SEMA 2024

[JatoTheRipper]

So I'm going to SEMA in less than 2 weeks! I think this is a dream show for any motorhead and I am super pumped to go. I am just afraid of flying so that will be interesting. I was perusing the list of vendors and it looks like some RC companies will be there at SEMA. I spotted Redcat, Team Associated and Traxxas, but none of the Horizon brands and no Vanquish. I wish Vanquish would be attending.

So have any of you guys been to SEMA? What should I expect? I am glad we are going on exhibitor day rather than another day when it will most likely be more crowded. But I don't expect to be able to see everything since the show is massive.

We will be in Vegas for 9 days including Halloween and election day so things could get interesting out there...

We were supposed to go to Disney for vacation, but my girlfriend was offered an exhibitor ticket from a friend and then she was able to get one from her work and she asked me, "What about Vegas in lieu of Disney?" Hell yes!!! My girlfriend has little interest in cars so she is going to be bored most of the time, but she is such a trooper for doing this for me. Although, in terms of being a car girl, she is bummed that her current car is the first automatic she has ever owned and her dream vehicle is a 1953 Ford F100 with manual transmission. She wants a pet horse. I told her I do as well...a Mustang or a C6 or C7 Corvette.

Participating Manufacturer List | semashow.com

www.semashow.com

2024 SEMA SHOW Schedule of Events | semashow.com

www.semashow.com

 

[high plains drifter]

Been a while but best advice that I can offer is- Don't allow yourself to be rushed along too quickly. I've made that mistake ( party I was with actually) and I left feeling as if it was all a blur. There's so much to distract your attention and so much hype/ bling just around the corner but relax, move at your own pace, and take time to really enjoy the things that interest you and take part in some good conversations and stories... You'll leave with much better memories. Keep batteries charged and stay hydrated too.

 

[Speedy-Triple]

SEMA sounds like a much better vacation than Disney for sure.... she sounds like a keeper to do such thing knowing she is not much interested in the show but Vegas is always fun and 9 days are not to shabby. Good Luck and Enjoy yourself... You should check out the valley of fire if you bring a rig with you, lots of good rock around Vegas.

 

[JimrC]

Enjoy JTR, sounds like an awesome vacation ... only ever seen Sema on telly so we'll be expecting lots of pics when you get back. Enjoy

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I'm also open to recommendations on must-see or must-eat places and restaurants in Vegas especially those for motorheads and motorcycle lovers. I'm a huge pizza lover so any good pizza places near the strip would also be great.

Been a while but best advice that I can offer is- Don't allow yourself to be rushed along too quickly. I've made that mistake ( party I was with actually) and I left feeling as if it was all a blur. There's so much to distract your attention and so much hype/ bling just around the corner but relax, move at your own pace, and take time to really enjoy the things that interest you and take part in some good conversations and stories... You'll leave with much better memories. Keep batteries charged and stay hydrated too.

Good advice. I'm trying to come up with a list of vendors I want to see and make those a priority and then just browse SEMA if any time is left. I don't expect to be able to see most of the show let alone all of it. I will be there with my girlfriend only and on exhibitor's day so you need credentials. I am hoping that means it is less packed than other days. She doesn't care what we do or don't see so she will leave it completely up to me. Hailie Deegan is one of the guest celebrities at her employer's booth and I told my girlfriend I want to meet her and get an autograph for my cousin. That turned into a text to one of the VPs at her company telling him I want a kiss from Hailie. He said get in line.

SEMA sounds like a much better vacation than Disney for sure.... she sounds like a keeper to do such thing knowing she is not much interested in the show but Vegas is always fun and 9 days are not to shabby. Good Luck and Enjoy yourself... You should check out the valley of fire if you bring a rig with you, lots of good rock around Vegas.

She is a keeper for sure in every way. Next year's focus will start off saving up for a

Enjoy JTR, sounds like an awesome vacation ... only ever seen Sema on telly so we'll be expecting lots of pics when you get back. Enjoy

Thank you. I will definitely take tons of photos and post some up here on this forum!

 

[Speedy-Triple]

I'm also open to recommendations on must-see or must-eat places and restaurants in Vegas especially those for motorheads and motorcycle lovers. I'm a huge pizza lover so any good pizza places near the strip would also be great.

