What is Clip Joint?
1.
A so-called hostess bar, with names like "Pink Pussy House", where a ugly skanky whore stands in the doorway attempting to attract the attention of a mark.
The mark, should he be seduced by "porno film showing" or "live sex right now", is charged £5 entry fee, and is led into the bar.
The bar is a badly decorated room, usually empty, with cheap tables, and reggae music playing in the background. The front girl returns to the front door.
An equally trashy ho waitress brings the mark a menu advertising a pint of beer for £4, glass of champagne for £10, basically drinks at double the local pub prices.
Mark buys pint of beer for £4, but get served a glass of watered down piss.
A large male then presents him with a bill for anything between £100-£500, depending on how rich Mark look.
If the mark haven't the cash on him, a second large male suddenly appear out of nowhere, and the two large men escorts the mark to the nearest cash machine, so that the mark can withdraw the cash.
They may not explicitly threaten violence, but look hard enough so as too discourage Mark not to mess about with them.
There are several in London. After ripped off tourists complain to Westminster Office of Fair Trading, an official accompanied by a vanload of police officers close down the place.
Magically, a few days later, another so-called hostess bar reopens under a new name, run by the same outfit.
Mark entered a clip joint and left with £375 lighter, and with an intense desire to kill one of those filthy hos.
See
2.
Quasi-whorehouse where men are sold cheap beverages at outrageous prices and are aroused by various well known methods, but are rarely allowed to consummate the sexual act they think will take place. The con relies upon the mark's gullibility in believing that if they buy enough drinks or put enough dollars in a garter, they'll accomplish their instinct-driven goal. A particularly cooperative mark is often led to a supposedly private residence. After a time (perhaps after multiple visits) the whore's husband bursts upon the scene and further shakes down the mark. The methods of clip joint operation are also the methods of clandestine operations. Owing to the duplication of method, clip joints are often the scene of complex undercover operations where agents frequently (mistakenly) entrap each other.
The clip joint known as the Longhorn Ballroom produced some interesting syncronicities, having been operated by Jack Ruby at one time, under the legal eye of Mister Mayer, whose clout with the legal system is the stuff of legend.
See
