Hi Everyone:
Well, I finally attended a Cloud Jamboree show at Laughlin. For me,
it was a total waste of time. I have heard about the show for many
years, and have noted that the reports by others was not too
complimentary. Although the show gets wide publicity with nice and
beautiful ads in the magazines, I think it falls drastically short
of rewarding the people who travel to attend.
The full page magazine ads led me to believe that the show would be
located at four hotels, at least four. I left home early yesterday
morning to drive the exactly three hundred miles from Lake Forest,
CA to Laughlin, Nevada. When I was about ten miles south of Laughlin
I visited the first show site, at the Avi Resort & Casino. The show
there consisted of four rows of RV’s and Motorhomes in the RV
parking area, with the dealers displaying their products consisting
mostly of slabs of cabing material and used lapidary equipment. That
is OK, if you are looking for the swap meet atmosphere for your
buying. There was nothing to get my attention there, since I like to
see equipment and material that is meant for faceting. It took me
less than an hour to move on to Laughlin.
Once at Laughlin, I first went to one of the listed show sites, the
Ramada Express Hotel & Casino. There, upon checking with employees,
I found out that the show was not at that location this year, nor at
the Edgewater Casino as listed in the ads. It is only at the Avi
Resort and at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino. So I went to the
tent that was outside the Riverside Casino. There I found dealers
displaying some nice colored stones mounted in gold findings. Not a
lot of diamonds to be seen. Colored stones are my thing, so I looked
the displays over in the tent and in maybe one hour I had seen what
was of interest to me.
Now what to do? I had two nights hotel reserved and paid for. I
thought that I was going to have a busy two days there! Throwing
away the little money I have by gambling does not interest me. I
know that many would be happy to be there just to enjoy the
gambling. Each hotel had plenty of couples doing exactly that. Maybe
you and your wife have been uptight with life, the job, the kids, or
whatever, and you needed a weekend away from reality. For you, the
gem show might be the added dessert for your interests. But for me
it was different.
It was only about three in the afternoon and I was bored with
Laughlin. I decided to drive back home. But wait! I checked with the
front desk at my hotel, and found out that I could not cancel my
reservation since I reserved on the computer. I called the correct
number to find that they would make an exception, waive the
canceling fee, and refund my second nights lodging. The first night
was on me. So I said OK to that, got into my car, and headed back
the three hundred miles to home. I arrived about seven PM. That was
not bad for driving 600 miles and attending a gem show all in one
day. I was not even tired, just mad at myself for being suckered in
to going in the first place.
Different strokes for different folks, you know. I will continue to
do my gambling in the form of driving cars and flying airplanes.
In a couple of weeks I head for Tucson. I know what is to be found
there, show after show of great presentations…more than any
human can possibly see in the first two weeks of February.
Glenn Klein, G.G.
Lake Forest CA USA
Web Site for book FACETING HISTORY: CUTTING DIAMONDS &
COLORED STONES: www.glennklein.com
Email: @Glenn_Klein