27 Apr/13

Vegas Baby

There has been a lot of talk lately about the possibility of a large portion of the porn industry moving it's production to Las Vegas. As a 3-year resident of this beautiful city, I feel it very necessary to speak my mind on this very attractive proposal. For starters I owe a huge amount of gratitude and respect for the city and it's residents. This city allowed me and my girlfriend the ability to pick ourselves up after some serious life altering events in Los Angeles. We have the freedom to be who we are without being treated like second class citizens or being beat down financially. The surrounding suburbs are amazing. Currently I live in A 2000 sq ft brand new house for $1500 a month that would have cost $4000 a month to rent in L.A. We are surrounded by bike trails and beautiful desert scenery. The utility costs are very cheap and the schools are all brand new,and well maintained and staffed. I pay $22 a month for a gym that is more like a resort. World class MMA and BJJ instruction for $100 a month. The best food at half the price of an average L.A. eatery. New roads. And the people that live here are some of the coolest and the nicest i have ever met. Hospitality extends itself to the whole city. And the strip goes without saying. A huge yearly influx of 36 million people a year makes all of this possible. And yes, Las Vegas is truly the entertainment capitol of the world.

And that's my point: entertainment. That word is king here. And so are the people that provide entertainment for the 36 million people that come here. We have true respect from the community for what we do. One huge indicator is how the strip clubs are run here. In Los Angeles,your average exotic dancer can expect to have half of her earnings taken from her each shift. Not only is this a disrespectful practice,it's also a scam. In Las Vegas, you simply pay a floor fee and you get to keep all of your earnings. Why would a club want to take a girls earnings when she's helping them sell a ton of alcohol? It' a much more mutually beneficial business relationship. The bouncers and staff are also a lot more supportive too. Non-paying customers and pimps are shown the door quickly and promptly as it should be... The girls are truly free agents allowed to make or break their own careers and that is an attitude that is badly needed in porn right now.

If the powers that be in porn think they can just transplant the existing system agency/producer/talent system of delivery that exists in porn right now over here they are sadly mistaken. Female talent have rights here. Why would someone feel it necessary to compromise their standards for an agency or producer when they can get a nice apartment for $500 no security deposit, and then hit the floor at a club and go make some money for themselves? Las Vegas makes the current state of affairs with LATATA irrelevant by design. The agencies that ran this industry to the ground in the last 5 years need the camoflauge of a huge expensive preditory city like Los Angeles for their system to work. The current agency model in L.A. all but eliminated free agent performers. It turned us into porn bodies instead of the world class entertainers that we really are. It destroyed our sense of community. That model simply wouldn't work here. And AHF? Another organization nullified by the political structure and community of Las Vegas. AHF needs to be in a blue state to have any real influence. This is Republican and Libertarian territory. Nevada does things their way,and no one else's. And this is a very pro adult entertainment city. Michael Weinstiens rantings would be easily seen for what it really is: politically correct far left activism for profit.

And if you are setting up shop as a producer you can't go wrong. This city is full of huge warehouse and office space's you could rent out in non residential neighborhoods at a very affordable cost. It would be very easy to accommodate a large crew and set without disturbing the surrounding communities. And it's very business friendly here. No state taxes. I don't understand why the industry hasn't set up here yet already. It makes good sense. And the PR opportunities are endless. The local clubs would appreciate a new influx of female talent making more regular appearances at their establishments. It's very good business..

Currently to work as a dancer or an escort here, you have to do two things: first get a criminal clearance from the sheriff's department (It's called a sheriff's card here) and obtain a business license from the state. I feel very strongly that implementing this procedure to the existing porn talent community would greatly improve the working conditions for everyone involved. It would create a braking system to weed out the amateur's and the felon's away from the serious entertainers. Porn is not prostitution. Porn is entertainment and if you can't fulfill the same basic requirements that an 18+ year old exotic dancer has to here, you shouldn't be doing this. I think that is a fair compromise for us to be allowed to produce porn without the use of condoms if we choose do do so. Prove you are fully aware of what you are getting into and prove you are serious about pursuing this as a career would be a great message to everyone. We are professionals and we deserve professional respect for what we do... porn and Las Vegas are a natural fit together. This business has a fighting chance here.We don't need a union or the FSC,AHF,LATATA,or condom laws.We need Las Vegas.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!



