TEXXXAS Fan Expo to Change Venues After Hilton Backs Out

HOUSTON—The debut of the TEXXXAS fan expo in August will be at a different venue after the Hilton Houston abruptly cancelled the contract it had with the conference. John Gray, organizer and president of TEXXXAS The Show, said he received an email Thursday from a Hilton Houston executive informing him that his event was no longer welcome at the hotel. "The Hilton decided to cancel our contract but the show is going to go on," Gray told AVN Friday. "It will be on the same dates (Aug. 17-20). I don’t agree with what they did, but the show will go on." Gray said he did not want to announce the new location for the event that will host more than two dozen adult film stars until he finalized the contract, but assured it's "five minutes down the road." Details will be posted Monday on the show website.The Hilton Houston did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday about why the show was pulled.  But Gray said hotel officials told him they discovered TEXXXAS "wasn't what it was supposed to be." He produced an adult industry event called Lonestar Pornutopia III at the same hotel in 2009. "The same person from the hotel that signed that contract signed this one in May and welcomed us back with open arms," Gray said, noting the hotel executive he was dealing with even complimented the look of his show website. "I don't know why the same person would have a change of heart after they approved everything." He said the hotel cited concerns about "the safety of our guests and employees" in cancelling. "They've never had a problem with us. They knew what this show was about," Gray said. "But we're not going anywhere. This is just a speed bump in the road of life. "Bob Marley said everything's going to be alright. This is a little inconvenience but we're at a nicer venue and we're going to have a better show now." The National Center on Sexual Exploitation released a statement today commending Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. "for its commitment to protecting human dignity and preventing sexual exploitation" in cancelling the show, according to the Houston Business Journal. "Hilton executives displayed laudable principles of conscious capitalism through these actions," NCOSE Executive Director Dawn Hawkins said in a statement. "... I urge all other hotel chains to refuse to host this TEXXXAS expo in favor of community and guest safety."   Gray said his show is "PG with no nudity whatsoever." He has turned the matter over to his attorney. Sponsors of TEXXXAS include Adam & Eve, White Horse Vapor, Virus Vodka, Sportsmens Lodge, Houston Party Express, First Pick Valet and Houston NightMoves.