2013 AVN/AEE: Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian get shout-out; porn industry ponders L.V. move
Steven Lawton/WireImage
Adult-film actress Bree Olson arrives for a night at The Act Nightclub in the Palazzo on Friday, Jan. 18,2013.
By Robin Leach (contact)
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 | 11:58 p.m.
Stills by Alan
James Deen at the 2013 AVN Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013.
Stills by Alan
Asa Akira at the 2013 AVN Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 19, 20! 13.
SpyOnVegas
Lupe Fuentes and The Ex-Girlfriends at LAX in the Luxor.
SpyOnVegas
Brett Rossi and Phoenix Marie at LAX in the Luxor.
If the adult-film industry moves to Las Vegas seeking refuge from newly enacted regulations in L.A., then, indirectly, well have Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian to thank.
Those two stars and their celebrity sex tapes have had more to do with making porn more acceptable than any others, L.A. Direct Models owner Derek Hay told me during the 2013 Adult Entertainment Expo and Adult Video News Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel. They made it much more OK to be in porn these days.
We now have a whole legion of ! girls who! are happy to do what they did on video, so much so we have more girls wanting to work than there are films to shoot, he continued. Im guessing theres safely 100 new girls a month coming to Hollywood to audition to be in XXX movies.
I can only take one or two, though, a week. The business has consolidated and contracted, the British talent agent added.
Derek brought more than 40 of the adult-entertainment industrys stars here for the annual convention. He predicted that his newest client, 22-year-old Rikki Sixx, a genuine Barbie doll lookalike, will be next years big award-winning star.
The main conversation at this years gathering centered on Measure B passed in L.A. that requires on-camera performers to shoot their sex scenes wearing condoms. Its prompted talk about relocating to more favorable Las Vegas.
Industry leader Steve Hirsch, head of Vivid Entertainment, told awards attendees at The Joint that the industry will fight it with lawyers. On the red carpet, stars such as Jessica Drake, Taylor Wayne and Jessica Jaymes talked with me about a possible move here.
Our thanks to Richard Corey for his YouTube videos. I also talked with Las Vegas porn star Teagan Presley and her husband, filmmaker Joshua, about the sex industrys possible relocation and his promise to the mayor to make 24 Adam & Eve features a year here.
Im no expert in this field, so I turned to colleague Richard Abowitz, who monitors the industry for The Daily Beast. He told me the current state of the business and whats ahead for 2013: The industry is still suffering horribly from the recession. And, even more horribly, from piracy. Very few producers are on the floor still compared to even a few years ago. Just four to five are left of what was once a couple dozen big-name studios at AEE.
One of the big producers/directors left on the floor told me that he still does this out of enjoying the AEE but that he made his money in 2005. A totally different producer/director told me his daughters ! lemonade ! stand earned more than his last movie. That said, she must have sold a lot of lemonade, as his sales manager told me it pre-shipped $90,000 is sales.
The one big exception is Girlfriends films, whose CEO tells me every year that their DVD sales are up, and a couple of independent distributors confirmed it. Girlfriends thinks the difference is that they have been hardcore aggressive against piracy using three companies to file suits and demand takedowns of copyright infringements from sites.
But while the bad continues as DVDs die, the industry also seems to be finally adapting, if in tiny, scaled-down ways. A lot of the major porn companies and performers are moving into adult novelties and toy lines, which cant be stolen off the web.
A lot of the porn performers and even nonperformers (who would have once gone into porn) are using the web to move into cam shows. It is impossible to pirate the interactive quality between performer and viewer of a cam show. I spoke to a cam girl who has never done porn, but she earns $1,200 to $1,500 a week consistently and has been paying for her graduate school with it. A performer who has built up a big name in porn can earn even more.
It was the 15th anniversary of AEE with parties, products and prizes. The exotic novelties, toys and adult products in the three ballrooms of the Hard Rock were little different than the aisles of Toys R Us -- except that this definitely isnt for kids. There also was an upstairs lair set up as an interactive fetish area.
There were three days of seminars ranging from multimedia benefits to the newest money-making opportunities with technology changes. There was a boutique Adult Novelty Expo, which has already tied in with the large International Lingerie Show as an annual September convention.
