From the Trenches: Sex, Porn and Sin City
YNOT – As I do every January, I recently attended the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. It’s the place to gaze upon beautiful adult actresses and to see and chat with porn insiders and friends. Yes, the hugs from the girls were nice, but it was also a pleasure to reconnect with all of the rest of the adult industry folks. Everybody of note seems to gather every year at AEE, and this year was no exception.
Upon arrival at the Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport, it became evident that attendees heading to various Computer Electronics Show venues made up much of the crowd standing in the taxi lines. While the very long line was snaking its way to the taxis, I overhead a lot of comments from CES people about their intent also to get over to AEE. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that AEE is a significant drawing card that motivates folks to sign up for CES in the first place, just so attendees also can make the rounds at AEE.
After arriving at The Venetian, I had breakfast and then headed to the AEE pressroom to get my badge. As in the past, the show was humming along like a well-oiled military operation with personable, knowledgeable, helpful AVN staff members to process us, smile, make us feel welcome, smile, and answer all of our questions while smiling and being helpful. I saw lots of genuinely happy folks in the registration room.
Upon entering AEE proper, I had an interesting walk through the business-to-business area which contained some very creative displays exhibiting an array of sex toys and other adult and miscellaneous products. From there I walked past rows of meeting rooms where adult industry buyers were doing business with manufacturers and owners, and onto the main AEE show floor. Immediately, I noticed the delicious views of porn girls at booths signing autographs and posing for photos with fans. Despite the negatives associated with rampant global porn piracy, the room was full of happy people who seemed like they had just walked into a chocolate manufacturing area with “all-you-can-eat” welcome signs disguised as sexy models smiling away.
After walking around and enjoying the entire oeuvre, I headed to the Playboy Radio booth for an interview with hostesses Christy Canyon and Nikki Hunter who were doing their show live on Sirius/XM. We turned the sexual rhetoric up a few notches, and mischievous fun broke out. We three have a reputation of sorts for letting it all hang out.
Like I mentioned earlier, AEE was the place to be. I think all fans of adult entertainment should put AEE attendance on their “bucket list.” Also for everyone’s list, year-round, I recommend these two favorites of many visitors to residents of Las Vegas: Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club and The Erotic Heritage Museum.
While in Las Vegas, I broke all my New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. Oh, well! I can rationalize a bit of it by pointing to the way the two-quart containers of ice cream are now less than that. Same with some bags of potato chips. Even the Pop-Tarts seem smaller. Gee, what does a junk food guy like me do? For the record, nibbling on carrots won’t curb my craving for chocolate. It’s funny (not!) how I have no resistance to chocolate, and how the partially eaten large chocolate candy bars have been beckoning me to get my butt off of this desk chair and into my kitchen to grab yet another chunk of candy. I know I shouldn’t buy chocolates in the first place, but I stupidly think “this time” I can eat just a nibble every few days. Wrong!
That’s enough of my rambling. Please have a great, fun, happy and healthy 2011, and let’s be extra-nice to people just because it’s the right thing to do.
Dave Cummings, “the world’s oldest porn star,” is a performer, producer and director. Visit him online at DaveCummings.com, DaveCummings.tv or DaveCummingsVOD.com.