ForrestB: I never implied that wedding chapels were churchs and they aren't in the official talley. But, if so, that would put us way off of the charts! I hope Matt wasn't out to harm our horse population!

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
At least you don't feel like disinfecting yourself and going to confession every day - like I do in Las Vegas.

Gee Matt, what exactly are you doing in Vegas?

You don't need to do very much in Vegas to feel dirty and used!

Larry,

Sorry for getting into this discussion late. I returned from Reno on Monday and have been recuperating from a bad cold since. Just got around to reading this thread (and a couple others) on the subject of SCI Reno. I'll comment on two different aspects being discussed. First, and what really got my attention, was your discussion of your expenses for the Reno Show vs. DSC. I went to both. In my case, my expenses were pretty similar for each show. I don't know how you got off that cheaply in Reno. My flight cost from Tucson, AZ to Reno and return on Southwest Airlines was $567.60. My hotel bill for five nights (not four like you), which included most of my meals, were $771.79. I stayed in the Nugget. I had no extra travel cost(rode the shuttle). For DSC, my hotel costs were $549.78 for three nights, which included no meals. My AA flight from Tucson to DFW and return was $423.60. I spent probably $200 on meals and cab fare. I attended each show on a press pass, so had no entry fee to pay at either show. I suppose that DSC cost me a few bucks more, but nowhere near the 30% you mentioned, at least in my case.

I attended my first SCI show in 1979. IIRC it was in the Sarah hotel that year. I have attended most shows since then, although I have missed a few. I have attended as an exhibitor, as a member attendee, and as a member of the outdoor media. When I first started both Dallas and Houston were Chapters of SCI. A few years after that, both severed their relationship with SCI and formed their own separate clubs.

Like I watched SCI grow from a hotel ballroom as a venue, into the Sparks Convention Center, I have much more recently witnessed DSC's growth from a hotel to the Dallas Convention Center. I have attended only two DSC shows, 2012 and 2013. I am reminded of something that several of my exhibitor friends have been telling me for a number of years. That is that exhibitors go to DSC because they want to. They go to SCI because they have to! That is a telling statement.

TT

We're still waiting for your detailed explanation Matt!

My two cents, when SCI is back in Vegas the numbers will be back up. Especially during the winter, it's two days wasted getting in and out of Reno, almost everybody can get to Vegas easily. Just sayin

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
We're still waiting for your detailed explanation Matt!

Well I cant give you any details because usually I dont remember much.... just seem to find myself at LV airport with a maxed-out credit card, hangover and not enough cash to buy myself a cup of coffee.

I attended all 4 days.I brought a gal along that never had seen anything like it before and was thrilled to see the selection in jewelry, furs and hunts.She bought a spring bear hunt in B.C. for her high school age son as a graduation present and a fox fur jacket.I bought a musk-ox hunt and a blackbear hunt,I noticed the lack of traffic on wednesday and thursday, lots of tire kickers on friday and saturday.Lack of others worked for me as it gave me face time to discuss future hunts.FYI I have 've been going since 1989.

Now that's funny Matt! No wonder you feel dirty and used!

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
horses are too tall. sheep are closer to the ground- and probably more familiar to people from down under!

That's Kiwis you are thinking of.

An Aussie bloke was trekking in the New Zealand countryside and he came across a local chap having his way with sheep pushed up against a fence. The Aussie scratched his head and said "Geez mate, that's a bloody odd thing to be doing... we prefer to shear our back home in Straya." - to which the Kiwi chap replied "Fuck that, we Kiwis dont share our sheep with anyone!!"

NOW THAT'S FUNNY! DAMN NEAR SPEWED SOME GOOD SCOTCH ALL OVER MY KEYBOARD

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
my apologies. when i dropped out of SCI 3 years ago, you were required to be a chapter($100) or a national member($75) to attend the convention. 4 day admission was $300. obviously that has changed....

changed?

http://www.showsci.org/docs/co.../13%20Reg%20Form.pdf ...

quote:

SCI’s Annual Hunters’ Convention is an exclusive members-only show
North American 1-Year* -$65

quote:

MEMBER REGISTRATION
Classic Registration ..$260 payment received by 10thDec, $310 payment received after 10th Dec.

So it can cost up to $375 to see the show.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - -At least try to get the numbers right if you are going to try and compare costs to Reno as opposed to Dallas. First off you DO NOT have to be a Chapter Member of SCI to attend the convention, so that's $100 deducted from your claimed total. The 4-day pass is $260 not $300. Airfare and 4nights lodging from Albuquerque to Reno $326 total. No other transportation costs to attend Reno period. I don't moooooch rides with folks to anywhere, but if you do in Dallas, oh well. Food costs approximately $200 in Reno for the entire trip. I don't drink and am a bit conservative on eating, try and keep my weight under control while at convention. The SCI Membership $75 covers a bit more than just entry to the Show. Safari magazine (best out there by far), Safari Times each month, etc, but we will add it in for your sake. My total cost for Reno $863.

