Happy Anniversary, G2E

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As you’ve no doubt heard, this is the 25th anniversary of Global Gaming Expo (G2E). That date has given me pause to consider all that has happened in all those years. And it started in Year One.

The first G2E was scheduled to launch just weeks after 9/11. It was hard to celebrate anything after that awful day, and serious consideration was given to canceling the event. But that didn’t happen because the board of the American Gaming Association, led by then-president and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf, believed it would be a way to take our minds off that serious attack and get back to normal as quickly as possible. By canceling it, we would have given the terrorists another small victory so, as they say, on with the show.

Not surprisingly, it wasn’t the most joyous of occasions. But with all the effort that had gone into founding and organizing the first G2E, it was a relief to be doing something that was productive for our industry, and in the long run, for all people involved in gaming. 

I was proud to assist in the G2E conference program that year and for the following 16 years, building what I always believed was the most informative, cutting-edge and complete agenda in the business. Since I stepped down, I’m pleased to see that G2E has continued that trend, as well as presenting the finest speakers and topics year after year.

Another memorable year was October 1, 2017. G2E was scheduled to start the next day, but when a shooter opened fire on a music festival at Mandalay Bay on the south end of the Strip, killing dozens of people, there was discussion about whether we should continue in the wake of such horror. Again, the AGA board opted to go forward, not because they didn’t feel empathy for the victims and their families, but because we could begin the healing process by coming together and expressing our condolences and sentiments. It truly was cathartic.

The National Hockey League came to that same conclusion when, nine days later, the first game of the Vegas Golden Knights was played. The team honored all the first responders, and in a night packed with emotion, endeared themselves to the entire Las Vegas community.

And let’s not forget the pandemic. Like all conferences and trade shows, G2E was impacted. The show was cancelled in 2020 and returned with serious restrictions in 2021. But it was in 2022, when things were finally starting to get back to normal, that G2E was quite celebratory. And of course, the last two years have been record-breaking.

But not all G2Es were that dramatic, unless you were with a company that was debuting a new product or personality. Then G2E could be quite sensational for all involved.

Over the years, G2E has been the platform for the launch of many iconic products and services. I’ll never forget the show in the early 2000s when Frank Legato returned to our booth and excitedly told me about a great new video poker machine he had just witnessed. We both hurried back to that machine and met Ernie Moody, who was demonstrating his baby, Triple Play video poker. Of course, we weren’t the only ones that year to get excited about that product, as IGT quickly snapped it up, giving Moody a deal he couldn’t refuse.

Keynote speakers have always played a big role in G2E. From the first year when a pre-View Whoopi Goldberg took the stage, there have been others such as Magic Johnson and Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller). Most years, however, it’s a panel of industry CEOs moderated by the AGA CEO­—which makes the most sense, because who else can give us the “state of the industry” better than the leaders?

I recall one year we got both Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson to agree to do keynote addresses—a true “get,” as they say in the biz. On the first day, Wynn, as usual, was mesmerizing. But Adelson didn’t want to give a speech and suggested a Q&A with a moderator on Day 2. I was honored when the AGA and RX chose me to moderate, but I didn’t realize that some of my questions would so rile up Adelson that he accused me of being “one of them”—that is, a promoter of online gambling. While he might have been upset, his top executives were pleased, because it showed that Adelson was indeed passionate about iGaming and trying to protect young people, even if the data didn’t follow.

So happy anniversary to G2E. It’s a joyous occasion for all in gaming, a great time to make new friends, renew acquaintances and make some money.