Report from Las Vegas:
The 2009 West Coast Pipe Show
By Steve Johnson
President, Southwest Pipe & Cigar League
As someone with a fair amount of experience organizing pipe shows, I know just how difficult and challenging it is to put one on, especially given the smoker-hostile times in which we live. After the demise of the Los Angeles show, and then the northern California show, it appeared that the challenges here in the “golden state” would make the prospects for another show in our part of the country highly doubtful for the foreseeable future. At club meetings, or I whenever I talked to my pipe-smoking friends, two questions would always come up: “When are we going to have another show?” and “what about Las Vegas?”
The answers to both questions were finally delivered in October, 2008, as we received the official announcement of a pipe show that would be taking place in Las Vegas on the weekend of October 31-November 1 of the following year. Needless to say, this came as exciting news, and a relief to know that our pipe show “drought” in the southwest would be ending. I was further excited (and pleasantly surprised) to learn that Marty Pulvers was teaming up with Steve O’Neill to organize the event. I’ve known Marty for many years, and there are quite a few of us out there with fond memories of the successful shows he put together in the San Francisco area during the 1980s. As for Steve, this would be his first outing as a pipe show organizer. I spoke with him by phone at some length shortly after I got the announcement. By the end of our conversation, I sensed that his drive combined with Marty’s invaluable experience and help should really give us something to look forward to! Icing on the cake was provided by the fact that the 2009 West Coast Pipe Show would be held at the Palace Station hotel – the same venue Marty chose 20 years earlier as an alternative to the anti-smoking attitudes that were making things next to impossible for him in the Bay area.
Unfortunately, those attitudes have infected the rest of the country in the years since then. Not even Nevada was immune from legislators who wanted to perpetuate the fraud of secondhand smoke to advance their anti-smoking agenda, so when Steve and Marty began their organizational efforts, it appeared that the 2009 show would have to be a nonsmoking event. However, the Nevada state legislators saw the error of their ways, and the smoking ban in casinos was lifted a few months before the show. While the hotel was unwilling to rewrite the contract to allow smoking at the show itself, we at least had access to the Palace Station casino as a smoking lounge. (This part of the story has a happy ending for 2010, which I’ll tell you about later.)
During the course of their preparations, the West Coast Pipe Show did a great job of putting together and maintaining a website that provided updates on who would be participating. The site also included interviews with a number of pipe folk, and let’s say it really whetted our appetites for what the show had to offer. Then a few months before the weekend we were all waiting for came the news: 102 exhibit tables – sold out! This would top the largest show we had in L.A., when the 1996 West Coast Pipe & Cigar Expo hosted about 90 tables.
After a year of growing anticipation, it was finally showtime, and attendees began arriving at the Palace Station hotel on Friday, October 30. By that evening, many faces sporting pipes were congregating around the pool and patio areas, and preshow excitement was in the air. When the doors opened that Saturday morning, it was clear that we were in for a real treat!
The array of pipes spread across so many tabletops was dazzling, and included a wide variety of new high-grades and estate pipes. On the European side, importer David Field was present with Italian master pipemaker Paolo Becker, who was displaying quite a few lovely examples of his latest work. The largest display by a single maker was put on by Italian artisan Luigi Viprati, who filled four jam-packed tables with an eye-popping selection that included some very creative designs in his Salvador Dali series. American makers were also well-represented, including: Bob Swanson who displayed excellent craftsmanship under the Perry White brand; Joe Skoda, showing some very creative and innovative pipe designs; Bill Jennings of Wyoming, who incorporates antler with briar to produce unique and attractive examples of pipecraft; Jim Cooke, a name known and admired in the American pipe world since the ‘80s; and last, but certainly not least, Paul Perri – not only a master craftsman, but a true show favorite for very good reasons.
Leading the way on the estate side was Lowell Ellis, with three very well-stocked tables of vintage pipes. (For estate pipe enthusiasts, Lowell never disappoints, as he routinely brings an awesome collection of vintage wood to the shows he attends.) More estate pieces were on display by collectors Tim Dowell, John Ferraro, Al Grosskopf, Rich Curll, Tom Pfaeffle (our resident Dunhill Red Bark specialist), Charles Scholl, Mike Edborg and show organizer Mr. Marty Pulvers. Estate pipe restoration was represented by Chance Whitamore and the show’s co-organizer, Mr. Steve O’Neill.
