At last year’s Global Gaming Expo, Jonathan Michaels estimates he had 55-60 meetings over four days.

“There were a lot of things that were good to be at or somewhat important,” says Michaels, the principal of Michaels Strategies, a business and consulting services firm concentrating on the gaming industry. “But there were a dozen that were really important — you need to be there, need to be on your game and focus on the things that are going to bear the most fruit for you at the show.”

Michaels is currently scheduling meetings for this year’s G2E, which takes place Oct. 7-10 at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The largest gaming industry gathering in North America, the expo is a never-ending concern for exhibitors, manufacturers, analysts, and anyone else in the industry.

The best time to start to prepare? Months ago, if not earlier. For many companies, preparation for G2E begins just as the previous year’s displays are taken down.

“To be honest, we start when (the previous) G2E ends,” says Carol Thompson, marketing director for Las Vegas-based payment companies Marker Trax and Koin. We make sure we have our space secured. We make sure we start getting really clear on at least an outline of what we’re going to be showing.”

Thompson adds as relatively new companies, Marker Trax (launched in 2018) and Koin (2021) “don’t have a ton of resources. We have to define very early on who are going to be the primary folks that are taking care of all these areas.”

In 2021, social media influencer Brian Christopher attended G2E – the first post-pandemic expo – with a single assistant. For this year’s event, a small team of corporate development leads, content production and social media experts will attend G2E; Christopher’s company, BC Ventures and its public face, BCSlots, has evolved into a multi-million-dollar business that showcases his promotional acumen.

“We certainly have a smart delegation attending,” says BC Ventures Co-founder and SVP of Operations Marco Bianchi. “It’s great for us, having that kind of industry exposure and getting to G2E.”

BC Ventures has submitted two panel ideas to organizers for consideration, and there will be a player-centric livestream featuring Christopher broadcast from the dedicated BCSlots section at the Plaza Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas.

With so many events and moving parts, Bianchi admits it’s important to get team members prepared ahead of time.

“The team is a very important piece,” Bianchi says. “We’re very strategic and deliberate about assembling the right BC Ventures contingent, having two key functions there. First, our corporate development team, they’re the ones who are ahead of things, preparing a very full, very organized set of meetings with our closest partners who are there, and with prospective partners.

“And second, our product development team will be there writing for FlipTheSwitch (BC Ventures’ content channel) about what they see at the show and trying to be really informative to our audience.”

For the non-profit advocacy group Global Gaming Women, G2E is a chance to celebrate women in the gaming industry, while also raising funds. The organization hosts two important events, the fundraiser Kick Up Your Heels, and Sip & Social, a breakfast and networking opportunity.

GGW President Lauren Bates calls G2E an “all-hands-on-deck” situation, an opportunity to showcase the organization’s programs.

“Every year we learn a lot about what worked and what didn’t,” Bates says. “What we need more of, what we needed less of. And last year one of our key takeaways is we didn’t start early enough. That was probably the biggest thing for us … whether it was working with G2E on submitting content for panels or getting Sip & Social or Kick Your Heels stuff early enough. We really didn’t have that stuff finalized until late summer.”

Not everyone spends hours preparing for G2E. Peter Mastroianni and Frank Mugnolo, the inventors of the new table game Knockout 52, will arrive at this year’s G2E, set up their booth, and then promote their game with a showmanship befitting the Las Vegas Strip.

Mugnolo says their preparation is relatively old school: sending out emails and making phone calls to invite people to visit their booth. The real work starts on the tradeshow floor.

“One thing that Knockout 52 does really well is tradeshows and conferences,” Mastroianni says. “Because the energy of the game is like nothing else. What we’re planning, and what we’ve previously done, is bring some enthusiasm, which generates some interest. And the Knockout game, of course, is going to have an energy that brings people together that they haven’t seen before.”

Knockout 52’s team, which also includes dealer Angela Wyman, pales in comparison to those of larger companies. While Aristocrat has a dedicated tradeshow team, Chief Marketing Officer Mark Wadley says the more than 7,500 company employees “have a vested interest in a successful show for our customers. We are always mindful that the people on the show floor are more than `attendees, they are our valued customers, and we work hard to create a great experience for them.”

Wadley notes that the preparation for G2E and other domestic tradeshows is an ongoing process that has taken years to refine.

“In a short-term sense, we start planning for the next year on the last day of the show, armed with new ideas, how to improve, ways to better spotlight new products and more,” Wadley says.

“We’ve been working on the show for months, and at this point, we are in the final stages of crossing T’s and dotting I’s to make sure we deliver on our brand promise for our customers at the show.”

As G2E nears, there will be last-minute adjustments. Plans will be changed, conflicts resolved, and obstacles removed. For Michaels, prepping for the expo is like playing a video game.

“I have become an expert at scheduling Tetris,” Michaels says. “That’s what you need to do with G2E. You’re just trying to fit everything in and hope it works out.”

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