[Las Vegas Now]- The level of hope may be higher than the number of people attending this year’s Adult Entertainment Expo at the Sands Convention Center. The final attendance numbers won’t be available until the expo closes on Sunday, but vendors say the recession is making a difference in business.

It’s day one at the annual AVN Expo and vendor Joe Ward is noticing that the crowds are smaller, “It looks like the attendance is down, I’d say 30-percent. Certainly the number of boots is down. Even downstairs, in the novelty area, it seems to be down also.”

But on this first day of the adult industry’s largest convention, Ward is still hopeful. He says there will always be a market for the video arcade booths he sells to adult bookstores, “It seems like the profits in the bookstores is about the same as its been, even though the economy went down for a little dip.”

Vendors hawk their wares, hoping the money they make during the four-day expo, will help their bottom lines in these tough economic times.

Joe Ward’s company has developed state of the art video booths in an effort to stave off the competition from cable channels and purchased DVD’s, “The women are even coming into the booths now.”

Bradley Fitzhenry says the key to keeping afloat in turbulent economic waters is to find a niche. He says his three-dimensional prints appeal even to those who are now keeping a tighter grip on their wallets.

“This is a very personal sort of business and it’s enjoyed primarily in the home, and I think that is where people are turning to spend their dollars now,” he said.

But Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis are taking the effects of the recession a step further. The pair plans to ask Congress for a $5 billion federal bailout to help the adult entertainment industry deal with declining DVD purchases, and slowing adult novelty sales.

And Dan Hof says, while his customers are still spending, they’re doing so with stricter limits, “I’m hearing that most people came with a budget, usually $100, $500, and the biggest thing for us is that there’s so many good things here that they’re running out of money by the time they reach us here in the back of the hall.”

More than 250 exhibitors, and 25,000 visitors are expected to attend this year’s expo. However, event spokesmen say they expect a slight decline in attendance numbers over last year.