In August, Merkur announced it will be attending the upcoming edition of G2E Las Vegas, to take place October 10-13, with the intention to “proudly present the strength, depth and diversity of its product portfolio.” Excited by the prospects of the first “fully-live” edition since 2019, the Gauselmann Group brand looks forward to the opportunity to showcase its newest additions, including progressive slot machines, which the company highlights as the current “must-have” products on gaming floors.
In conversation with Yogonet, David Orrick, director of Industry Relations with Merkur Gaming, explains the company’s plans for G2E in detail. “The diversity of products and solutions on the Merkur booth will ably demonstrate the sheer scale of knowledge and experience that underpin the brand’s exceptional success throughout the world of gaming,” the executive notes, while highlighting an expected strong visitation from across the Latin American region, reflecting growsing recognition in recent years.
Could you describe Merkur’s final product lineup to take center stage at G2E Las Vegas? Are there any premieres you can anticipate?
On booth 3353 at the Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas, Merkur will make a presentation of 41 machines featuring the latest in the company’s range of Linked Progressive Jackpot systems. The already successful Link Zone and Solar Link examples will be joined by the new Red Pocket Jackpot and the exciting double premiere of China Charms together with the Legend of Fu Lu Chen. Adding to those, the booth also features Merkur Mystery and a display of the latest multigame mixes presented in the Avantgarde Max Trio cabinet.
This product selection highlights the importance of Merkur’s Linked Progressive Jackpots, game collections that offer the attraction of great gaming entertainment together with the chance to win high-value Major and Grand jackpots. Additionally, Booth 3353 will also host Merkur’s sister companies. One of them is Edict eGaming, founded in 1998, a member of the Gauselmann Group since 2008 and now firmly established as one of the gaming world’s key solution providers in the important iGaming sector. The other one is GeWeTe, which has over 28 years of excellence and innovation in the field of cash handling, one of the leading cash handling providers worldwide.
Merkur eSolutions will present and demonstrate their payload terminal, a revolutionary e-wallet that represents the easiest way to turn cash into e-money with no bank account or credit card required. The diversity of products and solutions on the Merkur booth will ably demonstrate the sheer scale of knowledge and experience that underpin the brand’s exceptional success throughout the world of gaming.
What are your specific goals for this edition, considering it’s the first fully in-person one since the pandemic? What do you think we will learn in terms of land-based gaming industry recovery?
You can imagine that the obvious first goal for all exhibitors will be simply participating in the return of one of the gaming world’s largest B2B events. With no G2E show in 2020 and a hybrid event in 2021, this year will mark the clearest sign yet that the industry has almost recovered and will continue to recover fully from the effects of the global pandemic.
Merkur, some years ago, first issued the statement ‘Trade exhibitions are the lifeblood of the gaming industry’ a statement that rang so true during the pandemic and that is even more true today. There were some who believed that the pandemic would see the major decline of traditional land-based gaming but the visible return of that sector to and even beyond its former glories can now dismiss those gloomy beliefs entirely. Gaming is back, Las Vegas is back and the showpiece event of world gaming, G2E, is back!
The company has already said it expects several business partners to attend from across Latin American countries. Which key markets are you targeting, both from the Americas and worldwide?
G2E 2022 for Merkur will have a very strong visitation from across the Latin American region, reflecting the brand’s recognition and growing success in recent years. Mexico, for example, regards G2E in Las Vegas as virtually its ‘home show’ and the success of re-start events such as the recent Peru Gaming Show will no doubt see an upsurge in G2E’s LatAm visitation.
Merkur holds a strong position in LatAm markets and will capitalize on that during G2E. This is a global event, to be sure, but one that will have a distinct Fiesta climate as the crowds gather for three show days in Vegas.
Merkur at G2E 2019
What technological progress and investments will be reflected at Merkur’s stand in terms of linked progressive slot machines, cabinet design and integration?
Linked Progressive Jackpots are the game-changing phenomena in the land-based gaming sector: ‘must have’ products that now dominate gaming floors around the world. The work of progress, particularly in research and development, did not stop during the pandemic and the resulting new gaming entertainment innovations will all be there to be seen at G2E. Merkur invites everyone to see those innovations at its G2E booth, promising that there will be a great deal to see!
Will you participate in any educational activity? What specific topics and trends are you eager to learn more about this time, maybe related to the current consumer journey, that could become valuable input for Merkur’s future product development? What main subjects would you like to discuss with operators and regulators in that sense?
While our majority focus will, of course, be on our booth 3353 and the customers, business partners and guests that will join us there, various members of the large team that we will bring to G2E already have various conference sessions and seminars identified as of particular interest. With regard to operators, every conversation will have items of mutual interest, as will discussions (on an obviously wide range of topics) that will take place with regulators during the exhibition.
Learning and the collection of knowledge are like a perpetual clock: it never stops and that is just one reason why the return of G2E in its fully ‘live and in person’ format is so very important to all areas of our industry.
