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.
Guns 
have long been a man’s world. But as growth in the firearm industry slows down, gunmakers are increasingly focusing on women to boost sales—and that bet is starting to pay off.
The number of women in the U.S. who practiced target shooting at gun ranges jumped 60 percent, to 5.4 million, between 2001 and 2013, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), an industry trade group.
If 
you’re an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment, Las Vegas is the place to be this week. The annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show—better known as the SHOT Show—is the launching pad for a plethora of new firearms and firearm accessories.
And after a few years where innovation in the industry was de-emphasized to focus on meeting backorders on existing models, firearm manufacturers are now ready to stretch a few creative muscles. Here’s what turned our heads—and what we heard other showgoers buzzing about.
Kalashnikov 
AK-47s are legendary in the gun world, but as of last July 16, imports of the weapon were banned—part of the economic sanctions put into place against Russia after its suspected role in the downing of a Malaysian passenger jetliner over Ukraine.
The U.S. distributor of the weapons may have found a loophole, though—by making the guns here.
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.
Crimson 
Trace is a leader in the laser sight space for handguns, and the company has been enjoying rapid growth for the majority of the past six years. But CEO Lane Tobiassen faces an interesting dilemma: The company’s biggest obstacle is its own customer.
In order to keep up its growth, Crimson Trace needs to persuade retail partners to upsell its product when an end customer purchases a handgun—except retail partners may not think the customer actually needs it.
Chris Morris: Journalist 