am, honestly. People seem so nice. Like here, that camera would have been yesterday.

[00:15:22]yesterday. Like you can't walk around with that at all.

[00:15:34]But clearly there's like areas and there's areas obviously as as anywhere and America is so huge it you can fit anything there.

[00:15:45]But um but honestly I'm not getting like some of you might think that I'm getting like a bad image or something but not at all. Not at all.

[00:15:54]>> Its backbone remains service jobs which has some downsides. People have few benefits and little job [music] security. And when gambling is down the city is down and right now gambling is down.

[00:16:05]>> Like no great job.

[00:16:06]>> What I do get more is like I feel for the people you know >> out here if that makes And they don't want you to get more than 40 hours.

[00:16:15]You're not making great wage, you know, hourly wages. And there's so many people looking for those jobs that it's dependent on tourism. So people don't come, you're not working.

[00:16:28]>> Our next video is on the strip and the gambling recession. So make sure to subscribe for that. But for this video, we have to note that the gambling recession means that a lot of people [music] in Vegas are struggling.

[00:16:41]Angeles like see.

[00:16:57]>> Oh, this place looks like right up my alley. Look at the tacos.

[00:17:01]Oh, I'm getting so hungry. I haven't ate yet.

[00:17:06]Wrong.

[00:17:10]Okay. Wait. What else we got?

[00:17:14]Tinga. Guessinga. What is tingga?

[00:17:24]How many dollars for four small tacos? I can't see the prices.

[00:17:48]See?

[00:17:54]Okay. So, ladies and gentlemen, you just heard it here.

[00:17:56]>> So good. They may have all the money and the resorts on the strip, but here we've got the best food in all of Vegas and it costs us $28 for this meal over there.

[00:18:07]$28 literally won't get you an order of Buffalo W.

[00:18:09]>> $28 is pretty expensive though for that.

[00:18:12]I'm not going to lie. But I mean, it's Las Vegas >> here. It's getting you the good stuff.

[00:18:17]And you know what else? That just goes to show >> I mean for all of that? No. But like for one meal. Yeah.

[00:18:22]>> So sometimes it's not all about the money. CNN's got billions of dollars. We don't. Yet our news is better than theirs. Our approach to the world is better than theirs. Who do you want to support? Us or them? Us. So, who do you want to support? These guys or Caesars?

[00:18:35]I think you know the answer. Smash that subscribe button. Follow Roken.

[00:18:38]>> Nothing in Vegas. Honestly, like >> that. Like, smash that subscribe. But follow me if you want to. If you don't, it's okay though. I don't I don't I don't I don't want to pressure anyone.

[00:18:51]But if you do want to, then Okay.

[00:18:53]>> They take these bus tours. There's nothing to tour. There's casinos and that's it. And then you have this.

[00:19:00]>> How's How's life here?

[00:19:02]>> Well, it's I've created my own bad life.

[00:19:05]So, if it I guess it would be all right.

[00:19:08]>> Off the strip, homelessness is [music] everywhere.

[00:19:14]You can't drive around without seeing it.

[00:19:21]>> You hit rock bottom. You really hit rock bottom here. I just lost my job and the company I worked for was wonderful.

[00:19:30]But when you go to jail, they fire again.

[00:19:36]>> What kind of work were you doing?

[00:19:37]>> I worked for spacecraft components.

[00:19:41]>> Yeah. I lost my job.

[00:19:42]>> So after losing your job, did you then lose your house?

[00:19:45]>> Yes. I lost my job, my house. Um I was in >> Oh, I really want to do something in the future to help people like her. new relationship and then like I mean the streets I've been to the streets it's it's rough and it gets cold but I lost everything like and now I'm struggling to just make payments on on my storage and and trying to get places and stuff like that. But people around me have helped me dearly. This world is not worth me [ __ ] giving up everything that I know up here because they took everything away from me. It's not it's not that's not how I work.

[00:20:32][music] People will still around here like no tomorrow because they're either petty, greedy, or just want it because it's there. And it's like for me, if I don't need it, I'm not going to get it cuz what's my use in getting some I can't use?

[00:20:47]I like can look at people all the time and I know when they're going to do something because of how they looking.

[00:20:52]They try to creep. They try to look at lights. They try to do all this weird [ __ ] We can see y'all through that.

[00:20:57]Some people are way smarter and they already know so they step outside.

[00:21:00]>> So like if someone like leaves their car out here or some stuff in it, >> they'll be they'll be trying to get in.

[00:21:07]>> But some people are smart and me I don't do that. I'm not really looking into [ __ ] like that cuz if I look into a car thing happen the car alarm could go off.

[00:21:16]Car cops will be called and I don't even know.

[00:21:20]There's no telling what you can do and you could hurt yourself cuz what if they put a taser on the door and you zap yourself.

[00:21:26]I just don't look in people's [ __ ] >> What kind of jobs do people have in a neighborhood like this?

[00:21:31]>> McDonald's, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box.

[00:21:34]Some people work in Amazon, AutoZone.

[00:21:37]It's like a lot of things people don't think that what people would do and it's like a lot of people me I like to bust.

[00:21:45]I like to clean.

[00:21:46]>> One interesting thing about Vegas off the strip is that obviously it's sin city and everywhere you got the strip clubs all that stuff over there. But here in like the real city it's super religious and you've got these Jesus signs all over. So many churches. I mean we're in this neighborhood there's a church just in front of me. I can see like at least three of them and on a block behind us there are another three.

[00:22:05]So tons of churches. By driving around, we just so happened to pass by one of the most amazing people we've yet encountered, [music] the priest of the homeless.

[00:22:17]>> St. Bernard, pray for us.

[00:22:19]>> So when we see him in heaven, he going to have that big old cancer up on his >> I think we're going to really miss Bernard. He was a good for Oh, please.

[00:22:30]I don't know why this makes me emotional as well. I can't, guys. Why? Why?

[00:22:35][laughter] I need to pick myself to back together with them.

[00:22:42]>> Reverend John McShane has given food and other [music] help to homeless people.

[00:22:46]This man here attributed the priest with saving his life and now helps him give back.

[00:22:51]>> I know it's rough in this life sometimes. You can't convince me enough.

[00:22:56]We all know that. That's why we have each other because >> if we have each other >> I don't think there's a program here to give everybody methadone and dope and stuff like that. But they're doing their best to make sure they're fed and have something >> so they don't expire, you know, in the cold.

[00:23:16]>> Father over here is doing God work.

[00:23:18]>> He is. He's giving away wipes. And >> it was fitting to end our day with a priest in Sin City because Vegas is a city of contradictions.

[00:23:32]It's a place where you can find the brightest lights and deepest pockets right next to people just trying to survive. So, Las Vegas may be fabulous for some, but it definitely isn't for all.

[00:23:46]Thank you for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, smash that subscribe button. This is just the first in an upcoming Southwest series we're doing.

[00:23:52]We went to the Mexican border cities. We went to Little Iran. We did a whole bunch of stuff. You don't want to miss it. [music] So, make sure to hit that subscribe button. Thank you.

[00:24:06]I mean, obviously this is not something that you would expect or think about if you're not from Las Vegas and you and you only see like the shiny streets and all of that part of it, the luxury of it. Um, I've always kind of thought about it as like just a vacation destination. Never really thought about was on the outskirts, but it was an interesting video for sure.

[00:24:32]Um, thank you guys for joining me for this one. I really hope you enjoyed it as well. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Leave a like, subscribe if you haven't yet, and I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye.