LAS VEGAS – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Global Gaming Expo (G2E) today
announced the creation of G2E Institute, the gaming industry's first focused,
educational conference to offer interactive, workshop-style sessions on four
specific gaming industry sectors. G2E Institute will combine G2E's existing
Casino Design and Racino events with the recently acquired Gaming & Technology
Conference, and will incorporate a new series of seminars addressing
developments and growth opportunities in tribal gaming. The inaugural G2E
Institute will be held at the Red Rock Resort, Spa & Casino in Las Vegas
May 9-11, 2006. The 2007 event will take place May 15-17, 2007 at Mohegan Sun
in Uncasville, Conn.
The G2E Institute will provide a unique, tailored and intimate educational
platform where industry professionals can learn the latest trends in key
industry growth areas, as well as how those areas interact with one another in
the casino setting. With its workshop-style educational format, the event
also will foster enhanced networking between attendees and the industry
experts who will lead and present the conference sessions. Differing from the
trade show and conference format of the fall G2E exhibition, the education-
centered G2E Institute is intentionally scheduled six months from its November
counterpart to provide the gaming community more timely access to the most
up-to-date information driving industry growth.
"Casino Design and Racino were initially created in response to the
tremendous amount of interest shown in these burgeoning sectors," said Frank
J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association
(AGA). "Uniting these events under G2E Institute, while also leveraging
significant growth areas such as tribal gaming and technology-driven
advancements, enables us to provide a unique, interactive forum for our
attendees to explore some of the industry's top growth performers, and to help
facilitate a better understanding of the relationships between them."
Topics for G2E Institute will evolve each year to reflect the hottest
sectors in the gaming entertainment industry. The latest trends in casino
architecture, construction, design and development; property revitalization
for racinos; legislative updates and management trends in tribal operations;
and new technology innovations will be just a few of the topics addressed in
the educational material presented at the inaugural conference. Some
participating gaming product suppliers also will host select tabletop product
exhibits in conjunction with the event.
In addition to its distinctive educational content, another important
aspect of G2E Institute will be its location, as it rotates each year to new
or unique gaming resort properties, both in the commercial and Native American
sectors. Attendees will have the opportunity to see first-hand the design,
layout, management and operation of these cutting-edge properties by
participating in full property tours offered in conjunction with the
conference event.
Racino 2005 was held in November at Dover Downs in Dover, Del., and Casino
Design 2005 took place at Wynn Las Vegas in June.
The technology content of the new G2E Institute will be derived from the
Gaming & Technology Conference, which G2E recently acquired from Spectrum
Gaming Group, LLC. The Institute will build upon the foundation laid by the
Gaming & Technology Conference by continuing to feature the latest in
technology innovation and advancement for all aspects of the gaming industry,
particularly emphasizing efficiency and consumer service, in its focused
sessions.
"The Gaming & Technology Conference was designed to cast a spotlight on
current and future trends in gaming technology, and we are proud of how far
we've taken it," said Michael Pollock, managing director at Spectrum Gaming
Group and editor and publisher of Michael Pollock's Gaming Industry Observer.
"We are pleased that G2E's acquisition of the conference will take it to an
even higher level, affording gaming professionals from a number of diverse
disciplines an essential education on the technology trends driving the
industry and an exclusive vantage point on the future of gaming technology
that cannot be found anywhere else."
"G2E Institute allows us to gather at one tailored educational forum the
leading experts from these important segments that continue to drive the
industry, while guaranteeing us the flexibility to add new areas of focus as
industry interests evolve," said Courtney Muller, show manager and industry
vice president of G2E at Reed Exhibitions. "The unique value of this
conference is that it offers in-depth analysis of specialized industry sectors
as well as a broader examination of how interactions and synergies between
these key areas will affect the industry now and in the future."