This time last week the beautiful city of Buenos Aires in Argentina was hosting two gaming industry exhibitions, as it had the previous year. From all sides came reasons why this should not occur, not least from the exhibitors themselves who have to bear the cost and stress of being in two places at once.

There are certain parallels to be drawn with the emergence of G2E, where Reed Exhibitions and the American Gaming Association (AGA) superseded the original Las Vegas fair organizers, Gem Publications of the Gaming & Wagering Magazine. In 2001, the first G2E, was a great success with exhibitors and delegates preferring to patronise the show ‘organized for the industry, by the industry.’ G2E is now one of the highlights of the yearly exhibition calendar, and possibly the favourite.

In 2003 EJ Krause Reed and the Latin American Gaming Association (ALAJA) decided to do the same thing in Buenos Aires, but the result did not achieve the success obtained in Las Vegas. ALAJA failed to carry with it the majority of the Argentinean gaming industry, and the Latin American Gaming Expo (LGE 2003) was outshone by the other show organizers Monografie, and their South American Gaming Suppliers Expo (SAGSE 2003). Unlike in Las Vegas, the threatened exhibition came back with renewed vigour the following year as SAGSE 2004.

The organizers of LGE 2004 and certain exhibitors have declared that the success of the event is based on the quality of its visitors, who may not have been as many but who represented most of the industry, and that they were satisfied with their achievement. Casino operators understand this, as in a VIP salon it is quality and not quantity that counts.

SAGSE 2004 have yet to officially declare visitor numbers, but it is not difficult to judge that this year’s event had even more exhibitors and visiting public than last year. Admittedly there were dealers for the Croupier Competition and public from related industries amongst the gaming professionals, but so there are in G2E in Las Vegas and ICE in London.

No one likes to see a business close down and if the intention of the LGE organizers was to emulate what happened in Las Vegas, then they have shot themselves in the foot. SAGSE has remained solid and is expanding to encompass shows in Panama and Peru.

The new directors of ALAJA should now consider finding a different date for their show, for the image of the industry as well as for the benefit of their members and the gaming industry as a whole.

© Copyright 2004 CasinoCompendium



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