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Latino America
Well, I think that it is best we do away with bad news first. I’m writing this piece from Lima, the Americas’ gastronomic capital, after a great lunch well lubricated with a super Pisco Sour, and wish to finish with the sour note on the ChileCasinos 2006 fiasco once and for all. It was truly a pity to hear that the industry expo and conference mainly fell foul of exhibitors’ apprehension.
The problem with having Santiago as an industry destination in December is that it comes right after November’s Las Vegas G2E, and October’s SAGSE Buenos Aires, two major events in countries with deep-rooted gaming industries that are showing consistent growth. Then there is the local market situation in Chile, where leading operators run four casinos, and the other three cannot experience much growth until the protracted authorization for 17 new casinos has been sorted out.
In all, the Chilean event did not come up with the expected results, and better luck next time. At any rate, the valiant people who braved the journey deserve to be congratulated, and we sincerely wish to see them at London’s ICE 2007, which kicks off the next year’s industry season over 23-25 January.
A very happy event in our media world is the tenth anniversary of GAMES, the excellent industry magazine published by charismatic Carlos Cardama. From all of us, many happy returns to the GAMES people in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires and Bogotá, which run local editions of the title that started in Sao Paolo, Brazil, on January 15, 1997.
Cheers,
Ricki
