Shows and conferences in any industry serve various purposes. These purposes can be very different when we look at them from the different perspectives of the three major players; suppliers, operators and the event organizers.
Operators use these gatherings for being up to date on new technologies and product, hearing from industry experts about the latest trends, problems and solutions, meeting long lost buddies, getting out of the office for a couple of days and “networking” on the booze provided by the suppliers.
Suppliers are there to showcase their product, entertain their existing and potential customers, shortly; sell. This will cost them quite a bit of money, but it’s built into the price of their product, so when they give you “free” tickets to that Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas, you as an operator actually pay for it indirectly.
The organizers create a place and date for the above parties to meet and if they do their jobs well, their events go onto the yearly agenda of operators and suppliers for years, ensuring a nice and steady flow of profit for companies like Clarion and Reed Expo just to mention two of the biggest ones in our industry.
The number of events has multiplied compared to what we had a decade ago and now almost every major market has its own gaming show. This comes from the realization, that people will almost certainly attend an event in their own country or hometown, while not everyone has the time or budget to cross an ocean for the sake of some education or a meeting with a supplier who is going to visit them in their casinos anyway.
Shows big and small usually have a conference stream and some education thrown in for good measure. The more complete the offer, the bigger the audience. Most attendees will have to be able to justify to their bosses, employers why their presence is needed at a particular event, so organizers give them as many reasons to attend as they possibly can.
As you can see, shows and conferences are a profitable business, nobody would do them otherwise. What sets different industry events apart is the professionalism and dedication of the organizers. While most of these companies are in it for the money only, there are a few events every year that are worth attending for the actual content. Content in the case of most shows, as I mentioned above is just an additional revenue generator, part of the recipe of a successful event.
When the organizers are actual industry veterans, people who understand and appreciate what the operators and suppliers want to hear about, how to offer them content that actually makes a difference for the businesses they run, suddenly attending makes sense. Spending 2-3 days in a foreign city, going into all the trouble of travel and being away from home, won’t be in vain. Meeting like minded people, being able to discuss real problems, pick the brains of your industry peers, see what solutions they have for the problems that you face back at home as well, is simply priceless. I attended a few of these boutique events and always came away richer, with useful contacts, new ideas and proven methods to implement at home.
The Ampersend series of events organized by Clarion promises to become a useful gathering, which I think will have a bright future, especially if the company puts some more effort behind it and let industry specialists get involved in the organization of these gatherings.
Lucien Wijsman started his slot academy and slot summit well over a decade ago and with knowledge and dedication turned these into must attend events in Europe and beyond. After having sold his company, he couldn’t sit on his laurels, so he came up with the idea of a similar event, this time involving not just the slot side of things but offering something for most casino professionals. His new event is called the Casino Operations Summit and the first instance will take place in Riga on the 21 to 23 April 2019. This first get together will be the start of one of the most interesting and rewarding series of casino events of our days. The lineup of speakers and the list of attendees will guarantee 3 days of quality conferences, that will seriously enrich all who participate. Another must attend event you need to put on your calendars.
