AVN Awards, Vegas’ porn expo, latest to go digital for 2021

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Wade Vandervort

Attendees gather at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.

Fri, Jul 31, 2020 (9:35 p.m.)

A popular adult entertainment awards show became the latest Las Vegas convention to announce an all-digital format for 2021.

AVN Media Network said in a news release Friday that the AVN Awards Show, which was scheduled to take place in late January at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, will go on as a virtual program because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is the former Hard Rock Hotel property, which is undergoing a facelift under new ownership.

“The health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors is our top priority, so we’ve made the difficult decision to not hold our January events in person,” said Tony Rios, CEO of AVN Media Network, in a statement.

Earlier this week, organizers of the annual CES gadget show, one of the best-attended trade shows in Las Vegas, also canceled their in-person events.

In 2019, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the city welcomed more than 42 million visitors. About one-sixth of those visitors came for a convention.

Because of coronavirus-related travel concerns and worry about large gatherings, visitation numbers for Southern Nevada will almost certainly be dramatically lower for 2020.

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