Las Vegas, NV -- Slap, slap, slap! "What was that?" you say as you perambulate along the Strip. Slap, slap, slap! Surrounded by a sea of fellow tourists, your visibility is reduced to just a few yards. Suddenly the flow of foot traffic is interrupted and you spot a line of people bobbing in and out of the human stream. In their hands they clutch a collection of cards.

Quickly flicking the stiff cardboard rectangles to get your attention, a card is thrust mere millimeters from your sweaty hand, never making contact. Glancing down, you see a picture of a mostly naked woman who beckons you with a sexy "Yes, I'll do that" look. You have just encountered a few of the many distributors of personal entertainer cards.

In the world of sensory overload that is Vegas, it's easy to miss these little cards. However, once you know they exist, you begin to see them everywhere. They're scattered on the ground, lining trash cans, sticking out of newspaper boxes, and tucked under windshield wipers.

Each card contains a semi-glossy image of a sexy girl on the front and a personal greeting and contact information on the back. Pick one up and you might find Kim Li who describes herself as a 5'5", 35-22-34 Korean woman who is the "real thing" and "loves being exposed." Pick up as many unique faces as you can find and your collection will easily reach several dozen. In a span of 10 minutes I found 26.

This is Sin City after all so what do you expect? Well, what I didn't expect was the reaction of some of the herd. Sure, most passersby look right through these smut peddlers as if they don't exist. However, others cast a look of disgust and some are downright verbally abusive. Appearing to be Mexican and South American, I suppose these low-end sextrepeneurs are members of the ever-burgeoning underground economy of migrant workers. Therefore, they are largely unseen. The fact that they are peddling the promise of sex damns them to the furthest reaches of the outcast hinterland (even in Vegas). Therefore, they can be abused. Like most migrants, they probably get paid very little to perform the dirty work nobody else wants. Nevertheless, there they are offering up a service that is obviously in demand.

Like every other city in the U.S., Vegas lives under the aegis of its corporate owners. In the interest of expanding their markets, casinos are constantly lowering the common denominator. More entertainment options in larger resorts with more fully-integrated themes is the name of game. As a result, fringe behavior becomes less tolerated and the "sin" is doled out in increasingly manageable and inoffensive chunks by the power elite. In this environment, I think it's downright charming to be offered a little personal entertainment in such a guileless manner while walking the street.

I wish people were kinder. I want them to realize that barring a simple twist of fate or a small reversal in fortune, they too might be standing on the Strip flicking cards. Life is not a zero sum game. Everyone deserves a shot at making a living even if you don't like what they're selling. But those aren't the times we live in. Maybe those times never existed.

So, after you've been bled dry at the blackjack table and the dealer who seemed to be your best friend now acts as if you don't exist. When your ability to be recognized as a living, breathing human being rests entirely on your ability to lay down cash or chips, please think twice about casting aspersions towards the sidewalk slappers. It's in times like these that you might want "the real thing" from Kim Li. I'm not sure what that entails or how much it costs, but it might be your best bet in Vegas. Wouldn't it nice if you had her card handy?