PCA 2024: Day 1 Recap

The first day of the 2024 PCA Convention and Trade show is in the bag, and as Brooks Whittington mentioned in his Day 0 writeup, it was a very different day.

To start off, moving the trade show from the The Venetian over to the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), and with one of the main hotels being the somewhat-new Resorts World Las Vegas, means you have another option to get to the LVCC besides a taxi or rideshare — The Boring Co.’s Vegas Loop.

• The Loop — One of the things that the PCA touted on their website was how if you stayed at the Resorts World Las Vegas, was that the Tesla Loop that goes underground directly to the LVCC would be “free with your PCA badge” — which has been amended to say now “Easy access to Tesla Loop ($5/day).” There was much confusion when the hoard of PCA attendees and exhibitors tried to get to the LVCC utilizing the Vegas Loop. To be honest, if there weren’t confusion over why we couldn’t just step into a Tesla Model 3 after flashing the all-powerful PCA badge and heading on our way, maybe the added hectic purchase of a ticket on your phone while waiting in one of three separate lines wouldn’t have been too bad. But alas, almost everybody in line was expecting a free ride, but you know what they say — There’s no such thing as a free lunch ride. On top of that, one helpful individual we met on Friday called the Vegas Loop a constant stream of Teslas. In actuality, maybe half a dozen Teslas showed up every five minutes or so. Once we got going, though, it was only a brief three-and-a-half minute ride with zero traffic that dropped us off about 100 feet from the entrance to the LVCC South Hall, which, thankfully, in March is not 115° like when the show is held in July. Overall a much cheaper, (somewhat) more convenient, and definitely unique experience getting from point A to point B than in years past.

• Packed Like Sardines, For the Better — Of all the venues and layouts I’ve seen in the past decade-plus of covering the show, this might be one of the most dense layouts I’ve ever seen. I’m unsure if the LVCC just had a better fit for the PCA’s needs or if it just worked out this way, but booths were packed from wall to wall, almost to the back of the hall. No gigantic curtains cordoning off empty space or a vast sea of concrete floor just past the exhibitor unlucky enough to get stuck in no man’s land. Whether or not this density created the illusion of busyness or it was just the normal first-day crowd, it did seem like there were a good number of attendees on Day 1. This is just a guess though, as neither myself no the PCA are scanning badges to get an actual number of who showed up. Regardless, it meant slightly less walking for me, which I certainly appreciated.
• People Like Celebrities —There have been many cigar collaborations over the years, from store exclusives to tie-ins to popular television shows like “The Sopranos”. The endorsement and/or collaboration with legitimate celebrities getting their own lines seems to have picked up speed, though. At the 2022 PCA Convention and Trade Show, Espinosa Premium Cigars had Guy Fieri in their booth for his Knuckle Sandwich cigar, and last year, we had Zander-Greg partnering up with Chazz Palminteri for A Bronx Tale. Both garnered long lines of people who waited to get their picture with the latest celebrity-turned-cigar maker. This year, the hype was real, with multiple PA announcements for both the impending arrival and the actual arrival of Mike Tyson at the Gurkha booth for his appearance related to the joint project Tyson 2.0 Undisputed. The line for a photo-op wrapped out of Gurkha’s already fairly sizeable booth, around the corner and up the stairs leading out of the hall. It seems he was only there briefly, so I can only assume not everybody got their chance for Instagram glory.It leads me to wonder when or if we’ll see other well-known cigar-smoking celebrities throw their hat in the ring and show up for photo ops after partnering with similar brands. Off the top of my head, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Michael Jordan would be pretty huge pulls. Then again, Drew Estate has already teamed up with Metallica frontman James Hetfield for the Blackened line. (I probably don’t need to link this, you can just click on an ad.) Lead singer and guitarist for arguably one of the biggest metal bands ever? If I’m being honest, I’d eschew my booth-covering responsibilities to wait in line for that meet-and-greet. (Editor’s Note — Get back to work. — Charlie Minato.)