“We were told that this was the best G2E in many years”

How did you see the show this year, was it in line with your expectations?
We base all of our opinions on what we hear from our customers and across the board we were told that this was the best G2E in many years!

How was the feedback received by both exhibitors and visitors?
We had a research team on-site talking with both exhibitors and attendees and heard many positive things.  Exhibitors felt there was good traffic and they were seeing the right buyers. The buyers said that they thought there was a lot of buzz at the show, strong traffic and they loved the layout of the exhibit floor.  

It was announced as the largest edition since 2008. Do you have official numbers in terms of visitors, exhibitors, level of participation at the conferences, etc?
We always audit our attendee numbers so those will not be available just yet.  The show floor was the largest in many years coming in at 260,000 nfs (243,000 in 2011).

Which were the highlights of G2E 2012 in your consideration?
Some people might say that seeing Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS was a highlight!!  They added a lot of energy to our ribbon cutting so we were happy to have them!

In the conference I would say that I-gaming garnered the most interest.  Our I-gaming Congress was standing room only, our dedicated iGaming Conference Keynote was also very well received, and for the first time we offered an I-gaming virtual pass so those who couldn’t attend in person could watch the conference from their office.

We added a number of events this year that were well attended and well received.  The new table games reception attracted more than 400 people and our Latin America reception in its second year had about 120 people in attendance.  Our global gaming women luncheon with Katty Kay was a terrific event and as always our Ultra-Lounge Fashion show added tremendous energy and buzz to the show floor.  Overall I would say the show floor is still the heart and soul of the show and it was a very busy center of optimism for our industry with hundreds of new products and show specials!

The event presented a complete program of conferences and educational panels. How important is this aspect for the show and how was the response to the offered agenda?
As mentioned above our I-gaming sessions were very well attended.  We also got a lot of interest for our Insights on Operations track and as in the past our NIGC roundtable was probably the most well-attended session in the conference. 

Online gaming has been also a big bet for the show this year. How do you think this market has evolved within the show in terms of exhibiting companies and new developments showcased?
There is more and more I-gaming seeping into G2E.  We saw triple the amount of exhibit space being taken in our I-gaming pavilion compared to last year and many of our large exhibitors featured I-gaming products in their booths.  Again, our I-gaming conference was extremely well attended with folks both in person and online.  As legislation continues to evolve in the U.S. we will continue offering more content around this important topic.

With the show as one of the most important product platform releases, during G2E several novelties have been introduced. Which do you consider the most innovative technologies that can determine trends in the future?
Here are so many to name just a few, but with the brightest minds in gaming all represented we’re particularly intrigued by forward looking products like interactive gaming, cloud based and database solutions, as well as those pushing the envelope with core slot and table innovations.