Southern Gaming Summit
May 30th, 2017 at 5:48:48 AM
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Every May the Southern Gaming Summit is held in the Biloxi colosseum, and, by registering in advance, I get a free pass to the Exhibit Hall. Because of an interest in how the gaming industry deploys technology, I enjoy “schmoozing” with the various vendors. In addition, my registration allows me to attend the two evening parties that are part of the Summit. Because the casino chefs are so competitive, they pull out all the stops if their venue hosts one of the events. It makes the heavy hors d'oeuvres a delicious meal, and usually results in an opportunity to discuss the gaming industry with someone in the business.
This year, the exhibit hall was about half as large as previous years, and I tried to find out why. One vendor suggested there were more and more gaming conferences similar to the Southern Gaming Summit, and companies may choose to go elsewhere. One of the NOLA universities has a branch campus in the Biloxi area that offers a certificate in Gaming Management. They had a booth in the Exhibit Hall, and one of the professors at the booth (also a former table games manager) offered an interesting insight: Because of the way the IRS refunds certain monies casinos collect for it, casinos usually get that money early each calendar year. However, this year the IRS said it would not refund that money until later in the year. The professor wondered if the IRS caused vendors to realize the casinos would not have money normally spent at this time of the year, and so companies deferred the vendor cost in parading “great stuff” for the casinos to buy when they knew casinos might not have money available.
The only large vendor at the show was IGT, and it's always fun to see how the new slot machines work (especially when they are set on “demo” mode so bonuses happen frequently). They only had one table game demo, and it was nothing special. Basically, it was an electronically controlled roulette wheel that offered another game – BJ or Baccarat – between spins, so as to minimize “dead” gaming time.
As far as I could tell, the only other table game being demonstrated at the Summit was our own kobalj, who seemed to have a rather busy booth with folks checking out his game, Casino Over Under. I appreciated kobalj taking time to describe how much more complex it is to get a new game approved in Pennsylvania, as compared to Mississippi. I haven't heard, but I hope he did well at the Summit.
This year, the exhibit hall was about half as large as previous years, and I tried to find out why. One vendor suggested there were more and more gaming conferences similar to the Southern Gaming Summit, and companies may choose to go elsewhere. One of the NOLA universities has a branch campus in the Biloxi area that offers a certificate in Gaming Management. They had a booth in the Exhibit Hall, and one of the professors at the booth (also a former table games manager) offered an interesting insight: Because of the way the IRS refunds certain monies casinos collect for it, casinos usually get that money early each calendar year. However, this year the IRS said it would not refund that money until later in the year. The professor wondered if the IRS caused vendors to realize the casinos would not have money normally spent at this time of the year, and so companies deferred the vendor cost in parading “great stuff” for the casinos to buy when they knew casinos might not have money available.
The only large vendor at the show was IGT, and it's always fun to see how the new slot machines work (especially when they are set on “demo” mode so bonuses happen frequently). They only had one table game demo, and it was nothing special. Basically, it was an electronically controlled roulette wheel that offered another game – BJ or Baccarat – between spins, so as to minimize “dead” gaming time.
As far as I could tell, the only other table game being demonstrated at the Summit was our own kobalj, who seemed to have a rather busy booth with folks checking out his game, Casino Over Under. I appreciated kobalj taking time to describe how much more complex it is to get a new game approved in Pennsylvania, as compared to Mississippi. I haven't heard, but I hope he did well at the Summit.
May 30th, 2017 at 10:05:07 AM
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Good job Lucky! I appreciate all your posts today.
When a rock is thrown into a pack of dogs, the one that yells the loudest is the one who got hit.
May 30th, 2017 at 10:27:01 AM
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The lack of Table Games exhibited is not a surprise...the Southern Gaming Show has been notorious for not having much in the way of table game content. As far as a small/regional Conference, the Cutting Edge TG Conference is by far the best place for indie's to show new content and G2E is where the big boys show their TG wares.
May 30th, 2017 at 12:25:21 PM
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Quote: ParadigmThe lack of Table Games exhibited is not a surprise...the Southern Gaming Show has been notorious for not having much in the way of table game content.
"Notorious"?? Fine if that's your individual opinion. If you have any third-party sources that give more complete explanation, I'd enjoy having you share them.
I've been attending SGS since before Hurricane Katrina. Many years SGS would have 6 or 8 "independent" game owners, plus several table games from the big guys. True, the Cutting Edge Table Game Conference is the best place to see various table-game offerings.
But, I've generally felt SGS -- a much smaller, industry-wide (not just TGs) gaming conference -- had a reasonable representation of table-game offerings. This year, not so much, either of table games or of exhibitors in general.
May 30th, 2017 at 2:00:17 PM
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Quote: LuckyPhow
The only large vendor at the show was IGT, and it's always fun to see how the new slot machines work (especially when they are set on “demo” mode so bonuses happen frequently).
Any games stick out that you can remember and are they still pushing the same themes and licensed type products? Thanks!
May 30th, 2017 at 4:06:40 PM
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OK, maybe "notorious" was a reach, maybe I should have said "I am not a bit surprised!"...I was there several years back, 2009 IIRC and there were a few TG's present, but not a lot. There used to be all kinds of indie's at G2E back then, and they have mostly vanished as well.
Since 2009, I have asked colleagues/industry contacts if SGS is worth going to as an independent game developer (as it is certainly cheaper to exhibit there vs. G2E) and received a unanimous "It really isn't a great show for table game content...it is more of a Bingo & Electronics show". That is all I can give you on sources for my opinion, I trust that those I ask for whatever that is worth...
Since 2009, I have asked colleagues/industry contacts if SGS is worth going to as an independent game developer (as it is certainly cheaper to exhibit there vs. G2E) and received a unanimous "It really isn't a great show for table game content...it is more of a Bingo & Electronics show". That is all I can give you on sources for my opinion, I trust that those I ask for whatever that is worth...
May 30th, 2017 at 5:59:13 PM
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Quote: BozAny games stick out that you can remember and are they still pushing the same themes and licensed type products? Thanks!
Cannot recall specifics, but seems wheel-of-fortune-type spinners were present on several games. I recall some games had interesting bonuses that entertained me for a while, but I'd be hard pressed to recall the details.
There did seem to be a lot of licensed products... Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman themes come to mind. So, yes. Same ol' same ol'.
May 30th, 2017 at 6:19:11 PM
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Quote: ParadigmOK, maybe I should have said "I am not a bit surprised!"
Appreciated. I understand you do have a "dog in this fight," regarding the successful design and marketing of gaming products. At various times in the past, I wondered whether or not the exhibit vendors -- all, not just table game designers -- were getting a reasonable number of leads to potential customers. Thanx for explaining.
In 2004 I started a visitor information map company in Gulfcoast Mississippi, only to find my price point could not be supported. Before casinos in southern Mississippi, the only jobs were in fishing (plus a few great-by-comparison jobs in the local military bases). Fishermen don't make much money, and IMHO it deeply affects the local psyche. Their idea of a "marketing" budget is about one nickel, but they want some change back. I had to negotiate a cancellation of my franchise agreement. Eight months later, Hurricane Katrina destroyed everything. Had I continued with my business, I surely would have been bankrupt.
