To say I look foward to the semi-annual Vegas coin shows is an understatement. They take me back to the first shows I attended as a teen in the early 80s.
So when this May's show was canceled due to COVID-19, I was discouraged; now I'd have to wait until the Nov show. Then, surprise! The May show was rescheduled for Aug. Excellent! And as restrictions eased with time, casinos reopened, and surprise #2, a "Pop-Up" show was announced for 4th of July weekend. I can only assume "pop-up" meant impromptu. Either way I was happy and couldn't wait for this weekend.
Upon arriving today, things did not look good. A line of 20-25 people were outside the show entrance and did not appear to be moving. Did I get the wrong starting time? Nope, 10am was correct and it was about 10:15. Word got down the line that due to social distancing requirements, event organizers were limiting the body count in the bourse hall - no one enters until someone exits. Also, once you got inside, browsing time was capped at two hours. Oh great.
Then we found out there were only 17 dealers in attendance. Typical shows have 200 from all over the southwest, even the smaller shows had 50 or so. But 17?
It gets worse...
Casino personnel (the show's venue) got nervous that the queue of collectors was violating social distancing mandates. If something wasn't done quickly, it endangered the entire show. So a decision was made to herd all of us into an adjacent meeting room where we could sit - 6 feet apart - until a vacancy opened to allow the next person in. After sitting for 45 mins and watching a grand total of 5 people go in, I bailed. And on the way out I got a glimpse of a COVID waiver people had to sign before being allowed in.
I understand as inconveniences go, this is nothing compared to having the virus or knowing someone who's afflicted (or worse) but mentally, this was a big "returning to normal" event for me, and I'm sure for everyone in line with me as well. I'm disgusted. And I can't guarantee the same thing won't happen in August.
Stay safe and well everyone.