She is a keeper for sure in every way. Next year's focus will start off saving up for a

Congrats and Best wishes for the future... Pizza places at the strip!!!! Glad you asked... If walking around the strip and you find yourself in either the Cosmopolitan try the secret pizza place on the 3rd floor or if in the Harrah's get some Buddy's Pizza these two are our favorites in the strip and are great places for either full pies or by the slice.

Just got back from Vegas 2 weeks ago with the wife got ourselves a 4 night stay away from the kids for our 14th anniversary and we had an amazing time ... like I said Vegas is always Fun .. (don't bring the kids of course -- I don't find it fun when I see families walking up and down the strip with all the shenanigans going around but i guess there is sometimes no way around).

This is one of the many good reasons for the 24th scale rigs that they are small and practical for traveling ... I had fun remodeling the room for some hardlines while she rested in the tub. The Cliffhanger sits on a Mazz Designs chassis with moded stock axles and the PW sits on a Mofo RC chassis with some Meus Iso axles.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Congrats and Best wishes for the future... Pizza places at the strip!!!! Glad you asked... If walking around the strip and you find yourself in either the Cosmopolitan try the secret pizza place on the 3rd floor or if in the Harrah's get some Buddy's Pizza these two are our favorites in the strip and are great places for either full pies or by the slice.

Just got back from Vegas 2 weeks ago with the wife got ourselves a 4 night stay away from the kids for our 14th anniversary and we had an amazing time ... like I said Vegas is always Fun .. (don't bring the kids of course -- I don't find it fun when I see families walking up and down the strip with all the shenanigans going around but i guess there is sometimes no way around).

This is one of the many good reasons for the 24th scale rigs that they are small and practical for traveling ... I had fun remodeling the room for some hardlines while she rested in the tub. The Cliffhanger sits on a Mazz Designs chassis with moded stock axles and the PW sits on a Mofo RC chassis with some Meus Iso axles.

Thank you! Congrats on your 14th anniversary!

I will have to check those two pizza places out. Pizza Rock is one I found online and it looks delicious!

My girlfriend is bringing her son, but she has shows scheduled and doesn't plan to have him out in the riff raff after dark. My once concern is we are going to Vegas over Halloween and the election. It could get crazy!

 

[soze]

Bring a crawler and head out to Calico Basin.

 

[diezel666]

I'm also open to recommendations on must-see or must-eat places and restaurants in Vegas especially those for motorheads and motorcycle lovers. I'm a huge pizza lover so any good pizza places near the strip would also be great.

Yelp is actually really helpful. I'm not a Vegas local, but a good friend was, and we travel there almost twice a year for the past 4 years and we're usually there for a week or two each trip. (damn Techie life. Seems all the conferences are there...)

To be honest, I hit every single Gordon Ramsey place in Vegas. At first I went to one just to see if the hype was real. Over the past few years I've hit all the rest. Absolutely every bit of what the hype said.

Some of my favs:
Any Ramsey place serving Beef Wellington - OMG....
Gritz
Pizza Rock
Yukon Pizza
Golden Steer
Rollin Smoke BBQ
Lotus of Siam
é by José Andrés
Herbs & Rye - Especially for happy hour
Battista's hole in the wall
Taco's El Gordo

For a giggle if you find yourself on Fremont Street drunk as shit around 2am. White Castle hits solid. lol

If you have time with the little one, hit up Meow Wolf / Area 15. It's a decent trip of fun, even if you're sober.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Yelp is actually really helpful. I'm not a Vegas local, but a good friend was, and we travel there almost twice a year for the past 4 years and we're usually there for a week to a week or two each trip. (damn Techie life. Seems all the conferences are there...)

To be honest, I hit ever single Gordon Ramsey place in Vegas. At first I went to one just to see if the hype was real. Over the past few years I've hit all the rest. Absolutely every bit of what the hype said.

Some of my favs:
Any Ramsey place serving Beef Wellington - OMG....
Gritz
Pizza Rock
Yukon Pizza
Golden Steer
Rollin Smoke BBQ
Lotus of Siam
é by José Andrés
Herbs & Rye - Especially for happy hour
Battista's hole in the wall
Taco's El Gordo

For a giggle if you find yourself on Fremont Street drunk as shit around 2am. White Castle hits solid. lol

If you have time with the little one, hit up Meow Wolf / Area 15. It's a decent trip of fun, even if you're sober.

