G2E Takes COMDEX's 2006 Dates at LVCC

The expanding gaming tradeshow moves from September to November

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 4/18/2005

Global Gaming Expo (G2E) will take the 2006 dates at the Las Vegas Convention Center once intended for COMDEX.

American Gaming Assn.'s G2E, No. 113 on the 2004 Tradeshow Week 200, was previously scheduled Sept. 19–21, 2006, at the LVCC. Instead it will take place Nov. 14–16.

MediaLive Intl. last month confirmed that COMDEX, the one time tech giant, will not be held this November at the LVCC. It is the second year in a row that the show has been canceled. Although MediaLive continues to say it hopes to revive what was once the largest tradeshow in the United States, the convention center is making plans for a future without it.

Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Sales Executive Tom Papageorge said, "November is a good time." And although the G2E move is only for 2006, he added, "We're going to try to move them into all of the (future) COMDEX dates, because the show (and the gaming industry) is growing so rapidly ... I foresee them (G2E) easily in three years needing a million square feet."

The November opening gives Reed Exhibitions, which manages G2E for AGA, an opportunity to reformat the 2006 show, shifting it from two levels in the facility's South Hall to one level in the Central Hall.

"We much prefer the Central Hall," said Reed Industry Vice President Courtney Muller. Although she said it's advantageous for any show to be on one level, it's particularly important for G2E, which replicates a casino atmosphere. Being on one level helps show participants "see across the show and all the pavilions," she said.

Muller noted that G2E's predecessor, the defunct World Gaming Congress & Expo, started in the '80s as a November show.

Judy Patterson, AGA senior vice president and executive director, agreed that the two-month move was beneficial, because the November dates provide the best package of ample conference space and exhibit space on one level.

Patterson added: "Our show has been growing every year, and I don't expect that to change at all."

The 2004 show took place Oct. 5–7 and grew by all measures, most notably in net square foot-age, up from the previous year by 16 percent to 252,800 sq. ft.

The LVCVA isn't too worried about the now-open September dates since the city's exhibit space is in such high demand. "We just throw somebody else in there," Papageorge said.

The 2005 G2E will take place Sept. 13–15 at the LVCC's Central Hall.