Meet The Mole People Living Beneath the Las Vegas Strip

hey who are you we're here at Freedom House sober living we found a couple people through the shine of light foundation their names are Jason and Josh and they're about to take us down beneath the Las Vegas Strip to meet the mole people Las Vegas is the most glitzy and glamorous place in the u.s. frequented by high rollers celebrities and internet moguls but beneath the strip in the 600 miles of sewer tunnels that crisscross the city lies a different world the world of the mole people and I'm not talking about a mutant race of human mole hybrids I think they're gonna be just normal everyday people who are just you know down on their luck yeah I'm a little disappointed by that but I will say this though after being in Vegas for a week I can I can see how someone ends up in the sewers and how does someone end up living in the sewers it's pross addiction so you may see somebody who lost their home and ended up in a tunnel because of gambling but they also have a method 99.99% of the time there is some type of addiction issue the shine of light foundation has made it their goal to get as many people out of the tunnels and into rehab as possible gots 24 people out of the tunnels this year okay we've probably taken several hundred to detox but today they were taking us into the tunnels to give us a first-hand look at the Las Vegas mole people community what would you guys say you're like the main things we should know you need to stay with him the entire time and be careful what you film so there are going to be people down there that are hiding from drug dealers girls hiding from pimps that are not going to want to be exposed as to where they so he needs to be clear that if he just starts going around and start doing this yeah you're gonna get knifing about for reasons unbeknownst to me our guides decided that we go to the most dangerous tunnel first full disclosure the tunnel under the it is one of the more potentially dangerous tunnels to go to in the city I mean we almost got stabbed last week we were there the only reason I want to go to that one is because there's a girl that's like seven or eight much pregnant that tunnel I want to get out of it do some people live like a fairly comfortable existence there's some people kind of just like no and that's the other thing is so you'll see tunnels where there's a lot of method you see tunnels where there's a lot of heroin and actually it's interesting that most of the heroin tunnels don't like the meth guys because I know they're too busy they they [ __ ] with my high or whatever mm-hmm and most of the meth tunnels are oh those [ __ ] heroin junkies are they they're too sketchy for me or like like they actually don't mix that well because there's clicks yeah yeah it's clicking exactly if you're curious the first tunnel we were heading into was a heroin tunnel about 200 yards in we started seeing signs of life and then the first mole man scooted out of the darkness it slows down Oh his name was Paul and he was an ex heroin addict who had been down there for nine years where'd you get the tent in there oh nice Paul's closest friend underground was a disabled war vet who went by the name wheels Casa del crippled so you've been down here a lot have your living conditions like slowly improved how my house my building guttin yeah that actually looks like a very comfortable chair in there yeah they had some impressive pieces of furniture beanbag chair but not to get too sappy their most prized possessions seem to be each other the more family than my family is where you found on the Bears every year I put $20 bet on three embarrassed releases you know this their year so if the Bears won the Super Bowl what would you do with the money you would move on that bad Jeffrey one or two bedroom free place and dream get myself a couple mm-hmm bears everyone in the tunnels is expected to live by a certain code if it's not yours too yeah there's actually a third rule too one of the things is you have to be invited just go down into the tunnels and start living like you'll get kicked out your Tampa learned attack any of that kind of makes so he walks around he pleases the tunnel he kicks out the people that are you know I mean being shady or dirty or anything like that the biggest threats the mole people faced underground were thief's spiders spiders and floods and when the rain comes I mean be personally or Tyler there's no went for the write down the code in one of the floods I hit a little break in the wall and it hit the wall hit like right here shot me another chair my buddy's dog tree climbed up my back and forced me under the local well they seem to be making the most of their situation it's rarely a happy story that leads to someone moving into the sewers well unfortunately I [Music] just this past year you know I started talking my mobile my family started talking to me again I just came to the point where I was like I'm gonna get myself back you know what easier said than done and I quit the heroin which was like super super hard to do are you down here when you were never going to the withdrawals yeah it took me 19 days [Music] my family's how much shut me off and put the I also I the only one that actually broke away from them because then you tell me about my mother's past you don't want to let me get the families you know screw you I just don't we want to keep in contact with this would you not want him to see this oh no I bring them I bring my mom's out what did your mom say when she came down she made it to the front and she started crying that's another reason I quit as well because that no sir I do have actually do have feelings in the heart this was heavy stuff but before I could even begin the process at all it was time to head to the next tunnel back above ground you were surprised to learn that we had almost been shot down there you notice how they stopped and backed up against the wall because they were getting ready for a firefight because my camera guy had unknowingly filmed a couple people in the shadows who were down in the tunnels looking to score drugs and one of them put his hand on the gun like they're you making me get nervous with that camera so you guys can officially say you just did the most dangerous thing of your entire life right there we adagio bullet there was now time to head into the crystal meth tunnel [Music] so the police won't actually come down into this tunnel but they'll go to that front entrance and they'll shine their flashlights down so something like that will block so if they're got a need so there's just back here hanging out yeah that blocks that with them because they're gonna have a flashlight like mine that's got this real high-powered that stops so that they keep so that when they go like this and they look it just looks like you're dead ends yeah and there's nothing there a privacy blocker to keep the cops off we made a