The good, the bad and the forecasts
Preview speakers present mixed economic picture
Las Vegas’ business elite gave the bad and the good of expectations for 2018 and beyond Friday.
About 2,000 business leaders gathered at the Thomas & Mack Center for the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual Preview Las Vegas event. Here is a recap of the highlights.
Tourism: The bad
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter blamed a 1.7 percent decrease in annual visitors to the Las Vegas Valley in part on the Oct. 1 shooting.
He also credited a strong U.S. dollar for the decrease.
The valley saw 42.2 million visitors in 2017, fewer than the 43.2 million visitors predicted earlier on, he said.
Ralenkotter expects 42.7 million visitors this year.
Tourism: The good
Clark County saw $3.44 billion in taxable retail sales in October 2017, a 3.8 percent increase year over year, with a large percent of those sales from tourist spending, RCG Economics’ John Restrepo said. The county hit a 10-year low in October 2010 with about $2.3 billion in taxable retail sales.
Ralenkotter said the valley saw a 5.2 percent increase in convention attendance last year and a 2.1 percent increase in revenue per available room.
Real estate: The good
Las Vegas’ growing trade show PREVIEW
“We already saw a bump in ticket sales from last year, but yes, we also saw a spike after the WSJ story broke,” said Brian Gross, a spokesman for AVN.
More than 1,000 news agencies have registered this year, a 20 percent increase, according to Gross. Some of the most renowned news outlets are attending AVN for the first time in many years, or ever, to interview Daniels, he said.
Gross hoped the greater mainstream media attention would translate to higher attendance in coming years.
On the floor
Those entering the show floor are greeted by scantily dressed movie and online adult entertainment stars standing alongside companies selling sex novelty toys. The crowds get so large around popular stars that its hard for attendees to squeeze through.
About 350 exhibitors are on the show floor this year, including a growing presence by makers of lifelike sex dolls that run from $1,500 to $4,000.
Descendants of the plastic blowup dolls, the current models are produced by 3-D printers and made
of thermoplastic elastomers, giving them a skinlike texture.
The dolls have a metallic skeleton, enabling the body to be moved into various positions. They weigh from 50 to 100 pounds. Some models have signed deals with manufacturers to create dolls made in their likeness.
Transgender performers are also growing in number at the show as they become more accepted in society, said Tim Williams, another spokesman for the show.
“People are looking for the next thing, something different, and transgender fits that category,’’ he said.
Even cryptocurrenices have made an appearance at the show. Eroiy, which is exhibiting, joins Vice Token and Proncoin among companies conducting initial coin offerings at the moment to raise money for porn video platforms they say will ease payment issues and strengthen anonymity.
Cam girls
While the majority of stars at AVN have traditionally been actresses, they have been surpassed in recent years by so-called “cam girls,” who livestream from their bedrooms or other locations.
The AVN show is now sponsored by My Free Cams, one of the largest online streaming sites. My Free
Cams has brought hundreds of its top stars to livestream from the AVN show.
The girls, standing in a row about two dozen deep at any one time, talk to their followers as they show parts of their body, some dancing or gyrating as they do.
One of the cam girls at the show, Lil Miss Angel, wore a top that read “My Body, Not Yours,” as she flirted with her online followers.
“Many of the fans get so excited to see their favorite star that they can get too close,” she said.
Lil Miss Angel’s white top spoke to another phenomenon that has taken the national news by storm: #metoo.
This year’s show comes amid a tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations against powerful figures, including most recently Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn.
For the first time, all attendees, including people in the media, must read and sign a code of conduct that warns against stalking, unwelcome physical conduct and harassing photography.
Those caught violating the code will be expelled and banned from future shows, according to the agreement.
Contact Todd Prince at tprince@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.