The final day of G2E is always the slowest, with those manning their booths desperate for 3 p.m. to arrive, the time when the expo hall officially closes. Despite the sleep deprived state of most delegates, the floor was busy and it was a great day to go and check out innovative products.
Slot machines are an enormous revenue generator for both land based and online casinos, a fact that was reflected on the G2E expo floor- slot machines were everywhere.
Next Gaming, a smaller and newer slot machine manufacturer, revealed its new Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) game “King of the Cage” (KOTC) in partnership with Terry Trebilcock, the Founder and CEO of KOTC. Trebilcock shared that KOTC events take place in casinos around the globe and the MMA theme is therefore a natural fit for slot machines. The fighters are excited, he said, they are looking for either money or fame (or both) and being featured on these slots fulfils those desires.
GameAccount took up a large booth space this year and used G2E 2014 to get the word out about their GameAccount Network ecosystem, their target being US land based casino operators looking to get into the online side of the business. GameAccount offers one platform design to meet all requirements for plugging into the online world, simplifying the process as much as possible.
Over at the iGaming Zone, Gamblit Gaming, a provider for casual casino mobile games, introduced their soon-to-be-launched new real money platform at G2E 2014. The games are simple and social, think betting on Angry Birds or Scrabble, built to enhance mobile games and tap into the high income consumer.
Looking back over the past four days we spent at G2E, as much as we enjoyed the Michael Jackson impersonator, the uncontested highlight was the presence of Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson on Tuesday and Wednesday for their keynote speeches. Most G2E attendees had never laid eyes on these two men, let alone had the opportunity to hear them speak for one hour each. The presentations were entertaining and expertly delivered, exceeding our expectations even if some of us did not agree with all the points they were making.
The one topic that ruffled feathers during both presentations was unsurprisingly online gambling. Both gambling tycoons are against it, an opinion we expected from Adelson but did not necessarily expect from Wynn. Chris Grove of OnlinePokerReport.com summed it up perfectly when he said that while these two men were such disruptors in the gambling industry for so many years, it’s a shame they are not willing to disrupt in online gambling as well.
After 30+ hours of conferencing, that’s all for the thirteenth annual G2E 2014 and it’s truly been an inspiring, educational, fun and tiring four days. The event was expertly executed and for that we thank our friends at Reed, the American Gaming Association, Jasen’s top notch PR team and the press room.
