Theory on sales in summer slump

[gonzo]

On another subject, I ask Pistol how the sex industry is doing in Las Vegas.

“I don’t know if you’ve run across the fact but sexual libidos go down when ever the temperature goes up,” he reflects. “That’s a fact.”

We get into generous debate on this topic, but I won’t bore you with details. Although I was about ready to whip out the Sonny Crockett, Miami Vice, no socks argument to slay Pistol's objections once and for all.

“I’m talking about society at large,” says Pistol. “While vacations might be part of it, guys aren’t as horny in June, July and August as they are in other months.”

I suppose Pistol never heard of a bikini.

“That’s just the reality,” he says. “I’ve seen it year after year.”

Then, again, Pistol also owns a strip club and video stores so he might know something the rest of society doesn't.

“I see it first hand and all kinds of areas- from Arrow to the strip clubs to the book store,” he says.

“Is that why summer's always considered the slowest time for the adult video industry?” I ask him.

“That’s right,” he says. “Go all the way back before porn and look at the birth rate. June, July and August will wind up being nine months later the lowest birth rate months.”

I mention to Pistol how my balls become overactive once the temperature goes over 80, and he says I’m out of the norm.

“I always thought I was.”

“Now you got confirmation,” he says. “And this is why we don’t sell as many videos in June, July and August.”

“One more thought thrown into this whole recession story,” I comment.

Pistol tells me the overall Vegas economy is down and we chat about the slow, bill paying element of the porn industry.

“They think paying a bill is a criminal act,” Pistol reflects. “The sad thing is when ever enough of them hit, it’s a steamroller through the industry. I often times had a theory- there’s one million dollars in the industry. And if anybody holds it for a day it fucks up the whole system. And everybody wants to hold it for a day or days.”

[Rob Spallone’s similar theory states that there’s only $10,000 in circulation, but who’s counting.]

Pistol’s also in an enviable position because his titles have built-in branding.

“You go into a store and see thousands of titles- you’ve never heard of any of them," he continues. "They don’t mean anything to you. Then you run across a Deep Throat. You go I’ve heard all the hullabaloo about that. I think I’ll pick that up.”

“But if you can’t figure out how to stand out from the rest, you’re just part of the pack,” says Pistol. “Otherwise it’s just a morass of titties. So far I’ve been doing just fine sitting on the sidelines selling my old stuff which has more cache than the new stuff. My movies have names they’ve heard of, and that means something.”

Read all of the Gene Ross interview