A mid-winter excursion to Sin City sounds like the ultimate vacation, but figures provided by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)-the organization that hosts the annual event-paint a different picture. The math is simple: Take the available number of minutes, divided by the number of exhibitors and that's exactly how much time you can spend with each company eager to learn about its products. This year it comes to 1 minute and 16 seconds. Naturally, that assumes no press conferences, a catheter to forgo bathroom breaks, blinders to slide past booth babes and daytime fasting.
The pace reflects the unparalleled growth of the firearms and ammunition business. According to NSSF, it was a $6 billion industry in 2012, but by 2013, it had grown to $8 billion.
Here are a few more startling figures from NSSF.
13-number of acres covered by the show, roughly the same area as the New Orleans Superdome
12.5-miles of aisles
630,000-square feet of exhibitor space
1,600-companies/organizations exhibiting
70,000-attended the 2014 show, and they're expecting more
$73.1 million-the show's impact on the Las Vegas economy
$38 billion-industry impact on the U.S. economy in 2012
245,000-jobs supported by the industry in 2012
2,400-reporters who will cover the event
1979-year of the first show, which was held in St. Louis, MO
1-the number of minutes it takes for the coffee and Danish to disappear in the press room (in all fairness, decaf usually languishes for 20 or 30)
