Royal Welcome
Tampa Tribune (Aug 13, 2001)
by Jerome R. Stockfisch / (813) 259-7850 / jstockfisch@tampatrib.com
Full Text: here
About 5,000 members of the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America will gather Wednesday through Saturday for their annual convention, the first time ever the meeting has been in ``Cigar City.''

The event at the Tampa Convention Center is not open to the public. It's a deal-making forum, with retailers and manufacturers buying and selling. But the significance of the site isn't lost on organizers, visitors, and locals.

``It's a natural,'' said Dave Zeplowitz, the cigar ``general'' who broadcasts the nationally syndicated ``Smoke This'' radio show from WFLA in Tampa. ``The history here is tremendous.

``Ybor City - that's where it all happened,'' he said. ``This is the epicenter of the cigar business in the United States.''