Booth babes worth the money for Raving?
Poll
 | 7 votes (70%) | ||
| | 3 votes (30%) |
10 members have voted
You have to ask? Product demonstrators may be the dumbest, but they've got to look great and act like the girl next door. You want people to read brochures, get a girl handing them out.Quote: jonLast year for the Raving table game contest some of the games were really decked out (I think Max Rubin's game had the best "display") and some tables were very plain. I've been asked whether it is worth the money to hire the Vegas models (after all, the majority of judges are male). I'm not really sure. Any opinions on this?
Quote: DJTeddyBearMost (all?) of the booth babes at SHFL's G2E booth last year were regular, full time employees. Some are also the virtual dealers on their table game machines.
Now there's a claim that might worth wagering on. How much do you want to bet that every girl at last year's conference was a full-time SHFL employee? What odds will you give me?
I highly doubt that they all are, and I've received responses from those girls that they are available to do other shows. So even if they are all SHFL employees, I'm certain that they aren't exclusive to SHFL when it comes to their area of expertise. And FWIW, their expertise is not in dealing or knowing how to deal.
The girls that would be really worth having around at these shows would be the girls who actually know how to deal. These girls are strictly models IMO, and don't have a full-time gig anywhere.
Quote: mrsuit31Can the best game realistically shine through and win, without all of that luster? say its just the inventor a table and the demo... I hope the answer is yes, but may be starting to question this answer...
I don't think you can effectively man your booth on your own as you need to be available to explain the game to new arrivals at the booth while existing players sitting at the table are experiencing the game play.
Minimum you will need two people, and I would suggest three, to ensure that those attendees that initially stand back from the table and watch the game don't escape without sitting down and playing.
If you are alone, you simply can't engage the "standers"/"passser bys" and deal the game to those seated at your table. And if you try, players that didn't get the game properly explained to them aren't going to wait around.....they will get a stamp after playing 2 or 3 confusing hands because you had already explained the game before they arrived and leave your booth thinking that your game is too complicated. That will affect the voting.
Roger trains the girls. One blonde remembered what he told her about hitting 17's. And she did, A6, Q7,98, etc.
Quote: mrsuit31Can the best game realistically shine through and win, without all of that luster? say its just the inventor a table and the demo... I hope the answer is yes, but may be starting to question this answer...
I tend to agree but I was curious what everyone else thought. All three winners last year all did not have any hired booth babes (correct me if I am mistaken), and I would hope the professionalism of the judges is such that they would just focus on the bare facts (no pun intended). But maybe I am naive
Quote: TerribleTomThis thread is worthless without pics!
Not from G2E, but from CES.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/stampede-presentation-products
They posed upon my request as they were all almost already in place, and it seemed like a good and/or easy opportunity to snap a photo.
Quote: jonLast year for the Raving table game contest some of the games were really decked out (I think Max Rubin's game had the best "display") and some tables were very plain. I've been asked whether it is worth the money to hire the Vegas models (after all, the majority of judges are male). I'm not really sure. Any opinions on this?
As a voter at last year's conference, booth babes are a distraction and a hindrance in my opinion.
A skilled dealer (hot or otherwise on the beauty pageant scale) is more sexy and makes a bad game good and a good game better.
As an extreme example, would you rather be at a craps table with topless booth babes F-ing up every roll or a table with a skilled crew that knew all the nuances of dealing a busy game smoothly?
(Long run, there's not much doubt, but also acceptable as an answer: the babes for 10 minutes and then the real crew)
Quote: jonI tend to agree but I was curious what everyone else thought. All three winners last year all did not have any hired booth babes (correct me if I am mistaken), and I would hope the professionalism of the judges is such that they would just focus on the bare facts (no pun intended). But maybe I am naive
That might mean something if the majority of the booths had babes. They did not, not even close.
Quote: Scooter77As a voter at last year's conference, booth babes are a distraction and a hindrance in my opinion.
A skilled dealer (hot or otherwise on the beauty pageant scale) is more sexy and makes a bad game good and a good game better.
As an extreme example, would you rather be at a craps table with topless booth babes F-ing up every roll or a table with a skilled crew that knew all the nuances of dealing a busy game smoothly?
(Long run, there's not much doubt, but also acceptable as an answer: the babes for 10 minutes and then the real crew)
1. Assuming that we are talking about a real casino, I would always rather be at a table where the dealers make lots of errors.
2. Eye candy is a nice bonus.
Quote: AxiomOfChoice1. Assuming that we are talking about a real casino, I would always rather be at a table where the dealers make lots of errors.
2. Eye candy is a nice bonus.
Point taken regarding dealer errors and profit :)
Can I get you to concede that a top-quality dice crew staffing a busy game is like a work of art (profit-generating mistakes aside)?
Quote: Scooter77Point taken regarding dealer errors and profit :)
Can I get you to concede that a top-quality dice crew staffing a busy game is like a work of art (profit-generating mistakes aside)?
Oh, no doubt. Craps is probably the hardest game to deal in the casino, and I am constantly impressed by the skill level at good casinos. I often wonder how much practice it would take before I was able to do it.
Quote: FleaStiffBy "boothbabes" I thought we were talking about trade shows and the like where there are crowds milling about and each product distributor wants to "draw" passersby's attention. Its a matter of marketing.
Agreed, but If I'm the person being marketed to, I'll take competence over cleavage any day.
Quote: Scooter77Agreed, but If I'm the person being marketed to, I'll take competence over cleavage any day.
+1
I think we all have a variety of hierarchies involving competence, expertise, free coffee, free drinks, seats or SRO. No one really wants total incompetence such as some of the first few Black Jack Dealers who applied nail polish mid-shoe or something.Quote: Scooter77Agreed, but If I'm the person being marketed to, I'll take competence over cleavage any day.
But she was far from a "booth babe".
I had asked Roger if it was OK if I had a hired assistant. It was PaiGowDan's idea, and his recommendation, a coworker of his. I used Dan's description when asking Roger: "A somewhat matronly woman who is not at all the 'eye candy' that might be more appropriate for a large convention."
I didn't meet her until the day before the demo. She looked like back in her day she probably wasn't a babe per se, but was easy on the eyes, a sweet, pleasant, woman who reminded me of my grandmother. She quickly understood the concept of the game, and was able to talk about it. But more important, she was an actual casino roulette dealer, meaning she could spin the ball at the correct speed, without it flying out of the wheel - a skill I'm still trying to grasp.
I hope to get into Raving next year. If I do, I'd seek her out to work with me again.
