Inside the AVN Expo, as Adult Entertainers Take Over Virgin Hotels Las Vegas

^{Human-like robots in minimal clothing are among the first sights at you'd see walking into the AVN Expo. Say cheese! (Photo: courtesy of AVN)}

LAS VEGAS – Every January in Las Vegas, the city full of vice becomes just a little more naughty than usual when the Adult Video Network (AVN) Expo lands in town. Leaders in the adult entertainment industry take over the Virgin Hotel and Casino for four days, and from the moment you arrive, it’s nearly impossible to miss the signs around the property.

Right at the valet sits the iconic AVN Awards statue, setting the tone for the event before you even step too far inside. As you traverse the casino floor, AVN posters and advertisements for pornographic platforms line the property, making it pretty clear that the third week of January is not the time you’d want to book your “family-friendly” Vegas trip.

Welcome to Las Vegas! The AVN Awards statue is just a part of the scene on the casino floor before you even reach the expo hall. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)

The expo has been around since 1998, turning into a major annual event in Las Vegas that runs for four days.  Last year's event brought in about 25,000 attendees and 350 exhibitors. This year’s event drew an estimated 45,000 attendees, including consumers, industry professionals, adult stars, and media.

For longtime attendees, the location at Virgin Hotels feels like a throwback to the Hard Rock Hotel days years ago when the AVN Expo returned there every January for years on end. After a brief post-COVID move to Resorts World in 2023 and 2024, AVN is now back at Virgin. 

As a first-timer attending this event, it was pretty nerve-racking to think about what might be waiting for me on the show floor. I attended the expo to see and experience what it’s like when a major adult entertainment convention sets up shop inside a Vegas casino. 

The AVN Expo is worth attending even for the mildly curious. Walking in may present you with a lot of shocking sights, but there’s nothing to be scared of in attending this. There is nothing you can’t easily look away from, and while some booths sell edgier products, it’s never forced on you. 

Many of the models and creators are actively trying to connect with their fans, meet people in real life, and humanize a job that most people only ever see through a screen.

Easing Into the Expo Hall

Before even reaching the expo floor, it is clear you begin to realize that AVN is run like a serious business event. Check-in feels like you’re going through the TSA line rather than convention. With tens of thousands of attendees expected over the weekend, the structure is necessary.

Several creators told me that the first day of the expo is dreadfully slow, but the other days really pick up the pace. By the time the weekend rolls around, the convention floor is full of activity and excitement.

Once inside the expo hall, it’s certainly a sight to be seen. The convention center is filled wall-to-wall with individual model booths, agencies, film studios, and retail brands catering to the adult industry. Some of the sights this year were extremely human-looking robots, rows of creators livestreaming from platforms like MyFreeCams and Fansly, and the never-ending list of costumes that both models and attendees wore. 

And for all the flesh you see – believe me there's plenty – there are clear boundaries that prevent the convention from turning into the plot of an X-rated movie. Guests won't see any explicit activity taking place on the convention floor. But don’t be surprised if you do a double take when you see a model sitting on someone’s lap as they drive a scooter, or an attendee closely inspecting a model’s feet (both sights we saw).

The booth for Jules Jordan Video, which had people lining up to meet several of the agency’s popular online entertainers. Jules Jordan himself is an AVN Hall of Famer, so it’s natural that he would run a successful adult modeling agency. (Photo: courtesy of AVN)

Independent creators typically were on their own in their booths, while larger companies like Brazzers had teams helping manage long, winding lines. But the expectation of respectful behavior was clear across the floor with the overwhelming number of security guards and police officers throughout the convention center.

Even though this convention and associated awards show is considered the Oscars of the adult entertainment industry, the expo is not nearly as pornographic as you might expect.

Some of the few booths that are easy to photograph and write about are the marketing and brand-building companies that help online creators grow their platforms. Promo Portal told me that attending events like this is absolutely vital for connecting with independent creators who have to be their own advocates to make money – which is increasingly the name of the game when it comes to making adult content online. 

Other companies offering retail products like Eye of Love, a pheromone perfume brand, use the expo to market to both attendees and creators. The company’s owner Jacqui Rubinoff told us the expo is beneficial because it puts them face-to-face with creators who may use their products on set who might bring them business in the long run.

Who’s Who at AVN?

