Pool Cue News and Review

Well… the final numbers are out for the BCA Expo and they aren’t good.

Exhibitors - 178 down from 234
Booths - 626 down from 1003
Buyers - 1111 down from 2156

In my efforts to not to be such a “callous dick” as one of my readers called me, I’m not going to go doom and gloom on this. Well, really I’m not going doom and gloom because there’s no need, but I’ll use this as an opportunity to show that I’m all sunshine and lollipops anyway.

So here’s the deal. Charlotte was a disaster before the ink on the contract even dried. You can’t move this show out of Vegas and the old regime who booked this and Houston should’ve known better.  It could’ve been worse… much worse.  A lot of the smaller booths on the edges looked pretty miserable, but there was some brisk business going on with the bigger players.

All I can say on this one is live and learn.  Next year, the show moves back to Las Vegas where it belongs.  Attendance will be up because store owners in every industry use the annual trade show as an excuse to write off a vacation as a business expense.  No one wanted to go to Houston for a vacation and Charlotte in the summertime is a pretty miserable experience.  Next year the show will be at The Sands on the strip, people will come to the show, get loaded, lose lots of lettuce gambling and will have a good time.