Internext Las Vegas 2003! - Finale

LAST DAY

The PornCity reception was still buzzing nicely when I got there. I was informed that it was body-to-body only moments before I arrived. As fun as that might have been, I was pretty glad the crowd had quieted down.

I met some very old friends at the PornCity reception. As contradictory as that sounds, that’s the way of the adult Internet. We can chat, email and message each other for years without ever physically meeting a single soul. The PornCity folks are the ones I’ve known the longest during my time in adult. To see each person, shake hands and talk at length was sweet.

I found the beautiful Orgasmics sitting on the couch with Atom and Crow. I planted myself on the chair next to them and we all spoke about various things. I spent time with Wizard, Modf and had a very interesting talk with Tuffruff. When Mayor (the owner of LIVE TEEN and PornCity) came by I made a point to shake his hand and thank him for everything his wonderful free host had done for me.

I hit my room at about ten o’clock. The GIGAMIX event was supposed to start at 11:00. I decided that I could chill and make it there around midnight. Princess from XBIZ told me the ceremony would start at 1:00 AM so I knew I wouldn’t miss the awards and I would get to arrive fashionably late.

I got lost in the Venetian Casino (again) on the way to GIGAMIX. Eventually I found C2K and when I arrived there, my heart sank. There was this huge-ass line the likes I’ve not seen since I worked the door at the Starck Club. I looked at my VIP pass twice to make sure of the running time of the event. It read 11:00 PM-4:00 AM. I looked at my watch. It read 12:02. I growled under my breath and made my way over.

Raven saw me walking and called out my name. Then she, me, her husband Tev -and some new friends I made in line, Kath, Mishi and Venturi- we all had a thirty minute party waiting for C2K to let us in their fucking club. From the mood of the people in line and the attitude projected from C2K’s security, I could tell something was fishy. When Princess came out and told us that the club was still clearing out the stuff from Lord of the Dance, I knew deal. C2K got greedy and did a little creative booking. When we got in at 12:50, I asked a security guy what time Lord of the Dance let out. He told me 11:45. I asked him how long it usually took to strike the set. He told me 45 minutes. They struck the set for about another 15 minutes while we were all confined to the upper balcony level of the club. They took another 15-20 minutes to put up the XBIZ set which consisted of a podium, a microphone, a spotlight and the XBIZ/GIGAMIX logo projected on C2K’s existing projection screen.

I did not stay at the Venetian. My time as an attendee at their convention floor was positive. I will not criticize the hotel for things that happened to others. The bar staff at C2K was cordial. But after I got home that night I did a little math.

My VIP pass had the show time printed as 11:00 PM-4:00 AM. The security guy (whom I later found out was the club’s manager) told me that Lord of the Dance let out at 11:45 that night. The events magazine provided for me in my hotel room had an advertisement for Lord of the Dance. The ad had Lord of the Dance’s showtimes printed as 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM. The VIPs got in at 12:45. Subtracting the time it took to set up GIGAMIX’S simple set, C2K overbooked by at least one hour and forty-five minutes. In my humble opinion, XBIZ, Gamma Entertainment, CE Cash, OXCASH, NetVerifier, SPYSEX Network, and Focus/Adult were robbed.

I closed my eyes while Kath read the names. Then she tore open the envelope and announced the winner to be Cozy Frog. I walked up to the stage and they put the award in my hands. It was a beautiful piece of crystal sculpture. I explained how C-Pimp and Girly Girl couldn’t be there. I thanked XBIZ and totally forgot the other sponsor’s names. I fumbled through a speech that I hope wasn’t too lame. I went back down right to Tev and Raven, Mishi and Venturi. They were all cheering and thought the award was gorgeous.

Then the next award went to best design, which went to Wylde Sites. Best content went to Matrix Content. The last award was the people’s choice award. That one was the funnest because Raven was the presenter and the winner was GoFuckYourself.com. Lensman ran up and the whole room whistled and cheered. He gave a great speech and even gave the Venetian a proper GFY.

After the presentation, the band came on. Raven and Tev were wiped out and they left for their room. I stayed because I was a major fan of eighty’s funk. The band (United We Funk All Stars) was an amalgamation of some of the best. From the first song to the last, they were great. I sat in my seat and chair danced like crazy. I wanted to get up and boogie on the floor but I had to guard Cozy’s award. When they finished their set, I knew it was time to cruise back to my hotel. The ball was over and Cinderella had to fly back to pumpkinland the next day.

INTERNEXT in Vegas was the best time I’d had in years. I met so many wonderful people and solidified friendships. Cozy won a big award. I got to share the love. It was a grand three days.