The show floor got a late start Sunday with last night’s AVN Awards Show and the resulting celebrating afterwards making show exhibitors stumble in a bit late to their booths. No worries about the late entries, though — the fans weren’t deterred. Initial estimates on attendance from Carrie Dieterich, VSDA vice president of marketing and industry relations, put the amount of attendees at over 30,000 people. Dieterich said she is “almost certain” that attendance at the show will top last year’s final show totals.
Anabolic director Sal Genoa chose to go to the movies last night instead of attend the AVN Awards. Genoa does not recommend Quentin Tarantino’s latest, Hostel but he had porn cutie Kat all ready to give his acceptance speech which would have consisted of her saying “Yeah!” if the man had actually won for his latest Artcore.
“The show floor was really good this year. Sometimes I was shocked to look up and see how many photographers were shooting our girls. It’s this weird magnetic force that makes them start shooting or something. We had Mini-Me [Verne Troyer] stop by which was cool, too….it’s funny I know everyone is going to say to AVN, ‘Wow, the show was awesome’ but this was my eighth one of these and I thought it was really cool,” Genoa said.
Metro director Rob Rotten was curled up in the fetal position under Hillary Scott’s Red Light District signing platform for a while this morning.
“Dude, I got kicked out of the Awards Show for blowing up condoms and making them into balloons and batting them around. It was really fun but then I got asked to leave. ... I think I am going to go vomit on myself,” the tattooed but green Rotten said.
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NJ Films was all about the glow, though, having received the company’s first ever AVN Award in the Best Specialty — Foot Fetish category for Coxxx & Soxxx 4.
NJ co-founder John Knowles said of their Vegas experience, “The show has been awesome and we have had so much fun. The booth has been busy and we won an award — we had five nominations and won one and a lot bigger companies didn’t win anything. We are so excited and so honored. It feels so great.”
Platinum Blue Productions co-founder Skye Blue didn’t manage to take any Lucite home with her this trip but she was enthused about what her company’s first year at the show did for her business.
“I got to put the faces with the people who we just started relationships with this year — the vendors, the distributors — and everybody has been so receptive to the product and we needed that assistance in the beginning because what we do is more vignette-y and not so gonzo-y. After meeting with everybody and talking to them, they could really see what our product is about and it’s being welcomed to the plethora of erotica that’s being made,” Blue said, adding, “This was a big show but it was fun. It wasn’t crazy. People were so much more in control and really interested in seeing what kind of entertainment is out there.”
Pulse Distribution also did well with its first AVN Expo appearance. Vice President of Sales Janet T. said, “We are extremely excited about the exposure that we had as a first year company. We got an incredible response and I think that was due to our positioning and the traffic we had. Everything was perfect.”
Wicked Pictures contract performer Julia Ann echoed the sentiment about the vibe on the floor. “The show was a lot of fun this year and I got to see a lot of hot chicks like Christy Canyon, too. It was crowded and I got to sign with a group of new girls and it’s going to be fun to watch these new contract girls grow. Carmen Hart’s a pistol, that one.”
Signing in Wildlife Productions’ booth was Best Threeway participant Tyla Wynn, who had just said goodbye to her mom who had come into town from Houston for the show.
“I am so proud of my daughter. She’s a wonderful person,” Laura said of Wynn.
“This is my second trophy so I think I am going to try to collect them in a little cabinet,” Wynn said with an impish smile.
Video Team’s Christian Mann has done many of the Expos in the past and compared this year’s show favorably.
“From a sales perspective, the show was better than last year. The buyers came motivated to buy, they brought their friends with them and in addition to the usual query buyer, there were guys out here who were ready to spend money. It leads me to believe that the retail business is doing well and that these people must have depleted inventory with an immediate need to get something on the shelf. People out there are buying product with whatever perceived glut of product there is and that’s good,” Mann said.
For information on attending next year’s AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, check AVN.com for updates.
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