Las Vegas Adult Entertainment: Vegas trade shows are serious business
June 18, 2009 by newsdoggiestyle
Reporting from Las Vegas — Since February, President Obama’s comments about bailout banks going on junkets to Las Vegas have shined a new light on the city’s convention business. Civic leaders such as Mayor Oscar Goodman have acted as if going to a convention here is like a trip to a dull government office, while detractors have argued that Vegas means a pure pleasure romp.
The truth is that the big trade shows work like most things here — mixing business and pleasure, celebrity and money, with plenty of VIP exclusivity.
The shows are a side of night life rarely open to tourists or locals, even though they are legion. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, about 22,000 meetings, conventions and trade shows take place in the city annually, and of the 200 largest shows in North America last year, Vegas hosted 49, the most of any city. (Of course, the economy this year has caused some shows to cancel or see a drop in attendance — even the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in January had fewer attendees and exhibitors.)