The 30th annive! rsary AVN! Awards at The Joint, co-hosted by the popular Jesse Jane and Asa Akira, who along with James Deen were two of the nights big winners, capped the 96 hours of nothing but sex.
On the red carpet, I talked with Gigolos stud Nick Hawk, who has had body parts re-created for sale as novelty products. Vegas DeLuxe reported on several of the AVN parties hosted by, among others, Bree Olson and Jenna Jameson. Heres the final wrap:
Veronica Avluv, Christy Mack, Brett Rossi, Yurizan Beltran and Kirsten Prince of 101 Modeling and their entourages partied at LAX in the Luxor. At Pure in Caesars Palace, it was the official Penthouse party with 2013 Pet of the Year Nicole Aniston, Nikki Benz and 2012 Pet of the Month Adrianna Luna.
Wicked Girls Alektra Blue, Jessica Drake, Kaylani Lei and Samantha Saint partied at Tao in The Venetian. Inari Vachs and Devon Michaels hosted Porn Stars Takeover 2 at Crazy Horse III. Lupe Fuentes and The Ex-Girlfriends partied and performed at LAX in the Luxor.
Digital Playgrounds AVN After-Party was at Vanity in the Hard Rock with Jesse Jane, Kayden Kross, Riley Steele, Stoya, Selena Rose, Brett Rossi, Emily Addison and Taylor Vixen. Also at Vanity, the Wicked Girls hosted their official party with Jessica Drake, Kaylani Lei, Stormy Daniels, Alektra Blue and Samantha Saint. All danced to the music of resident DJ Wellman.
With or without a move here, by this time next year all the porn princesses and producers said theyll be back for the annual festival of flesh. Derek Hay summed up: Its the biggest week in our year. We love Las Vegas, and we wouldnt miss this for the world.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the worlds premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter! .com/Robi! n_Leach.
Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.
Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
Arguably one the coolest joints in town, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino houses some of Vegas' best entertainment, restaurants and nightlife.
At Hard Rock, it's all about the music. From the light fixtures made out of drum cymbals and guitar shaped door handles to stage costumes and tools of the trade of legendary musicians displayed on the walls, the hotel screams rock and roll. The Hard Rock's Joint has hosted some the biggest names in music from The Who to Bob Dylan to hometown heroes, The Killers.
Aside from the music venues, the pool at the Hard Rock is one of its biggest attractions. Spread out over 4.7 acres, the pool area features swim-up blackjack, a bar and grill, private cabanas, a bevy of secluded nooks, a waterfall and an extensive live music venue with a dance floor. During the summer, the pool transforms into the Rehab club on Sunday afternoons.The resident nightclub Body English fuses European elegance with a rock star bachelor pad and it often a hot spot for visiting celebs and popular DJs. Vintage rock memorabilia lines the walls at Wasted Space, Hard Rock's anti-club.
Restaurants at Hard Rock are just as hip as the rest of the casino. Pink Taco serves up Mexican dishes, as well as a Central American and Caribbean menu. Nobu, one of five worldwide Japanese-specialty restaurants from famed Nobu Ma! tsuhisa, ! satisfies a different taste. For round-the-clock cuisine, Mr. Lucky's 24/7, is sure to ease your appetite even after a Vegas-all-nighter.
4455 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV 89169
702-693-5000The Joint, which holds 4,000 people, features seven luxury suites, a VIP studio level, a state-of-the-art sound system and a superior video system.
It has received numerous accolades including Best Concert Venue in Las Vegas Review-Journals Best of Las Vegas awards in 2010, 2011 and 2012, No. 1 Hottest Club in America award by Billboard Magazine in 2011, Best New Major Concert Venue at the 2010 Pollstar Awards, and Best Live Music Venue in AOL Citys Best 2010 awards.
The Joint has been the venue for concerts by Paul McCartney, The Killers, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Arcade Fire, Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N Roses, Rise Against, Paramore, Muse, Drake and No Doubt. The venue hosted Vegass first rock n roll residency, "Supernatural Santana: A Trip through the Hits," and in February 2012, Vegass first hard rock residency, "Mtley Cre in Sin City." In 2011, the venue welcomed "Tisto In Concert," a groundbreaking live show created exclusively for The Joint featuring the worlds No. 1 electronic DJ and producer Tisto.
4455 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV 89169
702-693-5000