AEE 2008: Report Part 1
Pre-Show Dinner & Circle Bar
My flight in to Vegas on Tuesday was so early that we ended up sitting on the runway for a half hour waiting for another plane to leave. Even with that delay I as on the ground pretty much on time and off to the baggage pick up. I had planned to meet toy reviewer and up & coming pornalist Savana Switzer and her friends at baggage claim so we could share a cab and get acquainted. I’ve known Savana on line personally and professionally for a number of years, but this was the first time I have ever met her. She’s a beautiful young woman in every sense of the word and even a situation like the airport, she radiated positive energy with a great smile and an infectious enthusiasm. She introduced me to her friends and we all shared a cab out to the timeshare they had rented. It’s a bit out of the way, but really, really nice. Certainly fancier digs than I had waiting for me over at the Casino Royale.
My cab ride over took about twenty minutes and got me to the Royale with a little time before my dinner. It was a pleasant cab ride and the driver and I exchanged our thoughts on how Vegas has changed. It was a great conversation that was brought to a screeching halt with the following piece of dialog.
Rog: (Pointing to a photo hanging from the rear view mirror.) Is that your son>
Cab Driver: It was.Fade to uncomfortable silence.
Yeah, nothing ends a conversation like a foot jammed firmly into a throat.
I got checked into the Royale and hung out with Jeff from IAFD.com We caught up a bit as we always do. I can’t believe how long we’ve known each other and how our paths in this crazy industry have become intertwined. I also find it interesting that in a business filled with surface-level friendships and people who will stab you in the back at the drop of a hat, I have found one of the best friends I’ve ever had.
The Digital Playground dinner over in the Venetian was first on the evening’s festivities. I have been invited to this for the last few years, but have never been. My schedule just never quite works. (One year I was at the National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl so I had a good excuse.) Since I was dateless for the event, the lovely Shay Jordan agreed to be my escort for the evening. Frankly one couldn’t ask for a more beautiful or gracious date. As you can see from the photos Shay was nothing short of stunning. It isn’t easy sitting at a table trying to eat and pay attention to Robby D when Shay is sitting there looking too beautiful for words. (And don’t tell anyone, but she’s one of the nicest women you will ever meet too.) We did some catching up and renewed our plans to one day procreate together. Yes Shay, I will be your babies’ daddy. I still think we should practice a bit first. Also at the table were Robby D and his favorite porn critic Don Houston. Robby was quick to remind me that the RogReviews Critic’s Choice Awards were set to be announced at midnight Eastern Time and tried to hold up my dinner until then. (He didn’t really, but one has to wonder if he was thinking about it.
I also had a lot of fun with Don. (Who will probably misread this as something other than what it is….good natured ribbing yeah?) For some reason he loves busting my balls at every turn and has done so for longer than we’ve been acquainted. It’s tough to explain exactly what his problem with me is, but it’s something. Not a big deal though. I just go out of my way not to call into the question the integrity of other writers. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this for so long and I understand the barriers people had to break through to earn any credibility at all. I love Don even if he can’t understand that though. He’s a good guy does nice work over at XCritic.com. He was also the only person in the entire porn world who lent even a hint of credence to Skeeter Kerkove’s claims of some super secret plot that had me shooting POV scenes with Aurora Snow and others for a web site that can only be viewed by members of an elite secret society. Apparently the whole story made sense to Don and only Don. How can I lot love a guy who is willing to go so far out on a limb just to throw some gas on the fire? What’s great is that Don doesn’t get that I know he’s just fucking with me and still thinks I’m upset. That’s all good, but if you’re going to use me as fodder, would be a link be too much to ask for? And once the clock passed nine and I told Robby that Mike John had won the award for Best Director, I swear I saw Robby’s hand slip under the table in Don’s direction. I’ve been replaced. In all seriousness Robby had some nice things to say about Mike and was thankful to be nominated. He also vowed that 2008 would be an even better year for him and hopes that that he will join Mike John and Jules Jordan as multiple winners of the award.
The food was amazing and everyone from Digital Playground was great. Since I had interviews all set up for the next morning (and because I wasn’t about to take my eyes off of Shay for too long) I didn’t talk a lot of business. It was nice to catch up with Robby and Adella. They have always been fair and straight with me and I appreciate that. Oh yeah, and did I mention that Shay looked gorgeous.
After the dinner I headed down to the Circle Bar where it seems the entire porn world likes to hang out after hours. Lucky me, I ran into Hillary Scott and Paulina James right away. I’ve never actually met Paulina before, but Hillary and I are old friends. She was looking fantastic as usual and suggested we do our blowjob interview after a few drinks. That sounded good to me, but Paulina wanted in on the action. Naturally I bought them both drinks (No small feat at the Circle Bar) and got them on their way. I met up with Savana and her girlfriends who were right in the middle of their first night exploring Vegas. After telling them they should be having a good time rather than hanging with a guy who could be their father, they informed me that hanging with porn stars worked just fine for them. I introduced them to Erik Everhard which seemed to raise my status in their eyes. Robby D and Jules Jordan were about ten feet from each other and somehow didn’t manage to say hello to each other. Apparently I was probably too busy introducing Midwestern co-eds to their porn idols and attempting to set up a Robby/Jules handshake because I lost track of Hillary and Paulina at some point. So instead of a blowjob from Hillary Scott to highlight my evening, I had to settle for Monstar buying me a drink. As much as I appreciate a free drink from a good friend, I think that head from Hillary would have been better.
One Night down, four days to go.
