In November of 2003 and 2004, two gaming industry shows set up in the same city on overlapping dates. It was obvious from the start that the event seeking to supplant the decade old SAGSE Buenos Aires would not succeed, despite impetuous backing, owing to a lack of support from local manufacturers and operators. The rest, as they say, is history and the SAGSE event organized by Monografie under the direction of Giorgio Gennari has consolidated into what is at present the world’s third largest fair.

The December 2004 edition of Casino International magazine, the only gaming industry media to cover the trade shows on all continents and maintain close Latin American links, reported that staging coinciding fairs in Buenos Aires was “either a recipe for disaster or the start of a merger.” Now something very similar is happening again in the Caribbean and Central American region. The second annual SAGSE CentroAmerica event in Panama this May did not improve on its 2005 achievements, and the ninth Caribbean Gaming & Hospitality Conference (CG&HC) in Puerto Rico earlier this month saw a decline in visitor numbers.

It is true that the Panama show did attract delegates from more countries than the previous year, but if the proposed third SAGSE CentroAmerica does not consolidate its position next year then the organizers should seriously consider their options. The event in Puerto Rico has conferences and forum dedicated to the gaming industry and enjoys the support of the local tourism office. However, exhibitors were generally local and usually executives with buying power attend such events because of the quality of the speakers.

Last week the well known Internet gaming industry media Yogonet, based in Argentina, published an interview with Bruce Smith of Westville Enterprises, organizer of the event in Puerto Rico. He admitted that daily visitor numbers had been slightly fewer than in the previous year. Yogonet put it more succinctly: “Despite the variety and range of options arranged by Westville Enterprises, the events did not get the public support they had been seeking.”

In 2007 the gaming shows in Panama and Puerto Rico are set for following weeks in June – 7th to 8th and 12th to 13th respectively. The same question must be asked as that posed in Buenos Aires in December 2004: What will be the decision of the exhibitors? Many at CG&HC this year expressed concern over the increasing number of fairs in the Latin American region and the closeness of the Panama and Puerto Rico events. Both SAGSE CentroAmerica and CG&HC are, after all, attempting to woo the same public – the operators in Central America and the Caribbean. (E-06.27.06)

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