LAS VEGAS—At 10:30 Friday morning, about a dozen people are waiting in line at the ticket counter for AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, patiently sitting on the floor as the exhibitors rush past. Just inside the door, a large QR code offers a site map for the show floor. Security personnel prowl the MyFreeCams area, with its exposed computer hookups. The branded MFC swag is mostly gone except for bottle openers in the company's trademark green.
The model lounge adjacent to the Brazzers area is branded with Digital Playground insignia today, with the company's AVN Award-nominated Space Junk playing on the monitor... Larger-than-life images of performers line the back wall, watching the passing parade... A sign at FabScout, a gay talent agency, asks "Do you have what it takes?"... I see former AVN senior editor Mark Kernes at a table with his new book, Preachers vs. Porn. He signs me a copy "To Tod: One of my oldest porn friends."... Chris at Foxxx Modeling says he likes the new setup: "Great lighting, big aisles."
By 12:20, the queue outside the ticket booth has grown to the edge of the casino. "Holy crap!" says a bearded guy in a Santa suit as he rounds the corner. Inside, Jill Kassidy is signing for Mynx, a new platform where fans can direct-message performers with text, audio, or video. "All the fans are being really positive. I appreciate all the love," she says. Later that afternoon, Kleio Valentien is also at Mynx. She moved to Texas, and is mostly shooting at home, but she's working with "a big star" in L.A. in February.
The Brazzers Digital Playground lounge is promoting the company's Machine Gunner, with director Ricky Greenwood and the leading cast here for signings and a discussion with podcaster (and new AVN Hall of Famer) Holly Randall. "I like the new setup," Greenwood tells me. "There's a lot of space here. We're very proud of Machine Gunner, so we want to promote it. Recently I bought a new car, and the salesman asked me what I do for a living. I told him I direct porn movies, and he told me I should watch a new one he had just seen: 'It's called Machine Gunner.'
"I told him I heard it was very good," Greenwood laughs. "Even my car dealer knows about it. It was a summer blockbuster movie, we even released it in June like a summer blockbuster. We're going to do another blockbuster this year. I just finished a western, Gold Diggers. We shot it in the desert in an old western town. It'll be released April 1, I believe."
"We had guns, and stunts, and people flipping, explosions... it was a lot of fun" Kira Noir says. "I like talking about it. I was able to meet Herschel Savage because of this movie, right before he passed. That was amazing. I was running lines with him, he took it really seriously. I'm really happy that I got to work with him."
"It's going wonderful," Zoey Foxxx says at the Nexxxt Level booth. "I'm loving it. I'm feeling honored to meet all my fans. Technically, they're paying my bills," she added with a chuckle. "I feel so much love from them being here."
Connie Perignon was signing at the Jules Jordan Video booth. "It's really packed today," she observes. "One hour down, I have seven more to go. A lot of really good fan interaction, people I saw last year. This is the best part, meeting fans. It's been a very validating experience." Blake Blossom spares me a moment between fans, saying "Every time I drive past the Magic Castle I think of you." I interviewed her in an empty showroom there one Friday morning...
Guy walking around with a milk crate full of pictures, all neatly organized and ready for autographs, on a wheeled cart... Emma Rosie at the Hookup Hotshot booth... MotorBunny is offering free rides on its vibe saddle, with staffers replacing the industrial-strength paper towels after each rider... T-shirt: VISION/CREATIVE/PASSION in white on black, with some letters in yellow, spelling out I EAT ASS... In the casino, the piped-in music plays '70s porn star Andrea True's disco hit "More, More, More." Helluva coincidence... Seka and Brittany Andrews at the AVN booth, along with Alex Coal, who is adding hopping into fans' arms to the more-traditional hugs... Texas Patti and Abella Danger at Brazzers... I do a double-take when I see a guy walking around in a big white cowboy hat. Reminds me of Max Hardcore... Lines are very polite and orderly, with a gap for foot traffic between the performer and the head of the line. Maybe a vestige of the social distancing mandated during COVID, or maybe an appreciation of privacy between the performer and the fan speaking with them. A nice touch...
Three newcomers at 101 Modeling: Aubry Babcock, who started performing last March, has done "so many scenes I've lost count. More than 20." She said she was "nervous to meet everyone, but all of the fans are so nice, and all of the people are great. Some people came just to see me, that was cool." Athena Heart, who has been working for a year and a half, is at her first AVN Show: "It's been a lot of fun. I love meeting so many different faces, so many different people, all my friends that I've worked with. There's so much positivity. People are so nice." Ellie Tay, another one-year veteran, says "It's been a lot of fun. You show up, and everybody's like family."... I later check name spellings and with 101 Modeling honcho/industry veteran Bud Lee. Gotta get 'em right...