4/27/2013

Rob Black is Dead Wrong About LAPD; And So Are Lawyers who Tell You There's No Money To Enforce Condom Laws

--Gene Ross

Follow Gene Ross at twitter@GeneRoss3; Follow AdultFYI at twitter@Adultfyi1


I’m not a porn lawyer, and my Super Star Billy Graham look won’t allow for a ponytail. Yet, I hear lawyers telling this business that even if AB 332 went into affect there are no resources available to bust you. Really?

Let’s look at the case of Rob Black this week and what happened to me outside of a Denny’s about seven years ago.

On Friday, Black in his inimitable, colorful oratory described his bust in North Hollywood the day before. While he didn’t mince words about the arresting officer, Black, probably because of the delicate situation he’s in, made sure that he praised LAPD to high heavens that it not be judged by a couple of rotten apples.

Again, I’m not a lawyer, but from what Black is saying he may have a good lawsuit against LAPD. I would love to have one-tenth the annual income that LAPD pays out in harassment cases and unlawful shootings. Which makes me wonder if the late Sledge Hammer’s family ever filed a wrongful death suit against LAPD.

I know Rob’s been hanging out in the Burbank/North Hollywood area these days and doesn’t know what’s going on here in Porn Valley. But Ventura Blvd. has become a hot trolling area for LAPD and bullshit traffic tickets and fines.

It's not expressed in so many words, but LAPD, you see, is the unofficial tax collecting branch of LA County. I live overlooking the Boulevard, and a day doesn’t go by that some motorist is being pulled over for what the cops call an “illegal right turn.” In fact, dozens of motorists are, which is not an exaggeration, because LAPD uses a number of drive ways off the Boulevard to situate a cop with a radar gun hoping to catch speeders. The illegal right turn has become the next best thing.

It’s LA County’s way of making revenue.

Now, this was about seven years ago, and it was the first Sunday of the NFL season. That morning I’m having breakfast at Denny’s. This Denny’s is adjacent to a motel which used to be the out of town headquarters for porn performers like Samantha Strong who got flown in to do shoots.

I’m coming out of the Denny’s parking lot, and there’s an LAPD black & white parked on the other side of the street. I make a right turn onto the Boulevard and the cop, making a U-turn, gets behind me and pulls me over.

He looks like Derek Hay so I’m already taking an instant dislike to him. I asked him what I did wrong.

“You came out of that motel,” he charged.

I begged to differ and reached for my Denny’s receipt which was time stamped to show that he was full of shit. Wrong move because Roy Rogers immediately went for his gun. I put my hands in the air and explained that I was reaching for the receipt. I then showed him, with proof in my hand, that we had an honest difference of an opinion. I had no choice but to put it that way. In fact his female partner was looking at me with apologetic eyes that any of this was happening to begin with.

“We know who you are,” the cops said. Which got me wondering. If the LAPD knows who I am, they know who the rest of you are. You’re being watched and don’t think you aren’t.

The cop explained that prostitution and porn was being run out of that hotel. I knew at the time that at least one industry talent agency was working out of there. And Damien Michaels porn’s most notorious pimp and scumbag, was found stabbed to death in one of the rooms a few years later.

The Derek Hay cop let me off with a warning as I’m leaving you with one. The LAPD seems to have the time and resources to make penny ante busts, and they’re watching your every move.

One more story as illustration of what I'm talking about. Rob Spallone was shooting a movie at a private house in the Valley, and Spallone, like most of the business, didn't secure a permit. All's fine until Spallone makes a pick-up at a local deli for sandwiches.

While in the deli waiting line, Spallone's on his cell phone talking about the shoot to the other party not realizing that some one from LAPD vice [in plain clothes] was standing behind him in line. No sooner did Spallone get back to the location that several LAPD black & whites pulled up and shut the location down for lack of permit. It's that easy.

If AB 332 goes into effect, condom busts will be one more source of revenue for financially strapped LA County. And don’t let lawyers tell you otherwise. I’m proof. I was also at the Spallone shoot when all this went down.