Despite the industry being spread thin between Euromat and an expo in China, lived up to its name as the industry’s premier summer event, with manufacturers and operators piling into Electrocoin and UDC’s offices for a day of product, networking, and the Stergides’ famous Greek hospitality.
ANOTHER SUNNY, SUCCESSFUL and busy Park Avenue Open Day took place on 6 June, with Electrocoin and UDC hosting a broad range of manufacturer, distributors and service providers at their London offices.
Proven product lined the walls, with companies such as JNC, TouchTunes, Blueprint, RLMS and Bulldog Games, Bandai Namco, Harry Levy and Crown, Reflex Gaming, Gewete, Innovative Technology, Sega, Heber, Quixant, Creative Gamez, and Eurocoin and E-Service all bringing their best innovations to the event.
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“It’s a unique event – a great chance to show off a few machines that have stood out this year whilst also an ideal opportunity to chat to the trade and customers about the season so far,” said JNC’s Sam Coleman. “It was a busy day, a reflection of the stunning weather, excellent hospitality from Electrocoin and UDC, and indeed the value that event offers to the industry.”
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Exhibiting it’s Crazy Toy crane and Monster Mayhem at Park Avenue, JNC are on trend with a style of machine that is performing well in FECs so far this season, and indeed for the past few seasons. This is the skill redemption game – which is also strong for UDC in the form of Zombie Out break, for Bandai Namco with Pac Man and Injustice Arcade, and for Harry Levy in the form of Happy Pigs and Bingo King both 2-player roll downs that involve that all-popular element of skill. The hosts Electrocoin also exhibited some of the industry’s quintessential skill games with Stern’s Iron Maiden pinball and Konami’s DDRA dance machine.
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Indeed, Park Avenue provided the ideal situation to talk about “machine performance to date and the general mood in the industry – which has certainly picked up after an indifferent Easter period,” explained Coleman. Harry Levy’s Matt Deith agreed, adding that the general consensus was that “redemption is still strong with a lot of good products out in the market.”
This state-of-the-market update is what Park Avenue is great for, according E-Service’s Mike Clokie, who emphasised the importance of “gaining an understanding of developments and the impact of changes” from a broad range of perspectives within in the industry.
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Clokie also discussed the Triennial Review with attendees, with speculation surrounding Park Avenue as to what changes would take place on the high street, and what would be the next move of LBO’s. The latest technologies in cashless were also conversed about – for which the product Eurocoin and E-Service brought was a prime example.
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“This year E-Service demonstrated the Thomas 3000 series change machine with the Nayax contactless card reader fitted,” he explained. “This was very well received, contactless payment methods are such a hot topic with equipment operators at the moment.”
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Competing for the attention of technology-hunting operators, Gewete’s Mark Edmundson brought the company’s “most popular model” to the open day – the Cash Recycler – which also offers contactless payment methods, as well as many other features.
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“The main points of conversation for us were TITO, contactless/chip and pin, and data capture – now we can offer a full package with back office accounting and TITO,” he said. “The response from the visitors was very positive and we have some very interesting conversations about different applications for other models within the vast range we now offer.”
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Overall, the first Wednesday of June marked another successful event for Electrocoin and UDC, with the occasion receiving praise from operators, distributors and manufacturers alike.
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“Park Avenue was another great gathering of the industry held at an ideal time in the calendar,” concluded Tony Glanville, managing director of RLMS Sales. “It’s an incredibly valuable opportunity to gauge the mood of the industry and how the season is shaping up. I would like to thank John as well as the team at UDC for hosting what has become an iconic event.”
Coinslot June 15th – June 21st 2018, 2581 Page 14