Performer/agent Tee Reel walks through the aisles with new talent Angel Juniper, her pale skin covered by just enough lacy lingerie. She hasn’t shot a scene yet. "I met her at Fashion Week," he says... Director Jeff Mullen asks me if I'm taking notes in my red notebook. I say yes, show it to him. "It really is red!" he marvels. For some reason that surprises people... "It's going absolutely wonderfully. I'm so happy to be here," Leana Lovings says at the Our Erotic Journey booth. "There's a fan who spends all year making animal lanyards for us. He made me a little fish. I'm up for five Awards, Most Outrageous and Best Blow Bang... and some others, I don’t remember right now," she adds with a chuckle. "I'm Hustler Honey for January 2024 and I'm also a brand ambassador for Adult Time." Lovings has also directed two scenes for a new series on Adult Time and has a star showcase coming from Elegant Angel.
Chloe Amour has returned from a five-year hiatus with a d.p. scene for Hookup Hotshots. "I missed shooting. This is the first d.p. scene on their website. I've done anal and d.p., but this is super-rough sex. I was really lucky, one of the performers is Danny Mountain, we've worked together before. The other guy was Dorian Del Isla, so I had a French guy and a UK guy destroying me. I started out looking like a beautiful Barbie doll, and inside five minutes my makeup and hair was crazy. I'm a shy person, but once that camera goes on... I'd like to do a gangbang at one point. I want people to know I'm back." Amour is represented by OC Modeling.
"I got here yesterday, so this is my second day signing," Asa Akira says at the Pornhub booth. "It's going great. The fans from the era of porn that I was shooting in, it's good to see them again." Also at the Pornhub booth, Queenie Sateen has stickers with a vintage design: "I bought a bunch of vintage Playboys and I saw this and I decided 'I need to use that.' I sent it to my designer and said 'Let's copy this little Playboy moment.' That's my vibe. Vintage."
Octavia Red is signing at the Naughty America booth. "There was a lot more fan interaction than I expected, to be honest. So many people wanting to come and say hi to me. Didn't happen last year. I was very new." She has four nominations for the AVN Awards on Saturday night. "I'm looking forward to getting dressed up and saying hi to my friends."
"Good energy here at the Expo. Everybody's hot and sexy," Natassia Dreams says, signing at the Pornhub booth in G-string, garter belt and PornHub pasties. "I want to be more naked, but I don’t want to get kicked out." Next to her, Violet Myers has a massive line stretching around the back of the booth. I jokingly ask the Pornhub security person if there's a press line and she grimly but politely says "No." Hey, I tried. ... Tommy Gunn... Mick Blue walks to a corner, taps away on his cell phone, rapt in thought. I don't want to interrupt him. We exchange nods... New talent wannabe Violetta takes refuge at the corner, clearly overwhelmed by the sensory overload. We chat momentarily.
At the AVN booth, Penny Barber says, "The show is going great, because I have been going out to dinner and shopping." She indicates her signing station: "They're making me work. But that's okay, I'm having a good time." With one exception: "A guy was on my OnlyFans, and he tipped me a couple of hundred bucks, and he came here and said, 'You're going to come home with me, right?'
"'Actually, I'm not.' He was very optimistic. Very brave young man. I didn’t mind that he came out... but I have things to buy."
I chat with a Brazzers employee near Angela White's signing station and she looks up between fans and says hi. We quickly touch base before she turns her attention back to the next fan in line. She gives full attention to each fan, so I don’t want to intrude. But I didn't want to just walk by, either....
Lauren Phillips expertly sets up a selfie with a fan at the Naughty America booth at 7 pm as the Expo is winding down. She puts his phone on a tripod, mounts a halo light, sets the camera timer, poses with the guy, click. "I've been here since noon, everything is going great," she tells me. "I'm getting tired and hungry, so I'm getting goofy. I was promoting my website Elevated X, and now I'm here promoting Extra Naughty, their platform with a clip store and performer contacts. Very mobile friendly." So people can call you from the middle of nowhere? "Like they don’t do it already." She's working on continuing her BDSM series Switch for Adult Time: "It's based on my own life experience—not exactly, but based on—and we're focusing on relationships so people can relate to it better."
As the clock nears the 8 p.m. closing time, fans and attendees start to drift out. The invitation-only White Party is tonight, then one more day of Expo before the AVN Awards on Saturday evening. It's not over... but the end's in sight.
The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo runs through Saturday at Resorts World Las Vegas. It is open to the public. Admission is required for the Expo and for the AVN Awards Saturday evening.
Photos by Toby Acuna & Tod Hunter