There’s a certain stereotype that comes to mind about someone who may want to attend a porn convention in Vegas, but the reality is surprisingly diverse. Instead of one dominant demographic, the floor is filled with a genuine mix of men and women, many of whom are repeat attendees or exhibitors.

We spoke with people attending for the first time, as well as others who had been coming back for nearly five years. There's probably someone in the crowd who attended it back when it first came about in 1998.

“You never know who you're going to meet at this event,” said Lee Smith, attendee and owner of AnythingNightlife in Las Vegas. “And you're always going to learn something new about the industry that you didn’t know. This is my fourth AVN I’ve attended, but I've been working in the nightlife for so long that it's always fun to see who ends up here as a big star here today.”

For many attendees, the appeal is in connecting with creators, exhibitors, and collaborators they’ve followed online for years. That in-person access is a big deal, especially when many of these stars aren't necessarily with film studios like in the past. Independent platforms have allowed adult creators to build up their audiences from their own bedrooms in even small towns dotted across the country.

A Busy Week for Creators

From the creator's side, AVN is about much more than connecting with fans. Meeting other people in their industry face-to-face is something they enjoy about the expo.

I spoke with KittyCamTime, a creator from Sacramento who was at AVN for her fourth time. She described it as a great opportunity to network with a lot of other creators and people in the industry.

Sacramento-based creator KittyCamTime attended her fourth AVN this year, using the expo to network, book photo shoots, and connect with other creators in person. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)

“I do like to hit the slots a little bit when I visit Vegas,” she elaborated. “But I am usually busy doing photo shoots, meeting up with other creators, and working at different booths. And of course there's the after-parties too.” 

Those after-parties can range from private, invitation-only suite gatherings at Virgin Hotels to themed parties around the city, including fetish events held at venues in downtown Las Vegas and the Strip. But those are often invite-only and probably a bit too edgy for me to attend.

She also pointed out how AVN and the adult industry in general offers room for individuality and self-expression, as long as creators are willing to do the work that comes with it. Booths like AltErotica allow their models to show up with edgy, alternative style that isn't always embraced in more traditional work environments. 

Arya Frei echoed that sentiment, noting how rare those in-person connections can be depending on where a creator lives. This is her second AVN, and she travelled all the way from Hawaii. 

“I also like interacting with other models and the business side of it,” Frei said. “Especially coming from Hawaii, there’s none of this. There’s no adult industry scene there, so even coming here and meeting other people in the industry is huge.”

Vegas Is the Only Place This Event Works

Events like the AVN Expo would feel odd anywhere other than Las Vegas. I think a place like Los Angeles or Miami could come close, but there are very few places where a convention centered on the adult entertainment industry could exist at this scale without needing to hide away from the public eye. 

Gathering in Las Vegas also fits neatly into the OnlyFans-era reality of the industry where creators are spread out everywhere rather than being in one production hub like Hollywood. AVN week is a rare chance for all of them to gather together in person, collaborate and build friendships that only usually exist online. 

The after-party culture surrounding AVN also fits in perfectly, with nightclubs open throughout the week and events stretching all the way until the sun rises. That connection between Las Vegas and AVN becomes especially visible during the awards ceremony. 

The convention itself is called the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE), the expo hall where creators, agencies, and various brands set up booths and do business. But it all leads up to the AVN Awards ceremony, which is arguably the most important part of the week. The awards ceremony is a ticketed event completely separate from the expo floor, but still part of the same week of AVN festivities. 

The AVN Awards themselves put real faces to the titles that carry so much weight in the industry. The ceremony itself is typically limited to industry professionals and recognizes performers across a wide range of adult entertainment categories like Best Female/Male Performer or Best Director.  

“If you win [an award], it means you can ask for more money. You can up your rate," AVN PR maestro Brian Gross explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

Gal Ritchie (left), winner of the 2025 AVN Award for Best New Starlet, poses with Cheerleader Kait, the 2026 recipient, at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas. The moment is a symbolic passing of the torch for new talent in the industry. (Photo: courtesy of AVN)

For many performers, the ceremony represents both recognition and a turning point in their careers. In 2026, this industry is largely built on freelance work, so those titles carry weight. 

When treated with the respect they deserve, they’re often friendlier and more approachable than many would expect. “These people are just working and doing their jobs," another photographer told me in the expo media room. You wouldn't ask your plumber for a selfie and tell them you loved them for the work they did on your pipes six years ago. At the end of the day, they have families and lives outside of their work just like you and I.”