Paradise Card Breaks Felt Economic Impact Last Year
The economic impact felt by the city of Las Vegas for the inaugural Formula 1® race in November 2023 hit a staggering $884 million.
Paradise Card Breaks hobby shop was a financial beneficiary of a sizable ripple effect.
Located on the south end of The Strip—about one and half miles from where the F1® Las Vegas Grand Prix course takes a turn at Planet Hollywood—the shop is on prime real estate.
“Being located right by the ‘Welcome to Vegas’ sign, people coming in from California pass the shop. So, it’s just an increase in traffic, no matter what,” Paradise Card Breaks owner Mark Laird said. “There are a lot of people coming down and taking pictures.
“When F1 is here, it’s a great opportunity to market that, ‘Hey, come see the card shop. Come bring your cards.’ We incorporate that with any types of ads we put out there. It just increases the foot traffic, first and foremost.”
Laird said that during a typical week, his shop doesn’t experience much traffic for F1 cards. However, during race week there is definitely an uptick in collectors of motorsports. This year’s F1 Las Vegas race will be held this weekend, with the drivers lining up at the start line on Saturday, 10 p.m. local time/Sunday, 1 a.m. EST.
Laird, whose brick-and-mortar shop has been open for just over two years, is laying out plans for another jam-packed weekend of racing.
“Last year, we worked hand-in-hand with Fanatics Live, because we did a F1 special on the morning of the race,” Laird said. “I made sure that I stocked up on the original Topps Chrome product from 2020. I got a case the Wednesday before the race in anticipation for race day, and we sold out in store and on the apps that day. I ended up getting two more cases, because my distributor ran promos on it. It was a huge success. Having that on the Fanatics Live livestream was awesome and then having it in store. People coming in and seeing the first ever F1 product, they were happy to buy a couple packs or boxes.”
The 2020 Topps Chrome release was the first Topps-licensed F1 product, so it carries all the top cards of the best drivers. It features rookie cards of big names such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc.
“Verstappen’s probably the one that everyone’s looking for,” Laird said.
Product Release Day
This year’s F1 Topps Chrome release is nearly synced up with the Las Vegas race. Cards will be out this Friday, with the race happening the following night. Having the product fresh on collectors’ minds should help fuel appeal for people stopping in at Paradise Card Breaks. Laird will use that to his advantage.
“It’s a good way to kind of marry that up with social media,” Laird said. “If we can get out in front of it and know that it’s going to be released at the same time, we can, say, when you do come out, bring your tickets for exclusive discounts or whatever it is. We can market that to make sure they come through the shop.”
Stocking Up on Product
Leading up to race weekend last year in Las Vegas, Laird made sure to stock up on F1 sealed product and singles of the top drivers. He is taking that similar approach again this year. That includes getting his hands on as much extra hobby and retail boxes as he can.
And you better believe Laird will be picking up more 2020 Topps Chrome and popular Topps Dynasty from over the years.
“I’ll be stocking all that stuff this week, making sure we’re loaded up,” Laird said.
Paradise Card Breaks will be running F1 breaks all weekend on platforms, including Fanatics Live; the shop might also host in-store breaks leading up to the race.
Laird encourages anyone who is in Las Vegas for the race to stop into his store for a fun and educational experience.
“If you have F1 cards or you’re interested in learning about F1 cards or you want to grade F1 cards, come into Paradise Card Breaks,” Laird said. “I think coming into our shop and getting an evaluation either before the race or after the race will give you the best opportunity either to learn or maximize the value of your cards.”
