This past weekend, I drove out to Las Vegas for the parade of plastic toys and silicon playthings that is the AVN Expo and Awards. As you may be able to tell from my presence here at SG, I'm not a huge fan of mainstream porn, however I was there to support the launch of my friend Carrie Borzillo's book, the Tera Patrick memoir, Sinner Takes All.
Tera had planned a plethora of signings and appearances in and around the AVN Expo to capitalize on the her status as a multi-AVN Award winner and Hall of Fame inductee. After stopping by the main stage at the Sands Expo Center on Saturday afternoon to take a few snaps of the Sinner Takes All co-authors doing their thing, it seemed churlish not to check out what else the AVN exhibition had to offer this year.
SexAppShop.com had one of the most buzz worthy booths. The start-up has only been in business just over a month, but is already exceeding expectations thanks to the massive void created by Apple's strictly PG policy when it comes to official app sales via iTunes. Users can download X-rated iPhone apps directly from SexAppShop.com, and it's owner, Steven August, claims that vendors can be up and running with their own boutique on the site in around 3 minutes. Given the frustration that Apple's restrictions have caused, SexAppShop maybe just what iPhone users have been waiting for.
Though I don't actually have an iPhone yet (I'm waiting for the compulsory bondage to AT&T to be lifted before committing), SexAppShop still managed to keep me amused post AVN; My husband and I got quite a kick out of using the free bags we picked up from their booth at our local Trader Joes.
All the major adult film producers were present at the AVN Expo, but it was Elegant Angel and their star player, Tori Black, who were the center of attention this year. With the clean lines and minimal white styling of an American Apparel store, the aesthetic of their booth made Elegant Angel's competition look strictly last decade. Their girls also stood out from the crowd, being far more natural than the usual fake tan n' tits crew. Tori, who exemplifies this fresh and clean look, went on to win a total of five AVN Awards at Saturday night's ceremony, including Female Performer of the Year, which hopefully marks a swing away from the horrors of pneumatic mammaries and all that goes with them.
Next I headed over to the Palms Casino Resort where the 27th Annual AVN Awards was being held. Dave Navarro, who served as the event's presenter, was one of the first to appear on the red carpet. He was closely followed by his protege Sasha Grey, who went on to win the Jenna Jameson Award for Crossover Star of the Year thanks to her appearance in the Steven Soderbergh film The Girlfriend Experience. Other familiar faces on the red carpet included Nina Hartley, Margaret Cho, Shauna Sand, Jessica Drake, Ron Jeremy, and Tera Patrick's ex, Evan Seinfeld (who arrived with recent Teravision signing Lupe Fuentes).
You'll find oodles more red carpet images in my AVN Awards photo gallery.
After the awards I headed over to the Hard Rock where Tera Patrick was hosting a late night soiree at Wasted Space. See separate gallery for more images of Tera's book signing and afterparty events.
Several things I really like about it. It's for one very good looking. It's best with 4-6 players.
If you're interested, a few pointers. Mainly, don't get attached to one country. I'd sometime build up a country only to steal its money or use their armies to sack someone else then let it rot. The other thing, you can win the game by riding someone else's coattails. If you see someone else successfully build a country, buy into it.