Las Vegas has already begun its comeback from the pandemic. Executives at both Caesars Entertainment (CZR) and MGM Resorts International (MGM) have said that booking trends have picked up, and anecdotal online evidence suggests a busy March Madness season at casinos both on The Strip and on Fremont St. downtown.
Nicknamed Sin City, Las Vegas has always been about excess. That might mean gambling, splurging on some of the world's finest food, or gorging at a buffet. The city offers every means of vice, including legal cannabis, every type of drink known to man, and, well, lots of things that aren't quite legal but are readily available.
In Las Vegas, you can get married at any hour of any day and follow that up with pretty much any celebration you want. It's a city of indulgence and it's the host to everything from the Consumer Electronics Show to World of Concrete (a construction industry trade show) to conventions and meetings for pretty much any industry imaginable.
When you visit Las Vegas you may not take a "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" attitude, but you're probably a little more indulgent than you are at home. Perhaps you order dessert or maybe you go to a show that's a tad R-rated. Being in Las Vegas tends to relax inhibitions.
That makes it a perfect city to host the AVN Awards, something that has not happened for the past two years due to the pandemic.
Image source: Daniel Kline.
Vegas Welcomes Back a Signature Event
Back in the early 1990s, the Consumer Electronics Show included a section devoted to adult videos. That made sense because VCRs were a key, if not the key, consumer electronic product. Eventually, the Adult Entertainment Expo split off and became its own show, which usually ran at the same time as CES.
"The presence of adult videos at CES seemed an obvious fit. As the home-video market took off, so did the porn industry," Variety reported.
"VHS and Betamax players were the hardware, and porn, their (hardcore) software. As VHS gained acceptance over Betamax, the legend of porn as a technological kingmaker solidified."
The AAE has morphed into the AVN show, named for Adult Video News, which once served as a sort of, well, Variety/Hollywood Reporter for the adult film industry. The event has not happened for the past two years as an in-person event.
Even though CES returned this year (albeit in a very muted form with diminished attendance) its unofficial companion held a virtual show in 2022. That will change this year as the show returns with an in-person event January 4-7, 2023, (during CES) at the new Resorts World casino/hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
The show will consist of multiple events. the AVN expo, the GayVN Awards, and the 40th annual AVN Awards Show. Featuring more than 500 exhibitors, as well as thousands of adult stars and content creators, the event will showcase "the latest innovations and newest developments across the adult entertainment spectrum."
Why Does the Event Matter for Las Vegas?
It's all about a return to normal. Conventions and events drive a lot of business in Las Vegas in a number of ways. CES and, to a lesser extent, AVN get a lot of media coverage, which drives more people to Sin City.
Caesars Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Anthony Carano even opened the company's fourth-quarter earnings call by talking about the events business.
"Despite an increase in Covid-19 cases in late December and into January, we remain encouraged by booking trends into 2022 and beyond," he said.
"While group attrition remains elevated, we began to see conventions return to Las Vegas in the back half of '21, and the segment represented approximately 10% of occupied room nights, a dramatic improvement versus the first half of '21. In Q4 '21, we booked a record $160 million of new business in the group segment company-wide."
MGM Resorts Chief Executive Bill Hornbuckle talked about events/group business in his company's Q4 earnings call, highlighting what a major driver it is.
"January, which typically relies more heavily on group business in Las Vegas, saw significant headwinds driven by groups mostly looking to postpone until later in the year. Cancellations, while elevated, were mostly concentrated in a very short term with limited impact beyond March," he said. "CES in January was the most visible event this year with attendance down approximately 70%..
He sees the problem correcting itself relatively quickly.
"Cancellations are declining, and group lead volumes are normalizing. Forward hotel book has been stable over the past few weeks and are once again starting to outpace 2019 levels," he said.
