TEMPE, AZ—Another successful Phoenix Forum, courtesy of CCBill and the show's sponsors, came to a close on a warm spring Saturday evening, following some hard-fought games of Lightspeed-sponsored dodge ball that saw teams of naked nubiles compete with a liberating fervor.
The horde of hungry male beasts that ringed the fenced-off tennis court six deep bellowed their approval of the fierce competition. To see Joanna Angel take the field—so energetic at one point that she leapt onto the back of another topless competitor and rode her like a bronco—only made the last official activity of the show all the more... special.
But well-received spectator sport was only one measure of a show whose success seemed to reflect a renewed confidence in the future of adult entertainment. From conversations with several people representing different areas of the industry, an inescapable consensus emerged that, generally speaking, business done at the 2010 Forum far exceeded most people's expectations. Several said that they had arrived with a certain number of solid prospects in hand only to leave with double or more deals closed.
Indeed, the same story kept repeating itself. The organizer of a new, popular show said that he had locked his main sponsors in for the next two years. "I am feeling very secure for the next two years," he said, and then repeated the same words, as if he didn't quite believe them himself.
That sort of comment, heard more than once, is quite encouraging. At this show, that light at the end of the tunnel was the bright glow of the Arizona sun.
Still, the excellent business done at The Phoenix Forum as well as the good times had by all remained overshadowed by the terrible accident at Hooters Wednesday afternoon that resulted in critical injuries to Loaded Cash employee, Tabitha Farmer. Still reportedly in critical condition, her condition is said to have improved slightly, and a close friend, Tara, has posted a thread on GFY in which she provides an email address for donations as well as a place to post messages.
A new gallery of images from TPF 2010, courtesy of earlmiller.com, is here.