Good stuff. Thank you! Pizza Rock was on my list just from my searches, but it is great to get a real recommendation from somebody. I'll look up Yukon Pizza as well. I prefer thin NY-style or Neapolitan pizza.

Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to drink anymore. I wish I had a good probation story, but it is because of my transplant.

That Meow Wolf place is odd. We found it in our searches, but can't figure out what it is.

 

[Col_Sanders]

9 days is a long time to hang out on the strip, especially with a kid. I'd recommend renting a car at least for a few days and getting out. If you can take a crawler, Calico Basin or Logandale are great places to play. For sightseeing, Valley of Fire State Park is beautiful. Also got the Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, and Vegas is not too far from Zion and Bryce Canyon up in Utah. Well worth the trip if they like outdoors.

Cosmopolitan has some of the best food places on the strip. Hattie B's is good stuff. If you venture out towards Fremont St, Nacho Daddy is good. China Town has some good food. A place I loved was called Komex but it is off the beaten path in a not great part of town. Their bulgogi tots were freakin delicous. Tacos el Gordo was great. Heart Attack Grill is an experience but so so food. There is a Mexican place called Chile Caliente that we loved. Its a small place several miles off the strip.

 

[Col_Sanders]

BBQ....I'll add Rollin Smoke is good. Smoked meat loaf was my favorite thing there but it'll make you want to take a nap. IIRC the one up by Pawn Stars had a premium price and limited menu. I would not go to that one. Big B's BBQ is Texas style and is excellent. Roadkill Grill up in North Las Vegas is great as well. It's one of the more popular places for locals and it is in kind of an odd location.

If you like fried chicken, there's a place in the hood called Sunny's Chicken and Fish, but I wouldnt go there late.

Roberto's sucks.

In case you couldnt tell, we lived in Vegas for several years. Moved away in 2022.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

9 days is a long time to hang out on the strip, especially with a kid. I'd recommend renting a car at least for a few days and getting out. If you can take a crawler, Calico Basin or Logandale are great places to play. For sightseeing, Valley of Fire State Park is beautiful. Also got the Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, and Vegas is not too far from Zion and Bryce Canyon up in Utah. Well worth the trip if they like outdoors.

Cosmopolitan has some of the best food places on the strip. Hattie B's is good stuff. If you venture out towards Fremont St, Nacho Daddy is good. China Town has some good food. A place I loved was called Komex but it is off the beaten path in a not great part of town. Their bulgogi tots were freakin delicous. Tacos el Gordo was great. Heart Attack Grill is an experience but so so food. There is a Mexican place called Chile Caliente that we loved. Its a small place several miles off the strip.

Thanks for the recommendations! Neither my girlfriend nor I are really into seeing the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon or any of that. Those are things you go look at and say "Wow. Cool!" and then go do something else. Those keep my attention for 10 minutes max.

My girlfriend is an expert planner and literally comes up with an Excel spreadsheet schedule for every vacation. We do not have to stick to it 100%, but she wants options to do rather than sitting around and "wasting" time searching for things to do while in a new location. There are only two days where we have nothing on our schedule and one of those is the day we leave.

 

[89Industries]

It's been years since I've been to Veg-ass but there was a Mexican place called Lindo Michoacan that was good (at least before I moved to California). Off the strip and used to be difficult to get a track 5 back toward the strip but again that was before Uber/Lyft.

I am sure there are many other Mexican places as well that are very good, especially considering you're coming from PA.

If you like meat there is Fogo de Chao somewhere on the strip. Brazilian style steakhouse. Basically guys walk around with big sticks of meat and ask if you want more. May not be so great for your heart either. Might be better steaks elsewhere if you're feeling less glutinous.

I also am not much for just seeing sites but you can go down inside the Hoover damn and check out the workings and how massive it is from the inside out. As a mechanical engineer it's fascinating. Especially considering the difference in engineering and construction technology of the time it was built.

I wouldn't go to just look at it from the outside. Same as if I went to the Grand canyon I would want to go hike around in it rather than just view it.

