For the first time ever, the Annual Gentlemen’s Club Owners Expo (August 24-27, 2008, at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas) was dedicated to industry General Managers — and the response was tremendous. Club managers and GMs from across the country joined their owners in Las Vegas to enjoy the multi-billion- dollar adult nightclub industry’s only national convention, tradeshow and awards show.

''When I saw the concept for the convention this year, I thought it was great,'' says Jim St. John, President of the Déjà Vu Showgirls club chain, of the Expo’s ''Year of the GM'' theme. ''It was a blessing for all of those general managers who work so hard and yet are never recognized for it.''

St. John also expressed these sentiments during his Expo 2008 Keynote Address, which emphasized the importance of general managers within the Déjà Vu club chain (the largest adult club chain in the world) and in the club industry at large. Directly following the Address, Exotic Dancer (ED) Publications (producers of the Annual Expo) and St. John presented six regional awards to industry general managers, signifying the first time ever that awards were given to industry GMs (see the complete Expo 2008 Awards listing at the end of this release).

The majority of Expo Awards, however, were presented at the 11th Annual Adult Nightclub & Exotic Dancer Awards Show. Held on Wednesday, August 27, at ''the Joint'' showroom inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the show was dubbed the ''Rock N Roll Awards Show'' and featured a live rock band and two guest hosts, adult superstarlet Jesse Jane and the Howard Stern Show’s Ronnie the Limo Driver.

The evening’s biggest winners included Carmen Hart, who was crowned Ed’s 2008 Overall Entertainer of the Year; the Lodge in Dallas, Texas, which took home the Overall Gentlemen’s Club of the Year Award; and Déjà Vu, which not only took home the Club Chain of the Year Award, but also saw its President Jim St. John being inducted into the Exotic Dancer Hall of Fame (Don ''Weasel'' DalPonte of Weasel’s in Wisconsin was also inducted). The Awards Show also put an exclamation point on the Expo’s theme, as the Overall General Manager of the Year Award was presented to Shawn Doyle of the Hustler Club in San Francisco.

''Judging by people’s reactions as they were leaving the venue, the Awards Show was a rousing success and everyone enjoyed the ‘Rock N Roll’ format,'' says ED’s Associate Publisher Dave Manack. ''The Hard Rock proved to be a perfect host for the event, and the Las Vegas band ‘the Crashers’ added an energy to the show that has seldom been seen.''

At Expo 2008, several panel sessions, workshops and seminars also revolved around the adult club GM, and the most important aspects of their daily work experience. The 400-booth Expo Tradeshow also showcased hundreds of products and services available to industry GMs, owners and other industry professionals.

As was the case in 2007, this year’s Expo was held in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Storerotica Show, the national convention and tradeshow for every segment of the adult retail industry (presented by Teeze and ASB Magazines, which are both part of the Exotic Dancer Publications family). For more information on the 16th Annual Gentlemen’s Club Owners Expo, the Annual Ed’s Awards Show or the Annual Storerotica Convention, please visit www.ExoticDancer.com, www.theEDexpo.com or www.Storerotica.com today, or call (727) 726-3592.

Winners from the 11th Annual Adult Nightclub & Exotic Dancer Awards Show:

Entertainer of the Year
Carmen Hart

Adult Movie Feature of the Year
Jenna Haze

Newcomer Feature of the Year
Shay Lynn

Club Owners’ Favorite Feature of the Year
Daisy Duxe

Club of the Year/Northeast
Penthouse Executive Club, New York, NY

Club of the Year/Southeast
The Men’s Club, Raleigh, NC

Club of the Year/Mideast
Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, Washington Park, IL

Club of the Year/Central
Hustler’s Barely Legal, New Orleans, LA

Club of the Year/Northwest
The Crazy Horse, San Francisco, CA

Club of the Year/Southwest
Skin Cabaret, Scottsdale, AZ

“Feature” Club of the Year
Al’s Diamond Cabaret, Reading, PA

Overall Gentlemen’s Club of the Year
The Lodge, Dallas, TX

Club Chain of the Year
Deja Vu Showgirls

GM of the Year
Shawn Doyle, Hustler Club, San Francisco, CA

Industry Innovator of the Year
Bob Chiappardi, Concrete Marketing

Hall of Fame
Don “Weasel” DalPonte

Hall of Fame
Jim St. John

“Cool” New Product of the Year
Holo-Walls

General Manager Awards

GM of the Year/Northeast
Alp Aktan, Delilah’s Gentlemen’s Club, Philadelphia, PA

GM of the Year/Southeast
Rod Kimbrough, Cheetah Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL

GM of the Year/Mideast
Ken DeGori, Scores, Chicago, IL

GM of the Year/Central
Lloyd Ace, The Men’s Club,
Houston, TX

GM of the Year/Southwest
Sherry Cooper, Deja Vu Showgirls,
City of Industry, CA

GM of the Year/Northwest
Myron Walters, Crazy Horse, San Francisco, CA