Day 1: What You Missed Yesterday at AEE

LAS VEGAS—Though the doors didn't open to fans until yesterday, the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo kicked into gear the night before with a cocktail party welcoming members of the industry 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 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 rolled out its new collection of wines, spirits and “Libido Libations.” Another brand with a long history, Adult DVD 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. Speaking of liquor, first-time exhibitor Deep South Barrels showcased wooden containers that age spirits properly—just one of many other exhibitors were new to the show. Curvy Temptations and Liquid Nymph both offered apparel and accessories. One of the larger spaces 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, 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 tomorrow reps from Fleshlight would be coming to the booth for demos, along with Fleshlight Girls Joanna Angel, Teagan Presley and Alexis Texas. 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—are just six booths. On one side was Jules Jordan Video, thronged with fans seeing to meet adult superstar Jesse, who just signed a two-year contract with Jordan. Also appearing at the booth throughout the week will be Anikka Albrite, Nikki Benz, Dani Daniels, Riley Reid and Romi Rain. MindGeek took up both sides of one aisle to promote all of its brands: Brazzers, Twisty's, Playboy TV, PornHub, Reality Kings, MOFOs and Babes.com. And there also was the equally gigantic MyFreeCams.com booth, which took up both sides of the center aisle all the way to the rear wall of the hall. Looks like Wicked Pictures made a good move this year—into the hallway outside Muse Hall, which will allow them plenty of room to accommodate all the fans who've come 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 is the RealDoll exhibit: three luscious-looking rubber-and-plastic version of various Wicked Girls just waiting for some well-to-do fan to take her home and do whatever depraved things he (or she) wants. One thing convention attendees won't have to worry about is charging their cellphones. Both Gizmo Expert in Muse Hall, and ProTech, another similar retailer in Artist Hall, have a large selection of not only solar cellphone chargers, but also more protective phone cases than anyone can shake a stick at. For those who are missing a bit of religion with their adult entertainment, AEE is here to help. As has been the case for more than a dozen years now, the XXX Church is again passing out copies of their Jesus Loves Porn Stars literature, including Biblical selections, while an adjacent booth, Naked Truth, has both books and DVDs examining, from a pro-Christian outlook, the relationship between adult entertainment and Jesus. 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 is 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 selected rock anthems interspersed with witty additions like Maurice Chevalier singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls": "They grow up in the most delightful ways …" Talent representation agencies including 101 Modeling, ATMLA, Foxxx Modeling, Ideal Image, LA Direct, Motley Models, OC Modeling and Spiegler Girls staffed booths with their clients as well as production companies Arch Angel, Burning Angel, and Girlfriends Films. Evil Angel, at stage right, posted a talent signing schedule that includes Samantha Bentley, Skin Diamond, Chanel Preston and Bonnie Rotten. "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." "My first thought is 'What am I doing here again?' but it’s nice to see all the fans," Tori Black said between autographs at the AEBN booth. "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.” "It's awesome. This is my fourth year and I'm nominated for Best Actress this year [for This Ain't Girls XXX]," AVN Awards nominee Alex Chance said. "I'm really excited about it, I just met a bunch of fans who came here just to see me. I'm looking forward to another awesome year this year.” Also in year four is Ana Foxxx. "It's amazing. I never thought I would be here this long. I never thought I would be in a calendar and in a book and have my own lube. It's nice to meet the fans. They're keeping up with me, makes me feel like I'm doing a good job. Everybody makes me feel amazing.” Best New Starlet nominee Chanell Heart said, "It is amazing to be here. It's awesome because I'm nominated. I feel like a winner, and I've won nothing yet. I'm looking forward to meeting my fans and interacting with people. I want to see my porno friends, too.” Newbie Kate England, who has done 35 scenes starting in her home base in Florida before relocating to L.A., told AVN "I'm looking forward to all of it. Walking the red carpet, meeting fans. It's pretty awesome." Two-year veteran Nina Elle, signing at the Arch Angel booth, said, ”I always have so much fun, being able to meet all my fans in person. The faces behind the tweets. Some fans come every year, and it's great to see them again.” “It's fuckin' awesome. I love it," Leya Falcon said. "I love meeting all the people and seeing everyone that I know again. I live here, so I normally go to everyone else. Now they're all coming to me. Makes life a little easier.” "This is my sixth year, and I've been privileged to sign from day one," Allie 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." "It's what I like to call organized chaos. It's absolute chaos," Ash Hollywood said. "But it's also fun. It's the place where I get to meet the most condensed amount of fans.” "It's like being home. I've missed it. It's a part of me," veteran and returning performer Ruby, who is signing at the PAW booth, told AVN. "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.” Fans who went to the "Sex Is..." panels got a peek inside the industry as major stars and directors shared some of the secrets of the trade. Industry scribe Gram Ponante moderated as directors Eli Cross, Jacky St. James and Will Ryder regaled listeners with stories of merriment and mayhem on adult shoots. Jessica Drake, the ambassador of the "Sex Is..." program, shared some of the tips she has learned directing her educational series, Jessica Drake's Guide to Wicked Sex. St. James was back after that to moderate a panel called The Men of Adult, where male performers Ike Diezel, Ryan Driller, Eric Masterson, Mark Wood, Ryan Driller,Barrett Blade, Seth Gamble, Derrick Pierce and Michael Vegas had the audience howling with laughter as they shared many gritty details about their lives in porn. "You want to be a male porn star?" Blade asked the crowd. "Then stand up, pull out your dick and get it hard. Right now." In addition to detailing the trials and tribulations of being a male performer—lower salaries, long hours, having sex when there's no chemistry with the girl and even being thrown up on—they answered questions from moderator Jacky St. James and audience members. Among the others who shared their knowledge yesterday were Courtney Trouble, Chelsea Poe, April Flores, Barbie Davenport and Shellie Yarnell of Crystal Delights. For more about today's seminars, go to Fan.AdultEntertainmentExpo.com/seminars. But it wasn't just fans who were entertained and educated in seminars. The Adult Entertianment Expo and the AVN Novelty Expo each offered a full slate of seminars on Wednesday, including "MAss Appeal: How To Design and Execute A Successful Crowdfunding Campaign" and "BEware The Aisles of Merch," where panelists Robin Jennings from The Pleasure Chest and Erin M. from Williams Trading told retailers that brick-and-mortar stores are far from dead, and offered tips on how they can plan and stock their stores to makes them a desintation as opposed to a one-time-only stop for consumers. The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo continues through Saturday at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, leading up to the AVN Awards on Saturday night at The Joint in the Hard Rock. For more information, visit AdultEntertainmentExpo.com. 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