LAS VEGAS—Though the doors didn't open to fans until January 21, the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo kicked into gear the night before with a cocktail party welcoming trade attendees and saluting the 2015 AVN Hall of Fame inductees. And thus began four days of frantic activity that would make Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas the heart of the adult entertainment world.
The next day, with an exuberant "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 2015 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo!" performer James Deen cut the ribbon opening the doors to this year's edition of the annual adult industry convention.
Deen posed for photographers holding oversized scissors before cutting the ribbon with an abrupt snip.
"The ribbon cutting was really exciting because I've never done anything like that before," Deen told AVN. "I really like the idea of being the face of porno, and they said, 'You're going to be opening the world's biggest porn convention.' That's completely awesome."
When asked what he's looking forward to at this year's AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Deen quipped, "Snacks. I'm pretty excited about that. There are some pretty good pretzels with mustard at Culinary Dropout. I'm giving away 10,000 DVDs. Every VIP show bag has a James Deen Productions DVD in it."
Once inside, fans encountered significant differences between this year's show and the 2014 incarnation. The trade-only AVN Novelty Expo moved to Festival Hall in the Paradise Tower, leaving Artist Hall open for exhibitors focused on reaching the fans. And many took the opportunity to make a splash with big booths.
Some of the space in the hall was dedicated to two of adult's most long-lived brands. Adam & Eve promoted its retail stores with a booth where fans could purchase pleasure products and adult novelties right at the show. And Penthouse had two exhibit spaces. One, in the hallway between Muse and Artist halls, offered fans a chance to pose for their own personalized Penthouse magazine cover with February Pet of the Month Kenna James. And in Artist Hall, Penthouse had a booth where attendees could sample its new branded wines and spirits. The Penthouse team poured from the collection, which includes sauvignon blanc, shiraz, pinot noir and two sparkling wines, as well as vodka, whiskey and a new blend, Whiskey & Tequila Fusion, while the adventurous could try the "Libido Libations" cherry vodka, with formulas for men and women designed to rev up sensuality.
Another brand with a long history, Adult Empire, had a booth to promote its new line of star showcases—and the star of the first one, Jenna J. Ross, was there to meet fans, along with performers Brooklyn Chase and Kayla-Jane Danger.
Speaking of liquor, first-time exhibitor Deep South Barrels showcased wooden containers that age spirits properly—just one of many exhibitors who were new to the show. Curvy Temptations and Liquid Nymph both offered apparel and accessories.
Alex Lord of BBD Galleries brought an artistic touch to the show floor. His relief sculptures of the female form were "built out of fiberglass, essentially, and custom painted. I used to build hotrods and custom paint them, so this is automotive-grade paint, and they're all one of a kind, custom made, and I love building them. They're really fun." He was at the show looking for both patrons to buy his art and models to pose for it.
A large swath of real estate in Artist Hall was taken over by r18.com, a company specializing in Japanese adult entertainment. There to greet AEE attendees were Japanese adult stars Anri Okita and Hitomi Tanaka. Other performers working the room included Nina Hartley, who mingled with shoppers at the Adam & Eve Store; Kayden Kross and Vicki Chase, signing in the Arrangement Finders space; and Chanel Preston, promoting her directorial debut for James Deen Productions at Deen's booth. A company rep at Flirt4Free expressed satisfaction at moving to a larger space for this show, and said that reps from Fleshlight would be coming to the booth for demos, along with Fleshlight Girls Joanna Angel, Teagan Presley and Alexis Texas.
Across the aisle was a large space devoted to Girls Gone Wild. Neil Kleinman was there to talk about the company's strategy at AEE. "Things are really thriving," he said. "We're looking to defend our brand, but also to build the brand, have strategic partnerships that are going to expand it around the country and around the world."
According to Kleinman, the company is still putting out DVDs and shooting proprietary footage.
"I think there's a lot of licensing potential in the brand—and new business development. We've seen a huge uptick in membership growth since we took over eight months ago, and are actively doing new marketing partnerships, and are excited about the future."
Judging by the layout of Muse Hall, it appears that the era of the big booth is back. Fully one-third of Muse Hall—the area closest to the front doors—was taken up by just six booths. On one side was Jules Jordan Video, thronged with fans seeking to meet adult superstar Jesse, who just signed a two-year contract with Jordan. Also at the booth were Anikka Albrite, Nikki Benz, Dani Daniels, Jillian Janson, Riley Reid, Romi Rain and Samantha Saint.
MindGeek took up both sides of one aisle to promote its brands: Brazzers, Digital Playground, Twistys, Playboy TV, PornHub, Reality Kings, Mofos and Babes.com. And there was the equally gigantic MyFreeCams.com booth, which took up both sides of the center aisle all the way to the rear wall.
Wicked Pictures made a good move this year—into the hallway outside Muse Hall, which allowed them plenty of room to accommodate all the fans who came to get autographs and photos with the company's bevy of stars, including Jessica Drake, Stormy Daniels and Asa Akira.
Right next to the Wicked booth was the RealDoll exhibit: three luscious-looking rubber-and-plastic versions of various Wicked Girls just waiting for some well-to-do fan to take her home and do whatever depraved things he (or she) wanted.
TS performer Venus Lux had a booth for her production company, with "girls I've shot with for content trade. I have this booth to represent my [TS] industry. Because it's such a small industry, not many companies are willing to invest a large amount of money. I gathered the girls together to represent the industry and showcase ourselves. There is a TS presence; we're not just a niche. I have a strong following, people who have followed me from my first video."