quick pit stop to talk to a single woman who was interested in checking herself into a homeless shelter you call him tomorrow he'll take care of everything as far as getting you in with Shannon west and everything and he'll contact me and I'll and set up for me to come get you just help me with the ID right I'll help you with an idea yes they don't know if they don't we will so we have the security system oh I have then continued our journey into the darkness which had apparently brought us directly underneath Caesar's Palace huh right up there and the best part about it have no idea we're just doing some urban exploration pull me out we'll be out of your backyard pretty soon you know what I know females that has total worries that the you go in feet-first and you just back it in ten or 20 feet Paul his mother usually sleep in shoes like that she would go in feet first and back all the way down because it was she felt safe in there because nobody could get to her at night yeah after walking for another 10 minutes we reached our final destination the humble abode of Tommy and Jay a couple from Hawaii who had been living down there for five years first off have to say your place is very neat very clean ever we go she does yeah I don't care where well we can go outside in the dirt should sweep the dust off the rocks yeah and you guys have a lot of stuff where did you get most of the dumpster diving in absolutely I'll say something else we talk to somebody you know can we get a little tour of this place Oh despite being in a sewer apartment was considerably cleaner than my own that's amazing socializing area two bedrooms the living room yeah and I bobsled the thing down heels and I think it's the most fabulous thing ever why did you move from Hawaii Las Vegas a huge gambler I mean yeah but no yeah [Music] and the worst luck ever keno did you have a system you know it's just gotta be consistent yeah and it will hit no matter what actually should get in the sports betting because why because there is a good like you can if you're knowledgeable enough late ones oh yeah you know you people if you're trying to get into it I know a few people that had a lot of mortal logs good good friend of mine that I did some time with he's like mr. Osteen on casino yeah this [ __ ] nine knows if the quarterbacks got a cold you know there's anybody and he's really a basketball but he does everything I couldn't fathom why someone would move from Hawaii to the tunnels below Vegas just for the love Akeno [ __ ] I don't want to be here until we finally found out the real reason they were down there if you had a choice would you move back to Hawaii no I can't I'll go to prison for ten years and I didn't do anything dad see in Hawaii there's a big ice them epidemic if you get caught with a pipe in a way it's a felony if there's any kind of frost or doping it they scrape it out and it becomes two charges you get one for the plate and one for promoting a dangerous drug yeah so it's really really and that's what I got going I had like eighty thousand dollars cash in the bank and I said I am [ __ ] going in no prison cell for a goddamn pipe and stuff and asked her ultimatum she if you're coming you're coming now because I'm not coming back she goes ok I'll come with you but I got impact I said you don't get it you're coming you're coming you know cuz once your red flagged in Hawaii you can't get the king get off the island because Vegas your first pick come - yeah yeah he's got the most keno right yeah but you guys moved out here did you move straight to the tunnels or did you you have an apartment it hit me I can't get a job because that open one in Hawaii really what the [ __ ] I didn't know what to do I never even knew this place existed how did you learn about it did you just aah well I was gonna so if you could live one place in the country where would it be home back in Hawaii that's back to your white but I would have to have immunity unable to ever return to Hawaii they've tried to bring Hawaiian vibes into the tunnels we brought the lost spirit here it was really bad really badly they were nailing each other with golf clubs and everything but their hairs hasn't really been any violence since me I don't want to take credit for it but we really actually showed them the lower side of people like anybody hungry and they say I'm hungry your freedom yeah yeah it's a little piece of Hawaii underneath Las Vegas free always and if you guys really came she had the Hawaiian prayers up there but she took them down because we were thinking we're going to rehab do you know anybody hurt you worried about she okay maybe the Aloha spirit is the reason they've never been bothered by the evil spirits they claim haunt the tunnels spirits bad part yeah yeah do you believe in ghosts as well brah you will do if you lived on your bra and seen this stuff I see you're mean but you know what's crazy is that um they don't really bother us no yeah they don't friendly go Suraj really it doesn't matter what they think about that or feel about that as long as we know we are Moochie and ghosts aren't the only thing lurking down there you how many times I've heard oh man you didn't see him he's bad state and he's seven foot Tawnia this and he's so gnarly and I'm like sasquatch Yeah right what do I friends when exploring whatever you say about anything good find us there like people with they're not yeah so those would be the actual people yeah death did because they've never seen you lately yeah translucent almost yeah and that's a far cry from where you live because you live you know it actually it's laid out like a normal apartment but even though they've managed to make their living situation appear as normal as possible they'll be the first to remind you that it's anything but I don't care who the [ __ ] you are if you live in these flowers you have a problem and it's bigger than you realize we appreciate you guys very much you thank you very much thank you thank you both get our own twenty yeah I don't have to fight together [Music] before you leave the time thank you so much Joe thank you Robert thank you man we headed out of the tunnels with newfound knowledge of a world we never knew existed and a newfound appreciation for the luxuries we take for granted above ground and while we didn't encounter any mole mutants down there we had come face-to-face with a much scarier monster addiction there was a pregnant woman in that tunnel that was trying to get help she said she'd call you tomorrow how likely is it that she calls you tomorrow yeah despite it being an uphill battle she doesn't want to admit she has a drug problem right but because she doesn't want to admit to the drug problem there's no way for us to get her into any treatment anywhere the Shina Life Foundation was dedicated to continuing their mission of getting the mole people the help and resources they need in hopes that someday they'll see the light [Music]

