This is my fifth year attending the Global Gaming Expo. As a writer, and as a player, my goal is always to discover what’s new and coming to casino floors in the future. But in the mix of all the new products that are being showcased, and which we’ll be sharing throughout the week with you, I couldn’t help but notice there’s also a lot that’s the same.
Stories of earlier G2E events with various amounts of spectacle seem to have been giving way to more mundane press announcements and “special guests” that pale in comparison to what used to be. Pitbull appeared at the peak of his fame one year; nowadays you’re more likely to see a local celebrity like the mayor of Las Vegas.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t some really cool things to see. The launch of a dealer competition adds some new energy to the proceedings, while also recognizing the importance of dealers to the casino floor. If you’ve ever had a great table dealer, or conversely a horrible or scary one, you know the importance of the dealer’s role – it’s far more than whether your cards beat the dealer’s.
Multimedia continues to grow in importance – podcast studios and filming areas are increasing in number on the G2E floor. The press information we get continues to be well organized, but there simply seems to be more content being created here than ever. This includes us – throughout the week Courtney Carr and I will be sharing various perspectives from the gaming floor, including what we’ve seen.
Some of our early meetings included checking out the offerings at Eclipse’s booth (their display included the first use I’ve encountered here of a Scentorama style presentation) as well as the upcoming iGaming launches from one of our favorite studios, 4ThePlayer.
So far, many things seen at the conference feel familiar. That can be a great thing – the familiar includes reconnecting with people we’ve met over the years and being able to catch up with where people have gone or what they’re working on now.
So far, many of the new launches we’ve looked at have also felt familiar – games that are offering new spins on what players are familiar (IGT’s announcement of Wheel of Fortune Cash Machine Jackpots being a great example).
That, too, is OK, but I’m still on the watch for something truly unique and new – I expect I’ll find it, and will share with you what I find in the days ahead.
