Some drivers never wanted regular pick-ups. I however like to know I would make some money no matter how busy or dead the night was. I had Mercedes, Candy, and Joe the Pit boss at the EL Cortez.
Joe was an elderly black gentleman. He was the Pit Boss of the Graveyard Shift at the EL Cortez. That Casino was one of the roughest and nastiest ones in the history of Vegas. It had a low ceiling, so the smoke cloud came down to about 4 ft above the floor. Joe had lung cancer, and I bet that is what caused it. I picked him up one day when I was in a cab that could not work on the strip. We started talking about the Cortez and he asked if I would pick him regularly. I agreed because I like his stories. The ride on cost $4.50. He tipped a $1. Sometimes before his paycheck Id cover him for the cost. When he got paid he would pay me back. I did this about 3 years. One day he stopped calling me. After a week I went into the Cortez and asked about him. He had died of the cancer suddenly. He owed me $4.50, but I am alright with that his stories were worth that.
Mercedes, I picked her up every day I worked at 9pm Took her to the Tropicana Hotel. That was her starting point every night. She met up with Candy and Vanessa two other friendly Hos. Hos is what they called themselves, so I do too. I learned a lot of tricks about complexes. Hos move around house to house. I am guessing they squat a house that was empty and moved when they were confronted by the real estate people. So, I think in 3 years I had picked her up at least 15 different places. That meant I had to get into complexes without codes for the gates. The first trick was to drive to just less than touching the gate with my vehicle. The pad that sensed cars leaving was triggered and gate opened. This worked in about 2/3 of the complexes. Some had a lot of traffic, and I just followed them in. about 1/6 of the time she had a code. The remaining she just had to meet me on the other side of the gate.
Candy was Mercedes’s friend. She was more experienced in the business. I think she was 25 years old. Her pimp was her husband. I never got along with Mac her husband. He tried to forbid me to pick her up, I just put a.357 in his face and shut up. Candy was a cool customer. She tipped well. She made her money and went home early. At one point when Mac had ended up going to jail for 5 years she wanted me to move in. I told her no, Mac went to prison for living off the proceeds of a prostitute. I would have ended up with the same charge.
Those 3 were my regulars. I considered them friends. When the economy tank in 2001 I still them and I made more money than a lot of drivers each day
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