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SLAM DUNK FOR C.A.O.

D.C.’s Marion Barry supports legislation allowing cigar bars

Los Angeles, June 20 – One of the great motion picture images of the 20th Century was the 1933 image of King Kong pushing down the giant door which walled off the human village from the prehistoric jungle of Skull Island.

C.A.O. Chief Marketing Officer Jon Huber may be, in his own way, just as unstoppable.

The newest appearance of C.A.O. in places you wouldn’t imagine will be at the Annual Summer Meeting of the National Basketball Association Player Association at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort from June 27-29.

The NBAPA is in the throes of tense negotiations with the NBA over the extension or renegotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, with a potential lock out coming as soon as July 1. So the meeting, which will bring the player representatives of the league’s 30 teams together for detailed discussions, has high visibility.

C.A.O. will donate a sampler of its cigars and headwear from its CAO M.E.R.C.H. collection to the “VIP Gift Bag” provided to all meeting participants. If, at the end of the meetings, the Players Association is able to reach a new labor agreement with the NBA, look for a lot of those C.A.O. cigars to be lit in celebration.

Padron 40ths still moving strong:
The continuing popularity of the Padron 1926 Serie 40th Anniversary torpedoes was underscored by the results of a recent auction of individual sticks by CigarAuctioneer.com, a part of the Famous Smoke Shop empire.

A full box of 40 cigars was offered over a week’s period and ended last Monday. The results showed that the 40 sticks together drew 69 total bids and $1,699.02, just a small amount over the retail sales price of $1,600 for the 40 cigars and an elegantly engraved humidor.

The 40 cigars went to 40 different bidders (!) and ranged in price from a low of $41.00 to a high of $50.00, fairly typical prices for these sought-after sticks.

Historic Cuban hotels change ownership:
Smokers who appreciate Cuban history noticed last week’s announcement that two hotels famed for Mafia ownership in the 1950s came under management of the French hotel group Accor S.A.

The Reuters news service reported that the Capri and the Riviera will now be managed by Accor for the state-owned Gran Caribe firm, which has actual ownership. The Capri, which is currently closed, will get a $15 million renovation while the Riviera will also be upgraded.

Mafia financial whiz Meyer Lansky opened the Riviera, noteworthy for its domed casino, on Havana’s waterfront in 1957. Actress Ginger Rogers was part of the gala opening celebration.

Tourism is now the engine which is driving Cuba’s economy, with 40% of the island’s 2004 total of $2.3 billion in hard currency coming from visitors. Figures for the first four months of 2005 showed arrivals up 9% over 2004 and with the island badly underdeveloped, there’s considerable room for growth.

Cities weighing freedom:
In such diverse places as Madison, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., city officials are considering whether cigar bars will be spared from citywide smoking bans.

In Madison, the city has already adopted a smoking ban which will start soon, but is weighing whether to exempt two existing cigar bars. One – Madison’s Wine and Cigar Room – has already closed for remodeling, but if an exemption isn’t passed, it will likely close altogether.

Reporter Angela Bettis of Channel3000.com reported store owner Matthew Bekkering as waiting to see what the City Council will do. “It’s hard to justify putting the expense into a full remodel, adding more product, supporting our clientele’s passion [for cigars] . . . and also justifying the employment going forward for years to come if we’re not getting support for this exemption from the City Council.”

The potential exemption is drawn so narrowly that it would serve only to allow Madison’s Wine and Cigar Room and Maduros, a downtown-area cigar bar, to exist. No new cigar bars would be allowed to open.

In Washington, the D.C. Council is looking at a smoking ban, but also at exempting cigar bars. However, The Washington Times reported that the overall picture is brighter than in Madison.

While nine of the members of the 13-seat Council expressed some interest in an exemption for cigar bars, at-large Republican member Carol Schwartz came out against all bans. Since Schwartz chairs the Public Works Committee which held hearings on three such bills last week, none may make it out of her committee.

There is a fourth bill in the Health Committee under a different chair – independent David Catania – which would also exempt bars which earn at least 10% of their revenues from tobacco sales.

Among the council members who have stated they support and will seek a cigar-bar exemption is Ward 8 Council representative and former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. Let freedom ring!
~ Rich Perelman

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