It's that time again - the January, 2003, InterNext has taken the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas by storm, providing marketers, mavericks, and mischief-makers an opportunity to mix and mingle with members of the online adult entertainment industry elite! For those who could make it, and those who couldn't, here's a sampling of the sights to be seen:
Sunday
Arriving in Las Vegas, the energy of Sin City and the arriving throngs of 'porn mongers' was quickly felt and unmistakable. Our plane had just landed, and I was already on my cell phone; calling old friends and making arrangements to see as many folks as possible - a scene that was being repeated all over the city as early arrivers tried to catch up with those who arrived even earlier, and those who work and live here…
After settling in to our room at the Venetian, I set up my laptop and got online using my room's high-speed Internet access, which according to dslreports.com, delivered a blistering 839k download / 385k upload speed - a vast improvement over my usual dial-up access; and while a $10 a day option, it was well worth the price, considering my need to do daily updates here at xbiz…
A quick bite of dinner, and Dawn and I were off to the adult.com/GFY warm-up party in one of the many hospitality suites, well-suited to the task. Insanely crowded, we managed to find Twinkley, Marsha, Alec, Ellie, and a few other friends, old and new, amid the swarming sea of faces. A handful of naughty young ladies made their way around the room as rumors of their impending public violation by 'fucking machines' drew increasingly near - an event that while potentially quite entertaining to behold, was not a better option than the 'private party' Dawn invited me to - especially given the uncomfortable environment present in this over-crowded and smoke-filled suite, and so my public appearances that night ended at a reasonable hour - which was a good thing, given the hectic day to come…
Monday
The hotel’s wake up call came all too early, and before long, I found myself waiting in line to pick up my show pass, and hit the floor just as the show opened. Finding the Xbiz booth proved to be a bit more difficult than I expected, especially given the fact that every few feet I go, someone walks up and says "Hi, Stephen!" - which of course is the reason that I’m here; to network, wheel, deal, and spread the good word of Xbiz, Gigacash, ASACP, and all of the benefits that the HELMY family of sites and program’s provide.
It wasn’t too long before the HELMY team was all assembled, and working the busy corner location that our comfortable booth setup occupied. ‘Busy’ is a relative word, however, as the traffic flow ‘pulsed’ with a life of its own - sometimes more crowded, sometimes less…
The ever-popular seminars were well-received, and I attended both the legal seminar as well as the ‘fighting child pornography’ seminar which gave me a chance to see ASACP’s new Executive Director, Joan Irvine in action. (You can expect more info here on these subjects in the weeks ahead). I would have liked to have attended the Digital Rights Management seminar, but I needed some ‘booth time’ to hook up with those visitors who would otherwise be looking for me in vain.
Dinner time was more than welcome, and came courtesy of my friends at Top Bucks / OneVerify at the Venetian’s fine ‘Zefferino Ristorante.’ This was an excellent, low-key dinner party featuring fine food in a relaxing atmosphere. The company was fabulous, and the strolling musicians serenaded Dawn while Quentin and I plus our newly met dinner companions discussed numerous adventures and tales of daring do. Some post party networking, along with this evening’s site update, and some much needed refreshment left me sitting here with midnight fast approaching and several distinct choices: go to bed and get some rest before the chaos tomorrow (including the Xbiz breakfast at 8:30am!), a party and photo shoot upstairs, a wild orgy of sex crazed nympho brats across town, or perhaps a few hands of blackjack in the casino downstairs. Possibilities, possibilities…
Click the pics for a closer look at the fun:
I'm off to bring Dawn to a wild gathering of Amateur Porn Stars, and see if she still has a little bit of the ol' "Wild Cat" left in her; so till next time… Enjoy! ~ Stephen