The gaming part of the show got off to an explosive start on the Tuesday and never really slowed down throughout. This was not surprising with the celebrities who were present to help boost the product sales of some of the biggest companies around. Clint Eastwood was on hand to make WMS Gaming's day with the progressive system 'A Fistful of Dollars' with two video games 'Wanted' and 'Wild Shot'.
So while Clint was 'making people's day', Pamela Anderson was boosting things at the Bally booth with a 'signature' parade to signal the launch of the new Playboy slots series.
But for those in the world who love REAL football (soccer) the Aristocrat booth was the place to be where superstar soccer legend Pele was on hand to boot up the Legendary Goals slot games. Pele got a tumultous welcome and thrilled the crowd with his charm.
The show was well organised and, if the Food & Beverage sector at ground level is included, anything up to 60% larger than previous shows. After the first show day, traffic on the lower level did tail off, while it continued MANIC on the upper floor where most exhibitors reported a great show.
However, some pointed to a few downsides, show access was by one escalator, one elevator and one stairway only. Second, foreign exhibitors to the US were disappointed at the number of show hours which only totalled 15.5 hours. When exhibitors are willing to travel thousands of miles to a show only to find it is designed around a seminar schedule, this is a big downer. As the seminars continue through the day, it is difficult to understand why the show cannot open one or two hours earlier.
There was a bigger showing from Eastern European companies - Gold Club, Carat, Evona and ICP had booths, Playade had a spot with TCSJohnHuxley, others like CTC Holdings walked the show while they considered where to exhibit next year.