Retailers and online merchants were also in force at the show, adding their own mix of high-grade pipes, tobaccos, and pipe accessories to what was being offered. This included Lawdog’s Pipes, James Island Piper, TheBriarPipe.com, Tobacco Pipe Exports, Ye Olde Pipe & Tobacco Shoppe, Pipe Trends, and Tobacco Pipe Exports. Among the retailer contingent was Grant’s Pipe Shop, which has been an institution among Bay area pipe smokers for many, many years. Local retail presence was provided by Las Vegas smokeshop Tobacco Town Cigars, with a very nice display of their wares. To round things out, MacBaren Tobacco had a display that included a tobacco bar, where attendees could get samples of a number of their tasty blends.
(Before I continue, I should mention that there were more exhibitors than I could do justice to in this article. Taking notes and trying to remember the particulars of everyone who exhibited at the show is at best challenging, so I offer my apologies to those who I did not include here.)
On Saturday morning, the show presented a special event in the form of guest speakers addressing different subjects of great interest. This began with a seminar on pipemaking by Bob Swanson, who spiced things up with a Q&A that made for a very informative experience. Bob’s presentation was followed by Joe Lankford, who was happy to share his knowledge and insight on the art of tobacco blending. The seminar portion of the show concluded with a talk by the SWPCL’s own Chance Whitamore on the subject of buying and selling pipes on eBay. Besides being a great guy, Chance is indeed an eBay “guru”, so his expertise as it applies to our hobby was very much worth paying attention to. These seminars added something special to the show, and we’re grateful that Steve and Marty went the extra step to include them in the weekend’s activities.
With the Saturday part of the show concluded, it was time for the banquet. As we gathered in the banquet room, it reminded me of why this aspect of any pipe show offers a particular
enjoyment – the opportunity to socialize with friends old and new outside of the hustle and bustle of the show itself. Of course, we can’t ignore the food aspect, and let me just say that everyone there was impressed with the excellent Italian buffet provided by the Palace Station’s catering department. After we finished enjoying our meals, guest speaker Rick Newcombe came to the podium and delivered a speech that offered thoughtful reflections on the pipe smoker’s way of life, and what makes it so unique. (You can find the text of Rick’s speech here [ Given the fact that smokers are constantly under assault pretty much everywhere, his articulate perspective in defense of pipe smoking is sorely needed, so what Rick had to say is something we should take to heart. Next came the presentation of the 2009 West Coast Pipe show awards by Steve O’Neill. And the winners were: Al Grosskopf for the Lifetime Achievement Award, Bob Swanson for the Most Improved Pipemaker of 2009, Todd Johnson for Best Pipe in Show, and Paul Perri for Best Collection.
After the awards presentation, the banquet wound down, and we headed back to our hotel rooms to rest up for day 2 of the show.
Sunday got off to a good start with a decent amount of foot traffic. While there wasn’t as much activity compared to Saturday, this is generally the case with two-day shows, although it was by no means the kind of “dead” day I’ve seen at past events. Even so, exhibitors had planes to catch or roads to hit, and by the afternoon things started clearing out. As the weekend came to an end, we could all look back on a great experience, one that was worth repeating – and building on.
Overall, foot traffic was estimated at about 300 walk-in attendees for the weekend. Considering the bad economy, the fact that the show was on Halloween weekend, and no smoking was permitted in the exhibit area, this was actually a good, solid result for a show in its first year. As to the Halloween issue, it unfortunately had more of an impact on attendance than the organizers originally anticipated. However, this was a matter of limited schedule availability by the time Steve and Marty could book the venue. The no-smoking issue was also a problem that generated a lot of complaints (as would be expected). With that said, Steve expressed the determination that if there was to be another show in 2010, both problems would be resolved. He made good on his promise, and we were thrilled by the announcement of the 2010 West Coast Pipe Show for the weekend of November 6 and 7 (bye bye, Halloween!). Now here’s the happy ending I referred to earlier: The Palace Station hotel has agreed to allow smoking at the show!
We owe Steve O’Neill and Marty Pulvers a huge debt of thanks not only for taking on the daunting task of putting together a pipe show under tough circumstances, but also for producing a well-organized, well-run event with an outstanding mix of exhibitors for all to enjoy. Thanks also go to the team of volunteers who gave the help Steve and Marty needed to make sure things did run smoothly. I’m pleased to report that Rick Newcombe was sufficiently impressed by their efforts to throw his weight in as a co-sponsor for the 2010 show. Between that, the resolution of the scheduling issue, and the knowledge that the smoking lamp is now lit, things should really open up for a bigger and better West Coast Pipe Show this year. It is an event very much worth supporting, so please join us in November for what should be a spectacular weekend!