G-Man,
For each of the last five years a group of my cigar-smoking buddies and myself have attended the Big Smoke in NYC. We have always had a great time. Good food, good booze, and a nice variety of cigars to try.
Last year the mayor of NYC, A-hole Bloomberg, made things much worse for us cigar smokers. The cigars and liquor were in one room and the food was in a separate room where you had to leave the main room and put out your cigars.
This year, I notice there is no spring Big Smoke in NYC. They've added a Big Smoke in Atlantic City at the Borgata Casino. I've purchased my ticket and a room at the Borgata already.
In my opinion, the Big Smokes are great. They don't hand out as many cigars as they did five years ago, but, I still feel like its a good deal. It's a lotta fun.