All of the handwringing about The National going the west coast does not accomplish much unless there is a bloc of western dealers who can get together and come up with a plan. If a group of heavy hitters got together and ambushed The National you may get a reaction. You have a large card convention 3 weeks to a month prior to the National or a week or two later. Too early and you are tap dancing around the Fourth of July holiday and virtual (for now) school ending. If you have it shortly thereafter you may be able to tempt the west coast collectors who bite the bullet and begrudingly travel to Chicago or Cleveland. The appeal of a show that they can drive to within a few hours with more money in their pocket may sway quite a few. Southern California may be good. I am not too familiar with the convention centers down there other than Long Beach which is relatively small, but cheap close parking. People keep mentioning Las Vegas. Yes, they have a few convention spaces. I recall going to the one in the Venetian, I believe, for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Show and it was a good size. There are always lots of hotel rooms except possibly during the CES (Consumer Electronics Show). The big issue, big as an elephant's butt, is the heat during the summer. Certainly you can move easily between some of the casinos with the monorail. However if you want to step outside and are not used to the heat it will be tough to take. Other cities may work like Phoenix or Denver. San Franciso too expensive overall. I view Dallas as no better than Chicago. It is really not west. It is more south central. If a dealer would not travel to Chicago why would he want to drive the 10 across AZ and NM and the 20 through most of Texas in constant 90º+ weather? Just some thoughts to ponder.
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