Airfare Albuquerque to Dallas $485; 4 nights at your Comfort Inn $400: Airport tranfers $35; Rental car or taxi 4 days, $265; food $200 (most likely higher in Dallas); show entry $75. My total for DSC/Dallas $1,460. Actually that's closer to 41% less and I thought is was a 33% savings.

If you have other issues with SCI so be it, that's your choice, but no way is it cheaper to do DSC/Dallas than SCI/Reno from Albuquerque, NM. Maybe I can't show you a damm thing, but this comes pretty close, huh? Caps stuck again on your keyboard?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

i attended the SCI for almost 20 years until i finally had a belly full of the their huge lack of ethics( do the names Mike Simpson, Dan Duncan, Kevin Anderson, AoA Adventerous Safaris, shooting game from helicopters in Russia, rhino poaching RING A BELL??). to attend SCI, a chapter membership is $100 and a national membership is $75. cost for 4 days convention admission- $300. so $375/400 to get in the door. cost to get in the door at Dallas for 4 days- $75 IIRC and no membership required. hotel room at the Silver Legacy when i was there 4 years ago- $175/night averaged over 4 days( less on Wed, Thurs, more Fri/Sat). cost per night at the Comfort Inn in Dallas 3 weeks ago- $100/night. don't know about airfare to Reno, as i always drove but round trip air from Fresno to Dallas was $450. i imagine it cost at least that much in diesel/ wear and tear for my F 350 truck to Reno( 800 miles total trip). since Dallas has a BIT better air service than Reno, i find it a bit hard to believe most people can fly to Reno cheaper than they can fly to Dallas. your mileage may vary..no rental car needed as there were plenty of people at the Comfort Inn to get a ride with. no smoke and mirrors- just cold hard dollar and cents facts..SO NO- YOU CAN'T SHOW ME A DAMN THING ABOUT HOW SCI IS CHEAPER

strange thing Larry. i just checked the SCI website and you are right- you don't have to be a chapter member to attend, but you do have to be at least a national member for $65( it used to be $75)- exactly as i stated( must be one or the other). also 4 day admission was $310( not the $300 i remembered) and certainly not the $260 you quoted. bottom line, sport, is it cost a minimum of $375 to WALK IN THE DOOR FOR ALL 4 DAYS..- EXACTLY AS I STATED. 4 days at Dallas- $75 IIRC. as an aside, the cheapest flight i could find find online from Albequerque to Reno was $328. if you got a ticket for $326 INCLUDING 4 nites lodging for $326, you got the deal of the century.
FEEL FREE TO CHECK THE sci website if you doubt the figures!

You are right, Jerry, a big difference between DSC & SCI. I joined DSC at the convention for a $100 annual membership and got a 4 day pass for free. Wanted to go to Reno for a couple of days to experience SCI, but the mandatory membership and high daily passes turned me off. It sounds like I did not miss too much...

Its worth the cost of entry to RenoSCI - when I seriously investigate vendors who have on display examples of their high grade rifle offerings.

However to again pay those sorts of entry costs, just to wander the aisles and keep overhearing[suffering] the element or
'click' of self absorbed competitive driven tape measure carrying egomaniac SCI members,..no it aint worth it....

jd - I can show you the receipt that I paid a $260 4-day entry fee to the SHOW. It's called "early registration" if you care to look it up? Membership is $65 instead of the $75 I quoted, so cheaper than I quoted. So $260 plus $65 equals $325 to get into the Show and have a one year membership that gets you Safari Magazine and Safari Times and a few other perks. I have been a Life Member for many years so the annual fee is not something I ever deal with (amortized it a long time ago).

Anyplace that has a Casino/Hotel by using a airfare/hotel combo the room can be had for almost no charge if you know the proper proceedures. FWIW the airfare portion of my package was $285. This package was put together at the end of November thru Southwest Airlines. Plus the Hotel we stayed in has 8 eating establishments, half a dozen bars, live entertainment, gift and sundry shops, excersise gym, spa, etc. unlike most Comfort Inns I have stayed in.

If people paid more than this to attend the Show in Reno it's because they choose to or simply didn't check out the finer details of how to accomplish the prices I paid. Not a big deal I guess, just trying to clear up some misconceptions and information some were putting out on here. Bottom line 40% percent cheaper for me to attend Reno than Dallas. Have a great day!!

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - -At least try to get the numbers right if you are going to try and compare costs to Reno as opposed to Dallas. First off you DO NOT have to be a Chapter Member of SCI to attend the convention, so that's $100 deducted from your claimed total. The 4-day pass is $260 not $300. Airfare and 4nights lodging from Albuquerque to Reno $326 total. No other transportation costs to attend Reno period. I don't moooooch rides with folks to anywhere, but if you do in Dallas, oh well. Food costs approximately $200 in Reno for the entire trip. I don't drink and am a bit conservative on eating, try and keep my weight under control while at convention. The SCI Membership $75 covers a bit more than just entry to the Show. Safari magazine (best out there by far), Safari Times each month, etc, but we will add it in for your sake. My total cost for Reno $863.

