Page 60 - AVN May 2015

FEATURE
WE DEFINITELY GET ESCORTS AND THEY
ARE THE BEST KIND OF CUSTOMER.
THEY GET A THRILL OUT OF BEING
CATERED TO AND HAVING MONEY
SPENT ON THEM FRIVOLOUSLY!
—MEGAN SWARTZ, DÉJÀ VU
FEATURE | By Kim Airs
SIN CITY SELLING
Playing the toy game in a tourist town
city that’s the home to more than 2 million
Las Vegas—the city that gets us excited, the
locals in the area, the city that attracts more
than 40 million tourists a year, the city where
you can’t wait to visit to throw some cash down on
the multitudes of gaming options and also pick up
a sex toy or two without having your neighbors at
home know what you’re buying.
But what’s it like to actually have a sex-oriented
business in Sin City? Not only is our industry
represented with various retail stores but there are
also many manufacturers that call Las Vegas home.
Lynn Comella is no stranger to Las Vegas both
as a ten-year resident of the city and also as a sex
toy specialist, having penned her new book Vibrator
Nation: How Feminist Sex Toy Stores Changed the Business
of Pleasure. Comella is an associate professor in the
department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and she had some
thoughts on why Las Vegas adult businesses thrive
year round.
“Las Vegas is an interesting place when it comes
to sex, because, on the one hand, the marketing
materials directed at tourists sell Vegas as “Sin City,”
a place where people can supposedly cut loose and do
things they wouldn’t dare do at home,” Comella said.
“And yet, at the same time, Vegas can be
surprisingly sexually conservative,” she added. “In
fact, there are examples of tourists being arrested
because they mistakenly thought ‘anything goes’ in
Vegas and instances when locals have caused a fuss
about an artist’s mural that showed breasts.”
Tourists often patronize the retail stores in the area, but perhaps more in the shadows are the manufacturers
that thrive in the area. Bob Wolf, owner of Synergy Erotics—currently offering more than 100 different
vibrators—is one of those manufacturers. He moved the business from San Francisco in 2012 to get away from
the astronomical rents, taxation, and the “overall poor business environment California engenders.”
He explained, “With the crash of 2008, we knew we had to make some drastic changes and moving to LV was
just a part of those changes. Luckily my wife and I had planned to relocate to LV regardless but the economy gave
us the nudge we needed.”
Aside from the economic advantages of moving to Las Vegas back in 2012, Wolf is often asked whether being
located in Sin City benefits his company. “People have this image of Vegas that, in all honesty, has little or
nothing to do with our business, but if that image/reputation enhances our brand, I’m happy to allow people to
believe so!”
Relocating to Las Vegas has helped his business both directly and indirectly, including its impact on his long-
term employees. Wolf admitted, “For instance, the cost of living here in LV is so far below California, so imagine
your employees finally being able to afford their first home or move to a larger home if their needs call for it.”
But it goes further than just staffing. Being in Las Vegas and close to the prolific industry trade shows that
take place there, Wolf saves money by not having to ship his show displays and inventory. Also, the McCarran
International Airport is less than thirty minutes away for the vast majority of Las Vegas inhabitants, so flying to
trade shows in other locales is easy and efficient for him.
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