Things keep on rolling along as the 2003 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, the largest adult tradeshow on Earth, finishes up its second day. Exhibitors keep on exhibiting, fans keep on fanning, and the booth girls keep on smilin' (and signing their names).rnrn
On the front of video productions companies, most are reporting the day as a big success. AVN.com caught up with AVN Award winning director Michael Raven at Sin City's elaborate, tropically themed booth (complete with 100 gallon fish tanks and a surfboard) and asked him how day two was treating Sin City. "We're doing really well," Raven said. "The Twins are signing here, and they seem to be really popular, and Karina has signed a lot of posters, and a lot of really good business is being done... Compared to last year, there are more booths, more participants and the crowds are about the same. It's a great show."rnrn
Wicked Pictures drew throngs with their roster of hot contract stars and their tastefully decorated booth. "It's been a wonderful day for interaction with the fans," Daniel Metcalf, Wicked's Publicist, told AVN.com. "we had a press photo op and a fan photo op here at the booth, at 4 o'clock, we had a press photo op at a billboard across the street from the Venetian. So it's been a very exciting second day for us."rnrn
New Sensations' publicist Jeff Mullen reported the second day as "an unqualified success. It's just been fantastic for us." And Rex Ryder of Rex Ryder Entertainment told AVN.com: "I'm really pleased; I'm like a kid at Christmas."rnrn
Wicked contract star Devinn Lane agreed. "The second day of AAEE has been great," she said, between poster signings and posing for fan snapshots. "It's so fun to get there and meet the fans of my movies, with Wicked Pictures, and fans of my Playboy TV show. This is what the show is really about, meeting the fans."rnrn
Uncontracted stars also enjoyed the opportunity to chat up their admirers and well-wishers. Enthusiastic French porno babe Lily French said, "I love it. It's overwhelming getting so much attention, people lining up to get a glimpse of your panties."rnrn
Daisy Chain, signing at the Elegant Angel booth, said the crowd was "much more fluid than the first day, and the fans are much more attractive than yesterday."rnrn
Smaller, newer companies were also having a good time. Richard Sales of Union Jaxxx, a U.K. based adult production company reported, "It's going fabulous. We just launched in November; it went over really well. We're back here now, and everyone loves it. "rnrn
On the retail front, small players were using the convention floor to make the connections they need to become larger players. Mike Walcott of Hardline Trading, a manufacturer of over 60 different styles of anatomically correct plush toys told AVN.com, "The show is going very well for us. We've picked up a lot of new customers."rnrn
Among the many fascinating stories on the show floor, Loveinleather.com, a manufacturer of leather bondage gear, clothing and novelties, from Australia. "Basically, I started off as a saddle manufacturer," Said Leanne Hill, founder of the small company. "Leather is worth more by weight than gold, so I was looking for a way to use the pieces of scrap leather left over from making saddles, and making this bondage stuff seemed like a great idea... People can't believe I've traveled all the way from Australia to show off my stuff here, but it's true." rnrn
Of course not everyone had a rosy view of the way the second day of the show was going. Patrick Collins, outspoken president of Elegant Angel, thought that the Expo wasn't drawing enough fans. In Collins' eyes, the main reason for the sparser than usual attendance was the ticket price. "This is all about the fucking fans, man." Collins told AVN.com, "If they don't get the fans in here, with a low enough price, so the fans can enjoy this thing 'cause these are the people who buy our movies, if they can't get them in here, I ain't coming back."rnrn
Speaking of fans, the ones AVN.com chatted with seemed to be having a great time, and there was no shortage of them out on the convention floor. Tom F., an adult movie aficionado in town from Akron, Ohio, had this to say: "I'm really in town for the CES [Consumer Electronics Show], but I thought I'd stop by here too. This is definitely a wilder convention."rnrn
By far the biggest drama of the day: the reappearance of the adult mega-star Tera Patrick. Apparently, the ex Digital Playground contract girl entered the convention floor and began signing at Sharon Mitchell's AIM booth. Word got back to the brass at Digital Playground, and a representative was sent over to AIM's booth to "educate" Patrick as to the legal ramifications of her decision to sign for another company.
