Las Vegas- The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will feature Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer. Just a few steps away, the Adult Entertainment Expo will feature Courtney Cummz. CES has Steve Ballmer. The Adult Entertainment Expo has Larry Flynt. They may seem different, but without one, we might not have the other.
Sex and high nerdery might seem like a strange mix, but in Vegas it’s called synergy–and it works. For one week, the city will be deluged not only with technology industry executives, but also with strippers, exotic dancers, escorts, swingers, lingerie retailers and porn stars who move into town to do a little business of their own.
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For sex workers, the annual geekfest is right up there with the Super Bowl and March Madness, according to Stephanie, a spokesperson for the Desiree Alliance, an advocacy group for sex workers.
But the relationship between sex and gadgets goes further than that. The porn industry boomed, thanks to the popularity of the home video recorder in the 1980s. The rise of the Internet has only taken that further, with serious smut no more than a few keystrokes away from anyone with an Internet connection.
No surprise then that the Adult Entertainment Expo grew out of CES. Before 1999, CES had an adult exhibition area, according to Sean Devlin, a spokesperson for the Adult Entertainment Expo. “As the industry grew, it became clear that it needed a trade show of its own,” Devlin says. As for the location? “It ain’t called Sin City for nothing,” he adds.
Indeed the city is awash with legal and very adult entertainment options, ranging from topless floor shows to strip clubs and, of course, in-room porn served up by most of the area’s major hotels. Then there are the outcall escorts, who will spend a little time with their customers on the town in exchange for money.
The big caveat: Despite the city’s racy image, prostitution remains illegal. That’s despite the fact CES attendees will be deluged on sidewalks and on street corners with cards and fliers touting services of all sorts. Trucks will even cruise the streets advertising them.
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The catch: Once a customer calls such a service to have someone sent to his or her door, the negotiations will begin.
The problem: While there are legal brothels in Nevada, the exchange of money for sex is illegal in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. “You could get into a conversation which is, legally, very compromising for both sides,” says Stephanie of the Desiree Alliance. People can be, and are, arrested in Las Vegas for solicitation.
Better, perhaps, to take a cold shower, hit the hotel fitness center’s stair master for an hour, and get back to work. You’ve got gadgets to sell. Or porn. Whichever.