Second annual Pahrump Alien Conference brings UFO believers and speakers to the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino

What happened

The second annual Pahrump Alien Conference returned to the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino on a Saturday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The paper described the turnout as a small but colorful crowd of believers with different ideas about what might exist elsewhere in the universe. One speaker addressed a crowd of about 80 people.

The theme carried across the property. The Review-Journal reported that cocktail waitresses and table dealers wore headbands with shiny green alien ears along with their uniforms. More local events appear in our community coverage.

Who spoke at the conference

The Pahrump Alien Guy

A ufologist named De La Torre, who calls himself the Pahrump Alien Guy, said he can see up to 200 objects overhead that are clearly UFOs if he spends a few hours outside on any given day, the Review-Journal reported. He showed the audience a blurry photo of what he described as a suspicious orb of light. "You can see anything you want to if you keep looking," he told the crowd.

De La Torre also flipped through a slideshow of photos he took in Pahrump and others released by the military. He acknowledged some skeptical faces and said his second-grade nephew often answers his photos with: "Dude, that could be anything."

Authors and a Roswell connection

Other speakers included author Kathy Porter, who said she draws on her own encounters with aliens for her novels, the Review-Journal reported. Jesse Marcel III also spoke. He is the grandson of an Air Force major of the same name who investigated a well-known alleged alien-related incident in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. An expert on Bigfoot sightings was scheduled for the conference's online portion.

Why Nevada draws alien interest

The Review-Journal noted that Nevada is home to Area 51, the highly classified U.S. Air Force facility that theorists have tried to link to UFO sightings. In 2019, a viral "Storm Area 51" event brought 3,000 people to Rachel, the unincorporated Lincoln County town closest to the facility.

The state also has the Extraterrestrial Highway, a 98.4-mile stretch of state road named in 1996 by the Nevada Department of Transportation and known for apparent UFO sightings. At the same time, the federal government maintains it has not found verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial life, activity or technology, according to the Review-Journal.

What attendees said

Pahrump residents

Pahrump resident Pam Goslar wore alien glasses and a themed cape and joked that her late father told her he would be going back to the mothership. Sisters Jacky Walker, 73, and Alma Wade, 82, both of Pahrump, decided to return to the conference this year. They told the Review-Journal they share a curiosity for the unknown and enjoy hearing De La Torre speak.

A boost for local businesses

Walker said the conference's boost to Pahrump businesses is both welcome and needed. She said she had no idea so many people were interested in the topic. "I'm hoping that it builds and becomes much more well-known," she told the Review-Journal.

A former skeptic from Las Vegas

Mary Sanders, a 69-year-old Las Vegas resident who lives near Nellis Air Force Base, said she once thought alien theories were nuts. At the conference, she charged attendees for tarot card readings using an alien-themed deck, the paper reported.

What to watch next

• Whether the conference grows: attendee Jacky Walker told the Review-Journal she hopes it builds and becomes better known.
• The ongoing gap between believers' claims and the federal government's position that it has found no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial life.
• How ufologists like De La Torre fare in what the Review-Journal called an uphill battle to get the public to take them seriously.