Las Vegas Trip Report Part 1: Global Gaming Expo AKA G2E

Want to know what happens at a gaming conference?

I too was in the same boat until I got the opportunity to tick off “attending a gaming conference” from my bucket list. I know, thrilling, isn’t it? Just this past week, I flew to Las Vegas to be a part of the Global Gaming Expo, also known as G2E.

The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is touted as a multifaceted event, encompassing informative and educational seminars, the unveiling of new products to explore, test, or even buy, and providing the most significant networking opportunity of the year.

I had two objectives to achieve at G2E during my trip preparations:

Engage and network with multiple colleagues and industry leaders. Strive to comprehend upcoming industry trends to enable the creation of insightful and informative content in the future.

I also had plans to spend a considerable amount of time playing casino poker, something I haven’t done in a while. But, I’ll discuss that further in Part 2. For the time being, let’s focus on G2E.

My first Day at G2E

As you step into the Sands Expo Center, it’s difficult to anticipate what’s to come. The ground floor lobby appears almost deserted, subtly hiding the chaos that’s merely an escalator ride away.

I got to the showroom pretty early on Tuesday, before it was open and the aforementioned chaos started. This allowed me to leisurely check out the locations of the seminars I planned to attend.

Despite my unsuccessful attempt to stealthily enter the showroom approximately an hour prior to its 10 AM opening by blending with exhibitors during their setup, I was caught. Unfortunately, a vigilant security guard noticed that I had concealed the yellow stripe on my credentials, indicating that I was a member of the press and not an exhibitor. Consequently, the following occurred:

As 10 AM neared, the energy at the Expo Center gradually intensified. The buzz grew incessantly, eventually mirroring the tumultuous noise one would experience when trying to enter a concert or sporting event.

When it’s bustling, one would find it nearly impossible to navigate through the hordes of people without having to turn sideways, sidestep, or apologize. This is a nightmare for those who detest crowds of oblivious people. Pay attention, stop staring at your phone and adhere to the basic rules of pedestrian traffic for goodness sake!

Luckily, the location of the seminars was typically quiet, as the bustling activity was usually on the other side of the twin hallways and on the showroom floor. This served as my sanctuary, providing me with the opportunity to regenerate whenever necessary. I sympathize with those who have to spend their entire day on the showroom floor with no break.

I went to the first seminar by myself, but while waiting for the ‘Market Research: The Ideal Online Gambler’ seminar to begin, I ran into Chris Grove, Marco Valerio, and John Pappas.

I found myself sitting next to a man named Mike Aponte, an analytics expert, and we engaged in an unplanned conversation. Later, I discovered that Mike was one of the original members of the MIT Blackjack team, making him quite an intriguing character. On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend his seminar on cheating in house-banked and player-banked games.

Following the Market Research seminar, I had the opportunity to engage in some insightful discussions with Chris, Marco, and John – which, to me, is one of the best aspects of G2E. These conversations with highly knowledgeable and well-informed individuals resulted in one of the rare selfies I’ve taken (Grove is incredibly tall!):

Marco tried to get Chris and me to relax for a more spontaneous photo after this one. He finally succeeded in this by almost knocking Chris over, and using what I could only guess were Italian gang signs and gestures.

As the first day was nearing its end, I chanced upon Nolan Dalla in the hallway. After a brief introduction, he convinced me to join what would be an excellent seminar on Advancing Advocacy and creating a strong pro-gaming message. After that, I moved on to Steve Wynn’s keynote, which you can find more about here.

Nolan is precisely how I pictured him to be; captivating, lively, humorous, and smart, possessing extensive knowledge on a variety of subjects. He’s undoubtedly an intriguing guy.

While navigating the vast expo floor and attending various seminars, where I literally got lost for a solid 15 minutes, I also had the opportunity to have an engaging discussion with Eric Hollresiser from PokerStars.

Also, there were some unexpected encounters, like waiting in the taxi line alongside Eric Weiss from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, who recognized me from a previous interview. This is another fantastic facet of G2E.

Day 2 of G2E

Entering the second day, I had a greatly improved comprehension of what was to be anticipated.

I also planned on dedicating a significant amount of time to explore the showroom floor, thanks to my more relaxed schedule.

My day initially began with an attempt to locate David Baazov, CEO of Amaya Gaming, for a possible future interview. Baazov was scheduled for a 9 AM keynote panel, so I cleverly decided to monitor the area from around 9:55. Unfortunately, he seemed to have escaped through a side door as I had no luck finding him.

So I decided to try and find him over by the Cadillac Jacks booth.

However, my fortune took a turn for the better when, en route to the showroom floor, I stumbled upon him engaged in conversation with someone familiar to me, Eric Hollresiser! I was further favored by luck when their discussion was interrupted by another person (saving me the effort), which gave me the opportunity to introduce myself briefly. Whether this leads to an interview remains to be seen, but I was delighted to meet the man who is poised to secure the top spot on next year’s Bluff Power 20.

My plan to go to Cadillac Jacks would have been successful, as I later spotted him at their booth.

Next, I dedicated about an hour in the showroom gathering all the Gaming and iGaming magazines I could find – the ones that are highly priced and have their online content locked behind a paywall. This endeavor turned out to be very successful as I managed to collect GGB, iGaming Player, Gaming Intelligence, and others.

I chanced upon a vendor selling a bag that I was ready to lug all my new magazines in – the rest were so typical it was painful. So, kudos to Copag Cards – as I swiftly discovered, hauling around five magazines when you’re 38 and not in the best shape can be quite a task.

Next, I had lunch and an engaging conversation with Chris Grove. Afterward, I visited the Z4 Gaming booth, which is in partnership with Siena Casinos in Nevada and has the potential to launch one of the following online poker products. I had a chat with Matt Kaufman, with whom I had only previously communicated online.

The second day at G2E concluded with a seminar on House- and Player-Banked Cheating and the grand finale – Sheldon Adelson’s keynote speech, which you can learn more about here.

What I learned

I found myself ill-equipped to report on unfolding events or even provide immediate post-event updates. This was partly due to the overwhelming experience of attending a gaming conference, specifically the G2E, for the first time. However, I also lacked the necessary preparation as I came to understand that real-time reporting at such an event necessitates two crucial elements:

1. The right equipment
2. Good scheduling

It became evident that my Samsung tablet and Bluetooth keyboard were grossly insufficient for live tweeting, especially considering my poor typing skills on a phone. Hence, as soon as I got home, I used the winnings from my consecutive successful sessions in the Aria $9/$18 12-game mix to purchase a new 2-in-1 laptop. This will not only facilitate my participation in future conferences but also increase my productivity. Plus, it offers the added advantage of a useful tax write-off.

While I may not be an avid live tweeter like Chris Grove, I do take comprehensive notes. During my next conference, I plan to allocate time between seminars and meetings to share the key points from the previous sessions on Twitter.

This time, my insights are presented in a column that you can read here.