ICE London Gets Cold Shoulder From Media
The International Gaming Expo (also known as ICE London) we are sure was a fun event. There is really no way of gauging its success, however, since the media seems all but shut out. That might not be such a bad thing for an industry looking to keep a low profile, especially for a European focused show where several EU nations are playing hardball with online gambling. The show ends Thursday and we've heard nary a word about ICE from the other side of the pond...or let's say, anywhere outside of London.
Our friends at Covers.com were there. Apparently, things did not run smoothly.
"The event does give me a chance to catch up on industry happenings and disperse it to those lucky enough to read my posts. Well, my first day was greatly marred by the disorganized nature of the conference. Despite my online registration, I still had to suffer a lengthy wait to get my conference pass.
"First, we waited 15 minutes in one line before somebody told us all to go wait in another line. Then, somebody else told us to go back to the first line, where a third person told us it would be faster to go back outside and walk around to another entrance where the line would be shorter... but it wasn't. After finding a third entrance, we finally made it in. Time elapsed... one hour. I hate conferences."
Once in, it wasn't all that bad apparently...maybe even worth the wait.
"Picture several scantily clad women gyrating around a new server-based slot machine featuring a cutting edge transaction processing system, and that pretty much describes what is happening on the conference floor. One part sex. One part glitz. One part gambling. One part business."
It was cold, miserable and expensive in London - this coming from a pair living in Nova Scotia of all places.
The Queen of online gambling - and one time organizer of this event - Sue Schneider - was roasted, her Bible close at hand the entire time.
There were plenty of industry people here no doubt. Gambling911.com had about three dozen interview requests. We did not have anyone there to conduct the interviews.
What has peeked our interest most is not so much ICE but the event that's attached to it.
CAP London is taking place Jan 29th - Feb 1st, 2009 with a few industry diehards attending who have apparently been told to stay home or who may find themselves disinvited when they get to the door. One of the co-organizers claims to have resigned, though is slated to be in London. This is all over a highly publicized flap related to a rogue online poker room CAP officials allegedly had some type of ownership interest in.
CAP London's appeal is its party atmosphere. There will be enough people in attendance to ensure that goes off without a hitch. Whether event sponsors walk away happy is an entirely different story as Lou Fabiono (the individual resigning) typically oversees the agenda and does a good job of it for the most part. Nothing against partner Warren Jolly, but he's usually hard to locate.
We were invited to CAP London incidentally, but we like to alternate, especially with the economy the way it is.
This year we'll be at CAC Amsterdam along with the lovely Jenny Woo.
CAC Amsterdam is yet another mainstay of the industry and the event is right in the center of the lively city square. For the first time, there is another affiliate focused event taking place around a month later but the location is outside the main city and certainly pricey to get around we presume. CAC has all the key players.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
