Question of the Day - 11 September 2022

[Editor's Note: For the uninitiated, AVN AEE is the Adult Video News' Adult Entertainment Expo.]

Las Vegas is still plenty raunchy, if you know where to look, but yes, the debauchery seems to have gone somewhat underground. The pandemic threw a damper on the sex industry in Sin City. For example, it’s telling that, of all the shows it could have closed to save money, Cirque du Soleil sacrificed salacious Zumanity. 

We’re not conversant with the fetish store at the Hard Rock, but with the changeover to upscale Virgin, a sex shop probably didn’t jibe with the new Virginal image. Also gone is the super-raunchy Rehab pool party, which got former owners Morgans Hotel Group into hot water with the holders of the Hard Rock trademark.

As to the Adult Video News expo, we’re not privy to the internal dynamics of the porn industry, but some trade shows are coming back to Vegas cautiously. By rejoining the Consumer Electronics Show, AVN gains critical mass. It's returning to a city that has changed dramatically during the last few years, one that has added a Broadway theater and NHL and NFL teams, with more similar enhancements to come. In other words, Las Vegas is becoming respectable and AVN may be toning down in response.

Cult Vegas author and producer of the new Vinnie Plays Vegas documentary (about comedian Vinnie Favorito), Mike Weatherford, tells us, “I've seen lots of trend pieces about the younger generation not having as much sex, or at least not being as obsessed with it. I blame Marvel!”

We don’t want to speculate about the demise of Sexpresso, but police-blotter material associated with it leads us to believe someone decided the business model was more trouble than it was worth. As for Showgirl and its closure, we contacted Gold & Silver Pawn in hopes of gaining insight, but calls and emails went unanswered.

VitalVegas blogger Scott Roeben says, “I was sad they day they closed the sex shop (Go Sexy) at Flamingo. It was sort of symbolic turning point. The pandemic has definitely had an impact on the kinky quotient in Vegas, but some longtime fixtures are still going strong, including strip clubs and the Green Door (swingers club). A top-secret new nude spa has reopened off-Strip and let's not forget the sex doll brothel (haven't heard anything about that lately, but it was a novel concept). All one needs to do to confirm the town's place as the sexiest vacation destination is to talk to GRAs (housekeepers). They find dozens of sex toys every week, left behind by adventurous visitors.” 

Some might find that weirdly reassuring.

“The escort world has come back strong, although it's still not to pre-COVID levels due to the lack of conventions mid-week,” resumes Roeben. “Las Vegas casinos have long had to balance the pros and cons of sexy venues and product offerings. Example: Lots of revues, but no strip clubs in casinos. They've also had to pretend that they don't approve of prostitution, but casinos turn a blind eye until someone commits a crime (usually theft of some sort).

“More than 'prudish,' Las Vegas has always been hypocritical. Sexy is fine, sexual is a no-no. Being grinded during a lap dance, fine. Sex in the VIP lounge, no-no.”

He concludes, “To your questioner’s point, there does seem to be a lull in overtly sexual events and offerings, but … that’s fallout of the pandemic and it feels temporary. There is a lot of very kinky stuff that still goes on in Las Vegas. Player development executives would never be caught finding a whale an escort, but every single one knows someone who can wrangle that amenity. I just heard from a nightclub cocktail waitress who was offered $500 for a photo of her feet.”

So Las Vegas isn't really the “anything-goes” town that it claims to be and it never was. But there’s a great deal going on that doesn’t entail hanging out a sign or getting a business license.