There were seven TS performers in the booth. "The fans who have stuck with us are awesome. They've stuck like glue."
Lux told AVN that her fans were happy to see her "because they don't see TS stars. It touches a different level as a fan base. I'm not here to make money, I'm here to represent."
At the Joint, the high-ceilinged performance venue was transformed into a fan's dream, with dozens of performers arrayed in booths to chat, pose for pictures, and sign autographs for fans. The bar in the back of the room was doing brisk business, and this year it was supplemented with a bar in the front of the house on the dance floor near the stage. A DJ kept the energy up with carefully chosen rock anthems interspersed with witty additions like Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls": "They grow up in the most delightful ways ..."
All around the stage were booths promoting some of the biggest names in adult entertainment. Evil Angel was on the left side, with fans lining up in front of a backdrop that depicted the stars there to sign for the adult studio: Samantha Bentley, Bonnie Rotten, Skin Diamond, Lea Lexis and Chanel Preston. Equally impressive was a banner detailing Evil Angel's 139 AVN Award nominations. In addition to DVDs, fans could also purchase apparel and accessories—hats and merch bearing the snappy red "Evil" logo, and slinky dresses, leggings and "cameltoe" thong underwear decorated with artwork of sinuous young beauties.
At right was Girlfriends Films, where the studio's contract performers Prinzzess Felicity Jade and Mindi Mink were surrounded by popular starlets, including Dana DeArmond, Carter Cruise and Dakota Sky. The studio was in the same space it occupied at the last AEE, but this year it was also at the expo to support the various companies that it distributes. Tasha Reign and Angela White, whose companies release through GFF, were at the booth, and across the way were exhibit spaces for ArchAngel and Homegrown Video, which are both distributed by the studio as well.
Performers Kendra Lust and Nina Elle were signing at ArchAngel on the first day of the show. "We have myself, MimeFreak, we have Los Dee, we have Tori Black," director MimeFreak told AVN. "We're just workin', man. I have two showcases coming out when I get back. We just finished Kendra Lust, we have Jada Stevens' The Booty Queen. ... We're going to do Karmen Karma and A.J. Applegate. We want to give the girls an opportunity to do something cool and live their dream."
Nina Elle was at the booth, signing copies of her own newly released ArchAngel showcase. "I always have so much fun, being able to meet all my fans in person," she said. "The faces behind the tweets. Some fans come every year, and it's great to see them again."
Current technology has made the collection of footage much easier, Josh said. "With video on the cell phones, it's easier for them to shoot and send. Back in the day, it was VHS, you had to mail it in. Now we'll put out a press release saying, 'We need this video' and in an hour and a half we have them sent to us. The age of technology has helped us tenfold."
Some traditions still hold, Josh said. "When the Homegrown Video line got to 800, we changed the name, so we didn't have 800 things in a line. When we did it, we got a bunch of emails from people saying, 'You're messing up my collection. I collected all 800 DVDs and you changed the name.' We re-established the numbers. You realize the market's still there. At the end of the day that's what they want."
Every Homegrown DVD sold at AEE came with a free month subscription on the Homegrown website. "It's like a suggestion box. You give us a good suggestion, we can extend your subscription. We've gotten some good suggestions already, but I can't tell you what they are," Josh said with a smile.
In addition to her presence at the ArchAngel booth, Tori Black also was one of several prominent stars featured at the AEBN booth. "My first thought is 'What am I doing here again?' but it's nice to see all the fans," Black said between autographs. "A lot of people come out. Even though it's a lot of work and you get exhausted and everybody gets sick and all that stuff, it's really nice that people come out and say hi. I love it."
Another attraction at AEBN were monitors showcasing the top 40 stars, as ranked by the fans of the VOD site. In the top spot was Adriana Chechik, and the star was there in the flesh at the booth, with fans lined up to meet her.
Also drawing fans at AEBN was Allie Haze. "This is my sixth year, and I've been privileged to sign from day one," Haze said. "I'm having more fun this year because I actually took time for myself. I'm going to enjoy the atmosphere more. I've learned. The older you get, the more fun it gets. There are so many familiar fan faces. My fans know I remember faces, but not names, so we have fun with that."
Cindy Starfall occupied a booth with Tia Kai, right next to AEBN. "It's going great," she said. "I enjoy having my own booth. I can show off my DVDs, pictures, T-shirts and everything else. It's very roomy. I expect to meet my new fans and see the old ones. It's starting awesome."
Another prominent class of exhibitor at AEE: talent representation agencies, including 101 Modeling, ATMLA, Coxxx Models, Foxxx Modeling, Ideal Image, LA Direct, LAX, Matrix Models, Motley Models, OC Modeling, Spiegler Girls and the VIP Connect. The majority of these were in The Joint. And between them they brought hundreds of performers to the show, from brand-new girls to veterans.
"I've done about 15 videos so far. I only do girl/girl, so the market is a little less," newbie Alix Lynx told AVN. "I'm still getting my feet wet."
"It's part of my job. I show up and do it," veteran Julia Ann said with a smile. "It's still fun. I'd be home if it wasn't."
And for some, the show itself is like home. "I've missed it. It's a part of me," said returning veteran Ruby, signing with PAW. "I've missed everybody so badly. I'm seeing faces from 20 years ago. It's my family. My porn family. I'm here for good now. Mama's home. It's gonna be OK."
Reporting by Tod Hunter, Mark Kernes and Sharan Street.
Pictured above: Tori Black, Joanna Angel, Nikki Benz, Dana DeArmond, Bonnie Rotten. Photos by Chris King