 

[diezel666]

Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to drink anymore. I wish I had a good probation story, but it is because of my transplant.

That Meow Wolf place is odd. We found it in our searches, but can't figure out what it is.

Good on you for the no drinking part man, really it's for the best and a longer you!

As for Meow Wolf, There's really no way to describe it, other than to experience it. It's quite fun, and not so crowded if you go mid weekday. There's all sorts of odd trippy things, stories, and some puzzles throughout that build to a larger on. I think pre-teens and teens would have a blast there. I went in there, got a decent buzz and the 3 of us walked in to explore.

My avatar here, is a cartoonized version of a photo I took against one of their art walls. I thought that since I work in CyberSecurity it was an appropriate photo.

 

[89Industries]

Oh yeah, certainly getting off the strip is less expensive and in my experience often better food.

All but one time I went there though was for work conferences so off strip activity was limited.

And if you're into punk rock or dive bars the Double down saloon is fantastic. Not sure they'd let minors in though.

 

[diezel666]

Oh yeah, certainly getting off the strip is less expensive and in my experience often better food.

All but one time I went there though was for work conferences so off strip activity was limited.

And if you're into punk rock or dive bars the Double down saloon is fantastic. Not sure they'd let minors in though.

Double Down is an experience. I've seen many a punk band there - Honestly it's my go-to bar. Mid week it's mostly quiet, weekends there is bands. It's a great spot! Not a minor friendly establishment tho.

Also keep in mind since you'll have a kid with you. A lot of places in Vegas still allow smoking indoors. So if that is going to bother you, take care of where you sit.

 

[Col_Sanders]

It's been years since I've been to Veg-ass but there was a Mexican place called Lindo Michoacan that was good (at least before I moved to California). Off the strip and used to be difficult to get a track 5 back toward the strip but again that was before Uber/Lyft.

I am sure there are many other Mexican places as well that are very good, especially considering you're coming from PA.

If you like meat there is Fogo de Chao somewhere on the strip. Brazilian style steakhouse. Basically guys walk around with big sticks of meat and ask if you want more. May not be so great for your heart either. Might be better steaks elsewhere if you're feeling less glutinous.

I also am not much for just seeing sites but you can go down inside the Hoover damn and check out the workings and how massive it is from the inside out. As a mechanical engineer it's fascinating. Especially considering the difference in engineering and construction technology of the time it was built.

I wouldn't go to just look at it from the outside. Same as if I went to the Grand canyon I would want to go hike around in it rather than just view it.

Lindo Michoacan has more than one location. One was up on a mountain in Henderson and had a good view. That one was newer I think.


You could always go rent a RZR at Sand Hollow and be YouTube famous by getting Matts Offroad Recovery to rescue you.

 

[high plains drifter]

Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to drink anymore. I wish I had a good probation story, but it is because of my transplant.

Same for me but for different reasons. My wife was "raised" by alcoholics and she was terrified that I was a boozer when she finally came to my house for the first time. I had a half finished 6pk of beer ( maybe Shiner Bock) and a bottle of 1800 in the cupboard. When she described with tears in her eyes what she endured as a kid, I hugged her and smiled and proceeded to pour it all down the drain. Haven't had a drop since and that's been just over 11 years ago. I kinda miss an occasional local IPA but I wasn't an alcoholic so it wasn't that hard. And I lost a parent to alcoholism so my wife's story genuinely resonated with me.

Good on you, Jato for looking out for the longevity of your health.

 

[89Industries]

Lindo Michoacan has more than one location. One was up on a mountain in Henderson and had a good view. That one was newer I think.


You could always go rent a RZR at Sand Hollow and be YouTube famous by getting Matts Offroad Recovery to rescue you.

I was not aware of the Henderson Lindo Michoacan but I remember the owner had a brother with a similarly named restaurant on the otherside of town. Good for those guys. They had a family special Coca-cola mole sauce if I remember correctly.

Lots of stuff to go rent and do outside of Vegas at the Vegas speedway as well. Might be extra busy with Sema and all the motorheads in town though.

Another former drinker here. Stopped agreeing with my body and the day long hangovers aren't worth it to me.

Funny part is my wife still has an occasional beer or drink when we go out for dinner. Waiter almost always sets it down in front of me.