There is a growing issue here in Las Vegas about the rampant rise of street performers working for tips on the Las Vegas Strip and downtown on the Fremont Street Experience. This is a relatively recent development that has started growing in popularity over the last year or two where people dress in costume in front of the numerous Las Vegas tourist landmarks and pose with you for tips. A few nights ago I was doing a shoot on Fremont Street with a newlywed couple and in less than an hour, we met the rock band Kiss, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a Star Wars stormtrooper, Homer Simpson, and a wide cast of other characters…some in better costumes than others.
The main reason of the rapid increase of these performers is two fold. First, the money. Obviously if you can throw together a cheesy costume, you'll earn enough to pay the rent and then some.
Wear something elaborate and you can be earning a solid six-figure income. Sure beats waiting tables at Denny's if you're an out-of-work real estate agent, right? Here's the other main reason you're seeing so many of them…you don't need a permit or business license to do it. This has started to cause a lot of controversy between these entertainers and the local vendors who have to pay for their location, be a licensed business, carry insurance, and and have a permit to sell on the Strip or in the Fremont Street Experience.
These entertainers can get away with this because all they are doing is standing around in a costume and people pay them tips. It wouldn't even be a shock if these street performers didn't pay their fare share in taxes either, but that's a whole other issue.
With the rise of these entertainers, I'm starting to see a whole other crop of people working for tips who don't have quite the ambitions of a guy willing to paint his face like Gene Simmons. Back in October, I was doing a shoot for a bachelorette party on the Strip here in Las Vegas and we were getting some awesome photos out in front of the Bellagio fountains.
