2006 Event Introduces New Pavilions, Enhanced Show Floor Navigation and Amenities, Increased Networking Opportunities and New Conference Tracks.
Las Vegas – From an expanded show floor incorporating new pavilions, easier navigation, and comfort stations featuring massages to increased networking opportunities and new conference tracks, Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2006 is introducing a host of fresh features designed to further enhance the total participant experience. G2E 2006 is scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center with the G2E Training & Development Institute Nov. 13.
G2E 2006 will welcome three new pavilions – entertainment technology, entertainment and event production, and hospitality – to the trade show floor. According to show organizers, with more and more casino customers visiting casinos for the total entertainment experience, spectacular shows, excellent entertainment and impeccable customer service all are becoming increasingly essential to the business of gaming. The new pavilions at G2E 2006 will help gaming professionals stay up-to-date on the latest trends in these important areas.
„These days, people are visiting casinos to do much more than gamble. They want to be entertained and feel pampered, and increased competition means operators have to be innovative and responsive to win their customers‘ business and loyalty,“ said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA). „At G2E, we’re committed to showing our participants the model for future success in the gaming industry, and there’s no doubt enhanced entertainment and hospitality are going to define the future. Adding these new features is just one more way we’re helping our participants stay on the cutting edge.“
Now in its third year, F&B at G2E, a culinary marketplace, also has evolved for 2006 and will offer an expanded show floor featuring more than 120 food and beverage suppliers. The popular Neon Chefs Culinary Competition, which debuted at the 2004 event, returns this year to F&B at G2E featuring an all new line-up of celebrity chef teams who will face off in head-to-head cooking challenges, and additional celebrity chefs will preside over daily live culinary and beverage demonstrations.
In keeping with G2E‘s commitment to provide the best possible participant experience, this year’s show floor has been enhanced with new amenities, better navigation and more signage. The show floor at G2E 2006 will incorporate G2E Comfort Stations where attendees can relax, meet with their peers, purchase refreshments and even get massages. Show floor navigation also will be easier for attendees with increased signage, a new color-coded system that identifies exhibitor booths in specific color blocks, and the debut of the Diversity Exhibitor Program, which clearly identifies the minority-, woman- and disadvantaged-owned exhibitors.
As part of G2E‘s continuing focus on delivering superior networking opportunities for professionals involved in every aspect of the industry, G2E 2006 will incorporate new networking opportunities for attendees and exhibitors alike. G2Exhcange, the popular Web-based networking tool for attendees introduced last year, will now include all show exhibitors, enabling registered G2E participants to connect will fellow professionals before and during the event. Participants can access G2Exchange on-site at the new G2E Networking Café, which also will feature a business center, Cyber Café, shoe shine stations and more. In addition, two new Same Suit luncheons, for Women in Gaming and Latin American Gaming, have been added to encourage further networking within these groups.
Complementing the new show features is an enhanced conference program, including three new conference tracks covering public gaming, global gaming, and research, law and regulation, all new Signature Series conference sessions and the debut of the G2E Conference keynote address. In its ongoing efforts to foster an open exchange of ideas and facilitate attendee-driven conference content, G2E this year is introducing an online feature that will allow conference attendees to submit questions to session moderators through the G2E Web site before the show even begins. This pre-submission will make conference sessions more interactive and dynamic and as relevant as possible, enabling expert speakers and panels to prepare their presentations already knowing the specific interests of conference attendees.
Further expanding its educational content to meet the industry’s needs, G2E 2006 will partner for the first time with the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) Conference on Gambling an Addiction, which this year is scheduled just prior to G2E on Nov. 12-14 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Themed Lost in Translation? The Challenge of Turning Good Research into Best Practices, the seventh annual Conference on Gambling and Addiction will once again facilitate dialogue between gaming industry professionals and the world’s leading scientific and clinical addiction professionals. By pairing with the conference, G2E 2006 offers attendees a unique opportunity to better understand the ways research can inform and enhance practical responsible gaming policies.
„The G2E team has worked very hard this year to continue to enhance every aspect of the show and conference experience for each G2E attendee,“ said Courtney Muller, show manager and group vice president of G2E at Reed Exhibitions. „We understand the incredible value of networking and are offering more tools and opportunities than ever before to help gaming professionals from around the world make important business connections.“
G2E is the leading trade event for the worldwide gaming entertainment community, attended by more than 26,000 industry professionals from around the world. For more information on G2E or to register for group or early bird discounts, visit the Web site at http://www.globalgamingexpo.com.