Otakon Vegas

Otakon Vegas (/ˈoʊtəkɒn/ OH-tə-kon) was a three-day anime convention held during January at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention was organized by Otakorp, the group behind Otakon.[3][4]

Otakon Vegas
Official Otakon Vegas Logo.
StatusOn Hiatus
GenreAnime, East Asian popular culture[1]
VenuePlanet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Location(s)Las Vegas, Nevada
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2014
Attendance2,243[2]
Organized byOtakorp, Inc.[3]
Filing status501(c)(3)
WebsiteOtakon Vegas

Programming

The convention typically offered an artist alley, concerts, dealer's room, masquerade, and panels.[5][6] One of the new programming experiments at Otakon Vegas demonstrated Sumo wrestling.[5][7]

History

Otakorp announced in early 2013 a new convention would be held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada where they hope to create a smaller convention and test new ideas.[4][8] Otakon has had issues where new test content has been too successful such as the 2012 Maid Cafe.[9] Representatives from Las Vegas first approached Otakorp about moving Otakon from Baltimore to Las Vegas.[9] Expansion to Vegas was also chosen due to Otakon reaching capacity in Baltimore, along with Vegas being accessible with affordable transportation and several hotel/food options.[9][10] January dates were chosen for the reason attendees should be less busy.[9] Concerns were raised about the location due to the existence of two conventions in the Las Vegas area.[11]

The convention's first year in 2014 featured more than 70 hours of programming.[5] JAM Project appeared at 2015's opening ceremony while on the ANISONG World Tour Lantis Festival in Las Vegas.[12] Otakon Vegas went on hiatus after 2018's event.[13]

Event history
DatesLocationAtten.Guests
January 3–5, 2014 Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada		2,006
(unique)[14]		Masahiro Ando, Zach Bolton, Richard Epcar, Kelly Gneiting, Riichiro Inagaki, Kaoru Kurosaki, Jamie Marchi, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Sayaka Sasaki, Frederik L. Schodt, Ian Sinclair, Ellyn Stern, and Byambajav Ulambayar.[15]
January 16–18, 2015[14][16] Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada		2,100
(est)[17]		Steven Blum, Toshio Furukawa, JAM Project, Shino Kakinuma, Wendee Lee, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Lisa Ortiz, and Sushio.[17]
January 15–17, 2016 Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada		2,243[2]Sandy Fox, Todd Haberkorn, Lex Lang, Erica Mendez, Vic Mignogna, and Jason Charles Miller.[2]
January 13–15, 2017 Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada		Colleen Clinkenbeard, Yasuhiro Imagawa, Hiroshi Kitadani, Lauren Landa, Erica Mendez, Byambajav Ulambayar, and Ryuichi Yamamoto.[18]
January 19-21, 2018 Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada		SungWon Cho, Erica Lindbeck, and Keith Silverstein.[19]

See also

References
  1. Labrador, Jorge (2013-02-25). "Otakon to bring anime fans to Vegas in 2014". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  2. "Otakon Vegas 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  3. "Otakorp, Inc. Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  4. "Otakon Spin-Off Convention in Vegas Planned for January". Anime News Network. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  5. Bamboo Dong; Christopher Macdonald (2014-01-06). "Otakon Vegas 2014". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  6. Glenn, Ashley (February 1, 2017). "Otakon Vegas 2017 Starts Off a New Year for Anime Fans". Las Vegas Informer. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  7. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (2013-08-12). "Otakon 2013 Closing Ceremonies". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  8. "Baltimore's Otakon to host Otakon Vegas in January 2014". The Asahi Shimbun. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  9. "ANNCast Bro-takon". Anime News Network. 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  10. Noorinejad, Florence (2013-02-21). "Otakon goes Vegas, adding festival outside Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  11. "AnimeCons TV: February 2013 Feedback". AnimeCons TV. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  12. Dong, Bamboo (2015-01-21). "Otakon Vegas 2015". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
  13. "Otakon Vegas 2018 is a wrap!". Otakon Vegas 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  14. "Otakon Vegas 2015 Slated for January 16-18 (updated)". Anime News Network. 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  15. "Otakon Vegas 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  16. Labrador, Jorge (2014-01-07). "2014 Otakon photos: 'It's about bringing East and West together' at Planet Hollywood anime event". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  17. "Otakon Vegas 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  18. "Otakon Vegas 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  19. "Otakon Vegas 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.

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