Channel: The Wonton Don

Views: 15,603,579

Rating: 4.8446178 out of 5

Keywords: China, Donnie Does, Wonton Don, Shanghai, Weird, Whoa That's Weird, Asia, travel vlog, barstool sports, mole people, tunnels, homless, shine a light, vegas strip, urban exploring, abandoned, DONNY DOES mole people, donnie barstool sports, Las Vegas Strip, mole people las vegas, Donnie Barstool mole people, donnie barstool youtube

Id: DRrxFX1wfFg

Length: 22min 32sec (1352 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 17 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Son_of_York]

I was a Mormon missionary in Las Vegas from 2005-2007 and I ran into many people that lived in these communities. We actually stumbled on a pretty large community of tunnel residents in the flood channels near Palo Verde Highschool in Summerlin.

A lot of the people there are your "typical" homeless types. Drug users, people with mental disabilities, that sort of thing.

The nice thing about the tunnels is that in the summer they are much cooler than it is outside (that's how we'd find these people, we'd be on bikes in the summer and would ride through the tunnels for shortcuts and to take a break from the heat) and in the winter they are not too hard to insulate and if you pick the right spot you can get some heat from a fire and still have ventilation.

There was a guy down there name of David, one of the wisest men I've ever met. Older gentlemen who'd lost his house, (this was right when the housing crisis was going into full swing) and so he moved down into the tunnel. His bed was made from two wal-mart shopping carts he'd cut the fronts off of, and then zip tied the two carts together front to front to make what essentially looked like a large crib. It was full of padding with blankets and a sleeping bag, kept him off the ground and at the same time it was fairly mobile so he could push his bed and belongings around the tunnel with him and not leave them for someone to find or steal.

The dangerous thing is those tunnels are there for a reason and while it is rare they can flash flood in a big storm and if you're caught in one there is no getting out.

It's a unique thing to be a Mormon missionary in a place like that, not everyone believes what you do, but most see that you are trying to follow God so you are welcome anywhere. On my mission I taught a man in his living room which could have fit the entirety of my parent's two story house in it with room to spare, and I taught people that lived in the flood tunnels. It really is an amazing experience.

[u/0o_hm]

"Meet the mole people"

OK well that's one way to dehumanise the homeless

Guy 1 : I think they're just going to be normal people down on their luck

Guy 2 : Well I'm a bit disappointed by that but I'll deal...

And I'm out! I don't really want to watch these two colossal douche bags profiteer from poverty tourism off the backs of the homeless.

Fucking shamefull video and the attitude of the people making it.

[u/April_Fabb]

There's something so tragic and dystopian about these communities. Here's the same thing beneath Beijing.

[u/Mojo-Risen]

You gotta do what you gotta do ,sometimes.

[u/sterkenwald]

I just went down a rabbit hole on the rest of this guy’s channel. Definitely a great reporter, way better than I would expect from Barstool. Check out his series in Tajikistan and Buzkhashi, the local sport where people play polo with a headless goat.

[u/EchoTab]

Probably not the worst place to be if youre homeless, the darkness gotta suck though. And floods seems to be a big problem. Bless these people

[u/ryan848]

Going down into an underground tunnel, better wear my sunglasses!

[u/oftreesandwhisperers]

shame the place got blown up :(

[u/GameUpBoyHustleHardr]

When you really love heroin