Within minutes of my arrival to the West's gaming Mecca, I realized that my job here at G2E is to generally stomp on that whole what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas mantra. As cliché as that saying might be, on the surface Sin City is precisely that -- a series of stereotypical snapshots infused with sunglasses-required neon light, armloads of comped drinks and the incessant echos of cha-ching-a-ching-a-ching-a-ching.
Seeing Vegas for the first time through adult eyes (the last time I set foot in this town, security scolded my mom for bringing me on the gaming floor at Circus Circus), I've become rather fond of its strange surface glamor. With that said, I'd love to give you a minute-by-minute account of my time here. Unfortunately, the combination of a killer meeting-and-session schedule and the fact that I need to use GPS to navigate from booth to booth has really put a damper on my diary keeping skills.
However, this won't stop me from mentioning why I hold CryptoLogic's dynamic duo, Steve and Justin, fully responsible for my absence at this morning's press conference with Frank Fahrenkopf, American Gaming Association president. Our “completely off the record” night of exploring Mandalay Bay's Red Square, Rum Jungle and Godspeed consisted of stomach-churning vodka flights, some feisty Latin dance music and a whole lot of ridiculous Borat impressions.
As for this morning, luckily some other folks were there to take care of that whole reporting thing. I arrived just in time to witness industry bigwigs cut the ribbon, officially commencing G2E 2008 madness.
Who gets to keep them big scissors?
Ribbon-cutting clean-up crew.
Green is for glamor.
Although this is my first G2E experience, it's pretty obvious there's a dark cloud dangling over the event. From CEOs to cab drivers, everyone is talking about the economic downturn. It's as if we are all in some bizarre group therapy where if we can just come together and hold hands, everything will be OK. Too bad that's not reality. Even attendance for G2E itself is said to be down 10 percent or so, though the exhibition hall was a madhouse by 1:30. It seemed like I couldn't take three steps without running into someone else (literally) or with someone trying to walk on top of me.
Bally, True Blue, IGT and WMS panel up.
After meetings with Ainsworth Games Technology, Alfastreet, Octavian and Gaming Labs International, I was able to catch the final session of the day, “Content is King: Developing the Games.” Moderated by Frank Legato, editor of Global Gaming Business, the panel included:
- John Vallejo, Bally Technologies
- Kent Young, True Blue Gaming
- Brenda Boudreaux, International Game Technology
- Phil Gelber, WMS Gaming Inc.
The group discussed the current economic state (of course), server-based gaming, branded games, multi-player gaming, reel games, the disappearance of quarter slots and what they're doing to appeal to younger generations.
“The worse thing that can happen is that people will get turned off from casinos period,” said Mr. Gelber as the group discussed the need to keep content fresh. And as far as foreseeing a casino floor completely on a server-based system, he added, “I can't envision a casino five or ten years from now with generic dual screen boxes everywhere -- it's just going to be boring ... I don't want to be here if that's what the world comes to.”
When Mr. Legato brought up the table-seeking younger generation, a general desire to be more like Xbox 360 and Wii seemed apparent but for most a regulatory nightmare.
“I have game designers who would would love to do that type of stuff,” said Mr. Gelber. “We can design the game, but can we get it approved?”
He added that this will be something we see eventually, but like everything else, it will take time to develop something to both please regulators and be fun simultaneously.
Slots for tots?
Later in the evening, my feet eventually gave out at the International Masters of Gaming Law's cocktail reception, which had a very good turnout. At one point, I'm also rather certain I fell asleep while standing with my eyes wide open -- a talent I did not know I possessed. Tomorrow will be longer but better since tonight I plan to only ingest a Simply Sleep or two rather than the typical Sin City cocktail. Farewell for now.