Mark posted:
Cloud's jamboree has long been a major rock and gem show and combined
with the G&LW wholesale show, it provides for many vendors and buyers
from around the world, not to mention the tourist trade.
Dear Mark and List:
I'm not familiar with Cloud's Jamboree, but would like to be. Do you
know the dates for that show, or is there a website? If so, please
forward, I'd like to check it out. Does this show take place in
Laughlin?
Its too late I'd think to change from Tucson to Laughlin for the
upcoming show, but for 2007, I'd like to see some serious thought put
towards the move of the meteorite show.
The Gem show has been running in Tucson for 51 years. It's a huge
moneymaker for the promoters and the city, and it's not going to move
to another town just so visitors can maybe get cheaper hotel rooms,
though having paid some hefty hotel bills here in the past, I do
sympathize with you.
<rant>
Rooms in Tucson are cheap now -- you can get a nice suite next to the
pool for $49/night. As you know, they go up drastically during the show
due to the greed of hotel owners and promoters who squeeze every penny
they can out of visiting dealers and buyers. Even a single at the
crummy Super 8 on Frontage Road costs $89/night + a high occupancy tax
during the show -- if you're lucky.
There has been a lot of unofficial grumbling about the show from
certain dealers, and they have every right to grumble, especially this
past year (Feb. 2005) when so many were moved to new locations,
mistreated by promoters, and forced to set up in useless hotels with no
walk-in traffic, miles away from the main show. In addition, vendors
are harassed by state officials over the use of non-regulated digital
scales and sales tax issues.
The Gem show is the biggest event of the year for us here in Tucson.
Every hotel room in town is booked, and every decent restaurant is
packed night after night. IMO the city should be very grateful for this
gigantic income and do more to help visiting vendors, instead of
hassling them. Also, it would be nice if JUST ONCE they suspended road
work downtown for those two weeks. Another peeve of mine is the gang of
urchins who charge $5 to park on some patch of waste ground next to the
highway which is vacant for the rest of the year. The show promoters
are making enough money -- they need to provide adequate free parking
and better shuttle bus service.
</rant>
A few suggestions for show visitors looking to save money:
- Buddy up with two or three of your pals, and get a big suite in a
nicer hotel. It ends up being cheaper per person, plus you can throw
some monster parties.
- Stay at one of the motels on the outskirts of town -- off the
highway (I-10). There are a number to choose from and they are a little
cheaper (Motel 6 in South Tucson, which we used to call "Motel Hell,"
In-Town Suites on Ina, etc.).
- Camp outside the city and drive in each day.
- Find a motel in a neighboring town, like Benson, and commute to the
show each morning by car. You have to really like driving for this to
work.
- Stay at one of the cheap dodgy "Bates Motel" motels on Miracle Mile
or North Oracle. Steve Arnold IMB and I had to do that one time and we
got a room with no bed sheets for $50 cash. I have friends who stay
every year at the No-Tel Motel on N. Oracle and they always *do* have
some stories to tell.
- Crash on Blaine Reed's floor (sorry Blaine, just kidding).
- Stay at my house like everybody else -- oops, sorry already full up
for next year
Or . . . do what I did and just move here. Then the room prices aren't
even an issue : )
With many (thousands) of rooms just in the casino hotels, nearby
Kingman and Needles also offer hotels and an easy commute, finding a
place to stay shouldn't be the problem like at Tucson
I can hardly believe there are more hotel rooms in Laughlin than
Tucson. Greater Tucson has a population of ~1,000,000; Laughlin ~8,000.
Another reason the Tucson show is a lasting success is because people
like coming here, especially in the winter. Tucson is a great city with
a fascinating history and all kinds entertainment and cultural options.
No offense to Laughlin, which is fun for a night out at the casino, but
you can't compare it to Tucson.
Whatever you do, may I suggest that you book your rooms way in advance.
It is always very difficult to get any kind of a room around showtime,
and no you can't camp in my yard, sorry. We have wild bobcats and I
don't want to have to clean up the mess in the morning : )
Best wishes, and I hope to see you in February.
Geoff N.
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