YNOT — Last week it was reported that the Internext version of the Players Ball signed rap star Warren G, and the popular event would take place at the Rain nightclub at the Palms Hotel & Casino on January 10th. That’s the same venue for Internext itself, but one day prior to the start of the expo. It now seems that the plan could change, however, as event promoter D-Money told YNOT.com that the Rain is making things difficult.”The reason for the 10th was because Rain is used as the trade show floor the next day and would only be available for use on the 10th,” said D-Money. “Normally that is the night for Internext’s welcoming party. We also wanted to try to attract some of the AEE crowd since Rain is such a huge venue and more porn stars always makes the Players Ball more fun.”
With plenty of industry professionals looking for something to do on the night between AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) and the strictly business-to-business Internext Expo, the logic behind the date makes sense, but that doesn’t mean the process has been smooth sailing for D-Money and his company D-Money Presents.
“Well, since we planned on having the Ball on the 10th, Rain hasn’t been as nice to us as they have been in the past, so they wanted to charge us over $30k just to use their venue that night,” D-Money told YNOT. “This is a deal breaker for the Players Ball. Lucky for us, we have many great Vegas contacts for more venue options. It’s a good thing that we’ve always provided our venues with our ‘player’ crowd. This makes it easy for us to have backup plans.”
One possible backup if things don’t smooth out with Rain is to use the adult club Sapphire, which comes with an added bonus of its dancers in attendance.
“Part of my goal is to provide more beautiful women in our party so the players can play,” said D-Money.
The Players Ball is the longest running event for adult business professionals, but even with Warren G signed to headline it hasn’t been easy for D-Money Presents to keep up the act in an industry that has been decimated by the one-two punch of piracy and recession.
“I wish I could say it feels great [to still be around] but the honest truth is that it really sucks that our business has taken such a huge hit,” admits D-Money. “The sponsorship dollars aren’t there like it used to be. For me, I don’t want to let all of those webmasters down that look forward to a big event like ours, which provides legendary talents that accommodates for the entire trade show. Without The Players Ball, these shows would only have a bunch of private dinners and many people would be left out. The show must go on and people must continue to network and make money. Say what you will about The Players Ball, maybe it’s loud and crazy, but there are major business dealings happening and friendships built which leads into deals. It helps our business and provides the perfect playground.”
D-Money told YNOT that the secret to his event’s survival, even in a tough recession, is experience and years of positive relationships.
“The reason why I’m able to provide high profile shows through this, through the recession, is because I can pick legendary artists that won’t cost nearly as much as what we’ve paid in the past,” said D-Money. “Thanks to my friends in my inner circle, the ‘board of players,’ KB, J$tyle$ and Evan from XPays, they help me decide which artists and which venues would be a good choice for our crowd.”
“Also, I’m very fortunate that The Players Ball has a great name with the rappers. Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Lil Jon, Xzibit, Cypress HIll, E-40, DJ Quik and many others speak very highly about us within the rap community. We can negotiate lower prices because of who we are and also because they are also in a recession as well. But the main reason is because SugarCash.com committed to being a main sponsor and their contribution helps pay for most of the costs.”
Anyone interested in attending the Players Ball is asked to register at www.theplayersball.com/register. Registered parties will be notified in advance of any changes in the event’s venue.