Airfare Albuquerque to Dallas $485; 4 nights at your Comfort Inn $400: Airport tranfers $35; Rental car or taxi 4 days, $265; food $200 (most likely higher in Dallas); show entry $75. My total for DSC/Dallas $1,460. Actually that's closer to 41% less and I thought is was a 33% savings.

If you have other issues with SCI so be it, that's your choice, but no way is it cheaper to do DSC/Dallas than SCI/Reno from Albuquerque, NM. Maybe I can't show you a damm thing, but this comes pretty close, huh? Caps stuck again on your keyboard?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

i attended the SCI for almost 20 years until i finally had a belly full of the their huge lack of ethics( do the names Mike Simpson, Dan Duncan, Kevin Anderson, AoA Adventerous Safaris, shooting game from helicopters in Russia, rhino poaching RING A BELL??). to attend SCI, a chapter membership is $100 and a national membership is $75. cost for 4 days convention admission- $300. so $375/400 to get in the door. cost to get in the door at Dallas for 4 days- $75 IIRC and no membership required. hotel room at the Silver Legacy when i was there 4 years ago- $175/night averaged over 4 days( less on Wed, Thurs, more Fri/Sat). cost per night at the Comfort Inn in Dallas 3 weeks ago- $100/night. don't know about airfare to Reno, as i always drove but round trip air from Fresno to Dallas was $450. i imagine it cost at least that much in diesel/ wear and tear for my F 350 truck to Reno( 800 miles total trip). since Dallas has a BIT better air service than Reno, i find it a bit hard to believe most people can fly to Reno cheaper than they can fly to Dallas. your mileage may vary..no rental car needed as there were plenty of people at the Comfort Inn to get a ride with. no smoke and mirrors- just cold hard dollar and cents facts..SO NO- YOU CAN'T SHOW ME A DAMN THING ABOUT HOW SCI IS CHEAPER

strange thing Larry. i just checked the SCI website and you are right- you don't have to be a chapter member to attend, but you do have to be at least a national member for $65( it used to be $75)- exactly as i stated( must be one or the other). also 4 day admission was $310( not the $300 i remembered) and certainly not the $260 you quoted. bottom line, sport, is it cost a minimum of $375 to WALK IN THE DOOR FOR ALL 4 DAYS..- EXACTLY AS I STATED. 4 days at Dallas- $75 IIRC. as an aside, the cheapest flight i could find find online from Albequerque to Reno was $328. if you got a ticket for $326 INCLUDING 4 nites lodging for $326, you got the deal of the century.
FEEL FREE TO CHECK THE sci website if you doubt the figures!

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - I can show you the receipt that I paid a $260 4-day entry fee to the SHOW. It's called "early registration" if you care to look it up? Membership is $65 instead of the $75 I quoted, so cheaper than I quoted. So $260 plus $65 equals $325 to get into the Show and have a one year membership that gets you Safari Magazine and Safari Times and a few other perks. I have been a Life Member for many years so the annual fee is not something I ever deal with (amortized it a long time ago).

Anyplace that has a Casino/Hotel by using a airfare/hotel combo the room can be had for almost no charge if you know the proper proceedures. FWIW the airfare portion of my package was $285. This package was put together at the end of November thru Southwest Airlines. Plus the Hotel we stayed in has 8 eating establishments, half a dozen bars, live entertainment, gift and sundry shops, excersise gym, spa, etc. unlike most Comfort Inns I have stayed in.

If people paid more than this to attend the Show in Reno it's because they choose to or simply didn't check out the finer details of how to accomplish the prices I paid. Not a big deal I guess, just trying to clear up some misconceptions and information some were putting out on here. Bottom line 40% percent cheaper for me to attend Reno than Dallas. Have a great day!!

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

The AR auditors are requesting copies of the receipts.

Some of us poor folks stay at the Sands Regency for $34/night during the week.... but they have one of the best mattresses I have ever slept on. I rented a pickup for the week (9 days) with the money I saved but show visitors and vendors can easily catch the show shuttles down the road.

I can`t wait for next year even if it will be in Vegas.Next time I will book earlier to try and get a cheaper flight and hotel rate.

I really liked the show.

I would agree that there were less people than normal but the ones that were there were very serious.

I know some of my friends with booths there and they did very well and booked many hunts.

I really feel bad for the Tanzania guys; it is just a lot of money in this economy and I believe they struggled.

I met several old friends and several new friends. Found a couple more that I want to hunt with like Terry Anders and for me the show was a great success.

Got to sit down with Ivan Carter and visit, Aaron Nielsen, Diana Rupp, etc and it was a great time.

Justin

Not being a vendor I can't post this question on the other thread. Everyone keeps saying the attendance was down and I think that looked obvious to anyone who has been there before but........

When this gets mentioned a lot of times it's in a sentence ending as compared to Vegas. I realize Vegas was last year and thus this year is being compared to last year but does anyone know how last year's attendance in Vegas compared to the previous year in Reno (2011)? Did it go up?

Just wondering if the location really has that much to do with the attendance figures. Somehow I doubt it.