There 
are a few constants in Las Vegas every January.
The tech world will descend upon the town right after New Year’s for the International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES. And not too long afterward, the adult entertainment industry will follow.
While the industry’s most ardent fans make a pilgrimage here each year, not everyone is able to make the trip. For those people, here’s a taste of a day at the porn show.
On 
the surface, it would seem like 2015 is an ideal year for porn to break into the mainstream.
Adult actresses are becoming increasingly well known—making cameos on popular TV shows and sometimes trending on Facebook. Meanwhile, one of the year’s more anticipated movies—50 Shades of Grey—is an erotic tale that explores themes previously relegated to the world of adult film.
Crowdfunding 
has worked its way into just about every corner of everyday life these days. Donors can pledge money to new tech, upcoming major motion pictures and even potato salad, so it really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that they can also contribute to adult entertainment.
While porn and sex toys are a no-no on Kickstarter, they’re just fine on Indiegogo along with a number of other crowdfunding sites. There is even a pair of porn-only crowdfunding sites. And, just as with other industries, people are putting down a lot of money.
Porn, 
it would seem, has traded in one set of bedfellows for another.
For 12 years, the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) and CES went hand in hand. Starting in 2012, however, many attendees of the annual electronics trade show were surprised to find the Sands Convention Center—the former home of the event—bereft of cleavage and porn videos.
Instead, the show had been moved back a week, and had begun running at the same time as the SHOT Show—the annual convention for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting accessories industries. They’ve run concurrently ever since.
Telecommuting 
is shaking up the porn industry.
Camgirls—models who earn their living by stripping (and more) in front of a computer webcam for hundreds of people watching live online—are taking advantage of the Internet’s freedoms to work anywhere.
The 
porn industry has a long history of spotlighting women with Barbie-like figures and impossible proportions. But just as pop culture began to feature women with more natural figures in TV, movies and advertising, the adult industry began to realize that its stars don’t all have to be a size 0, either.
In the past year, Wicked Pictures produced a sex education video for plus-size people, which went on to become one of the fastest-selling titles in the line. Another studio, New Sensations, saw success with its plus-size feature films.
Not 
too long ago, the chief requirement to become a porn superstar was to have sex on camera, and do so in an enticing fashion to win over fans.
Today, the rules have changed.
The 
U.S. porn industry is a $14 billion business, and the U.S. gun industry is a $38 billion business, both roughly speaking.
And sometimes, the two meet in spectacular fashion.
While 
red hot stars in the porn industry come and go, the behind-the-scenes power players tend to lead more stable professional lives. But as the industry has changed in recent years, some of the most powerful people in adult entertainment have started to transition, as well.
Some of the names below may be familiar, but odds are you won’t know them all. These are the people who generally prefer to keep a low profile, focusing instead on the bottom line.
CNBC.com spoke with a variety industry insiders, ranging from executives to stars, to get their thoughts on who the true power brokers in the world of porn are today.
The porn industry got in a lot of fights in 2014, and from the look of things, 2015 is going to be a brawler of a year as well.
Piracy and condoms continue to be the porn business’ chief battlegrounds. While the push for a controversial bill that would have criminalized the production of porn without condoms anywhere in California died in committee last year, a circuit court upheld an existing, similar law in Los Angeles County (where 60 to 70 percent of U.S. porn films are shot).
Chris Morris: Journalist 