This year's Global Gaming Expo (G2E) event opens tomorrow in Las Vegas with a new format. Most of the major exhibitors have taken up exhibition space on the Upper Floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center and give the expo an the old fashioned tint - the moneyed classes lording it over the lesser mortals 'beneath the stairs' in deference to their superiors.

The problem with a two tier expo format is that people will congregate where the most transcendentent or important exhibits are sited, and in G2E these have prime position on the upper level. The industry is led by the slot machines sector, and its leaders are found on the second floor, above the registration area where they are taking up one third of the floor space, and where the decline of the tables gaming sector is in evidence by the sole presence of Shuffle Master, supplier of table games accessories who to their credit find themselves amidst the leading eight slots manufacturers. This one third of the exhibition floor space inhabited by IGT, Bally, Franco, Aristocrat, WMS Gaming, Konami, etc. will see most of the attendees strut through their pavillions as they bring out their wares for all to see.

At the other extreme of the second floor G2E has a special section for Security and Surveillance, and on the first floor this year the Expo features Design & Decor, Bingo and Interactive Pavillions. However, the pièce de resistance is The Culinary Marketplace in The Food & Beverage Pavillion at the edge of the first floor, specially designed to highlight the growing rôle of this sector in Casino Resorts.

“The addition of F&B at G2E is in step with our goal to give our attendees a competitive advantage in every facet of their business,” said Courtney Muller, vice president and show manager, Reed Exhibitions. “Food and beverage manufacturers and suppliers also gain a competitive advantage by participating in F&B at G2E, as the consistently high quality of senior-level buyers who attend our event will put their products and services in front of the people who are in the position to shape the future of food and beverage delivery in the gaming industry.” Some of the industry experts who have always maintained that gaming goes beyond the traditional sectors of tables, slots and security & surveillance, encompassing not only specialized F&B, HR, Marketing and Finance amongst other disciplines, should welcome the G2E initiative to make room for those peripheral disciplines that have become an intrinsic part of an industry making a mainstream business claim. The industry stock index shows clear signs of consistently outperforming other investment indexes.

As G2E welcomes the F&B sector and the industry sees a frank decline in the Tables sector, particularly in America, other aspects of the gaming service should make their presence felt at similar shows, following the growth direction of these industries as they make inroads into Asia and Great Britain after deregulation. However, it will be interesting to see if the format of the show on two levels is as successful as that adopted by its London equivalent, which amalgamated the leisure and gaming shows into one at ATEI/ICE 2004 last January.

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