Like an X-rated circus in three rings, the 2006 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo opened today in three separate halls of the SandsExpoCenter at the Venetian Hotel.
Hall A, on the second floor, was center stage for the exhibitor flash and crowd flow, with Internext and the B2B Marketplace in adjoining chambers downstairs.
At nine o’clock in the morning, with the show due to open in one hour, many exhibitors were still putting finishing touches on their booths. Some were struggling to get their booths up at all.
As workmen attempted to piece together the booth for Extreme Associates 2.0, Chuck Zane, Extreme’s foreign rep, grimaced. Apparently, a certain contractor had gone bust at the last minute, leaving his 10 exhibitor clients scrambling to DIY with well-meaning help from Sands Expo crews. “We’ll probably get it up by Sunday,” Zane said with a dry laugh.
Smash Pictures improvised with counters and chairs on a red carpet next to a curtained area that shielded their booth components, piled up like the pieces of a giant Lego set. Zero Tolerance, New Sensations and Adam & Eve were among the other companies affected.
But the real novelty this year was the double-floor system.
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“Is this where JM and Kick Ass and all those guys are?” asked an adorable but confused Missy Monroe, as she raced through the B2B section. “I’m so turned around.” When told that she was on the wrong level, she giggled, “No wonder I can’t find anybody!”
Starlets Alana Evans and Christie Lee were also among the lost — “We’ve been walking around and we don’t see any companies”—as were company owners Nicholas Steele (Ultimate) and Mark Kulkis (Kick Ass Pictures).
The expanded B2B Marketplace was this year’s most striking feature. Created specifically two years ago for exhibitors who don’t want to deal with consumers at all, it has grown by 40 percent, according to Carrie Dietrich of Home Entertainment Events, the show management. “It is primarily but not exclusively devoted to novelties,” she said, “and was set up to drive trade directly to buyers in a quiet place more conducive to doing business.”
Their slogan is “All Business All the Time” and that was very much the spirit in Hall G, on the Sands’ ground floor. Indeed, it looked like a different world, with smaller booths, clearer aisles, no long lines or popping flashes.
Sextoys, lotions, lubes, lingerie — everything from body jewelry to armored safes—was on display. Many exhibitors would be familiar to attendees of ANE (Adult Novelty Expo) or Erotica LA.
“It’s definitely an improvement over previous years,” said Robert of GVA-TVN, whose booth was positioned right up front. But, he added, “there’s still a lot of non-business related people.”
“It’s much better to be away from the craziness upstairs,” said Meir of Alexander Institute, a distributor of sex-ed videos.
“For us it’s excellent,” said Ken Shugerman of East Coast News, whose parent company Pleasure/IVD had a booth amidst the second-floor madness. “Consumers were a concern [in the past], taking time away, time that you want to spend with qualified people.”
Lou of New Beginnings said the arrangement “keeps the looky-loos out. We’ve had stuff stolen from the booth in the past.” This year there were no missing vibrators, and the New Beginnings staff was looking forward to their Saturday brunch, a long-running Expo tradition, where they’ll be “doing a lot of business” as usual.
Dave and Lynn Swanson of Chatsworth-based M&M Enterprises, summed up reaction to the B2B concept. “It’s a great opportunity to meet our customers one on one,” Dave said. “They love it and we’re able to cultivate more customers. In the fan area it was almost impossible.”
“I can hear myself talking now,” Lynn said, “I don’t have to waste my time screaming at people. I love it here.” She added, “Our customers enjoy the DVD section, but they need a place to sit down and write orders and make a business commitment too.”
Upstairs, by the 10 a.m. opening (trade only today) the first porn stars were already popping up at the booths: Mercedez, Lanny Barbie and Savanna Samson at Vivid Entertainment Group, Julia Ann and Jessica Drake at Wicked Pictures, Belladonna and Jenna Haze (star of Jules Jordan’s upcoming The Dark Side of Jenna Haze) at Evil Angel, Joanna Angel at VCA, Sunny Lane at New Sensations, Kinzie Kenner and Tiana Lynn at Elegant Angel. At the Club Jenna booth McKenzie Lee drew a crowd early and La Jameson herself was promised from noon to 3.
The big companies whose booths have made the Expo the world’s most potent porn-fan magnet were all present, bigger than ever. But a lot of the newer companies, who a year ago were just start-ups or not even in existence, also had substantial booths, including Defiance Films, Anarchy/Python, X-Worx, Colossal, Pulse, Rockman Entertainment, Amorz, Naughty America.
Bo Kinney’s Sex Z Pictures was back beneath the striking red-orange arches that created such a splash at their debut two yearsw ago, this year sharing the space with Kevin Beechum’s Cherry Boxxx and Baby Doll.
Another striking presence were companies spawned on the Internet, such as Bang Productions, Pink Visual Productions, and the newly named Spice Studios which just acquired Cinemaplay Entertainment and its owner Adult.com. Spice recently completed a trio of big-budget features directed by veteran Bud Lee: The Sex Whisperer, to be released this spring (a trailer was on display at the booth), plus Fly Spice 1 and 2.
The ongoing market viability of DVD reissues of classic porn was reflected in the big new booth of Video-X-Pix, with its lifesize posters of porn icons like Annie Sprinkle. VCX was also on the floor, and Caballero, which last year released many classic titles from its huge catalog, had a bigger booth presence than they’ve had in years. At the Arrow booth Paul Interlandi previewed their Hi-Def version of the classic Deep Throat, made from the newly discovered original negative.
By midday, everything on the main floor seemed to be purring along, right on course. Extreme was making progress with its booth assembly and Missy Monroe had located JM Productions where she danced alluringly, nearly naked in bikini bottom and pasties, egged on by Ashley Blue.
The real craziness was only about to begin — when the show opens to fans at noon on Friday.
To view a gallery from Day 1 of the show, click here.
