LAS VEGAS—After a three-year absence from Las Vegas, ED Publications' annual Gentlemen’s Club Expo made its return last week at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, highlighted by the Adult Nightclub & Exotic Dancer Awards, aka the ED's Awards Show, on August 16 at the Paris Theater.
Organziers report that this year’s convention boasted more attendees than any Expo in over a decade.
“We certainly expected this year’s Expo to be well attended, given that we haven’t hosted our convention in Vegas since 2019,” ED Publications’ publisher Dave Manack said. “But even we were pleasantly surprised at the increased and impressive turnout. People missed the Expo, they missed the opportunity to get together with friends and fellow industry pros. I think it’s safe to say that the industry—and the Expo—are back in a big way.”
The three-day event offered a slate full of networking events, seminars, parties, a 100-booth business-to-business tradeshow and the annual awards show. Big ED’s Award winners included Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami, which was voted the Overall Club of the Year, and Deja Vu, which received the Club Chain of the Year award. The industry’s top entertainers were also represented with such honors as Feature Entertainer of the Year, which was presented to Justice, while Shar Zayn took the title of EDI Overall Champion for the second year in a row (recognizing the top honoree in national showgirl dance competition The Exotic Dancer Invitational).
“Our ED’s Awards Show (sponsored in 2022 by Knights Global) is the marquee event of the Annual Expo; it’s our chance to celebrate the top adult clubs, feature entertainers and club staff from across the nation,” Manack said. “Our comedian host Bret Ernst was in top form, as were our two entertainer performers, Ms Parker and Shar Zayn. We’re already looking forward to our 25th annual ED’s Awards Show in 2023!”
Other Expo 2022 highlights included the return of the “ED University” Certification Seminars, the EDI National Finals (held at Deja Vu Showgirls), the Opening Night “Kick-Off” Party at the Hustler Club, and the $10,000 Lingerie Contest, held at Spearmint Rhino. Lingerie contest winners included feature entertainer Autumn Knights (First Place), Stella of the Hustler Club in New York City (Second) and Shar Zayn (Third). Full coverage of the 2022 Expo will be featured in the September issue of ED Magazine.
The full list of winners from the 2022 ED’s Awards Show follows:
Overall Club of the Year: Tootsie’s Cabaret, Miami
Overall “Small” Club of the Year: 2001 Odyssey, Tampa
Club Chain of the Year: Deja Vu
Club of the Year East: Sapphire, New York City
Club of the Year South: Dancers Royale, Orlando, FL
Club of the Year Midwest: Peppermint Hippo, Neenah, WI
Club of the Year West: Spearmint Rhino, Las Vegas
“Feature” Club of the Year: Michael’s Men's Club, Broussard, LA
Urban Club of the Year: G5ive, Miami
Businesswoman of the Year: Stephanie Wilbanks, The Pony Clubs
General Manager of the Year: Jessica Armstrong, CLUB SINROCK, Portland, OR
Club Employee of the Year: Mike Watkins, Bucks Cabaret
DJ of the Year: Jeb Jarrell, Pony Bama, Huntsville, AL
EDI 2022 Overall Champion: Shar Zayn
Feature Entertainer of the Year: Justice
Club Favorite Entertainer of the Year: Daizha “OctoBooty” Morgann
Newcomer Entertainer of the Year: Hayla Faye
Miss ExoticDancer.com of the Year: Bambi Wilde
Exotic Dancer Hall of Fame: Warren Colazzo (Thee Dollhouse, Tampa)
For more information on the Annual Gentlemen’s Club Expo, visit theEDexpo.com. For more information on ED Publications, visit ExoticDancer.com, call (727) 726-3592, or email [email protected].
Pictured: Shar Zayn
