Electrocoin’s John A Stergides expects the White Paper to be the key topic at this year’s Park Avenue Open Day, the first industry event since the ‘once in a generation’ document was published last month.
Taking place on Wednesday 7 June, the Open Day is a highly popular fixture on the amusements schedule, allowing attendees to share their initial outlooks for the summer ahead whilst picking up any last minute pieces of equipment.
“It’s a unique day within the industry calendar and with the details of the White Paper released, there will be many discussions along these lines, as well as how the industry has been performing so far this year and any new innovations/ideas that have been successful,” said Stergides.
Looking ahead, attendance at this year’s event is likely to surpass previous years as Stergides explained. “Based on past experiences, there can be anything between 250 – 350 people throughout the day. We have visitors from throughout the UK but also people flying in from Ireland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and sometimes even America. As we are less than 30 minutes from Heathrow, many visitors will fly in and out the same day.”
And hopes are that it’s not just operators making the trip this year. “We are always extending invites to the likes of the Gambling Commission, other trade bodies and local MPs, notably through the connections of Bacta. Given the gambling review and the consultation period, it would be a perfect opportunity for the regulator and other stakeholders to come along and get some feedback,” said Stergides.
The response from the industry has been “postive”, and why not? In total, there will be circa 100 different products on display from the 30 participating companies involved, with UK Gaming Solutions the latest to join hosts Electrocoin and UDC at the London gathering. It will be displaying the latest products from Innov8 Gaming.
How the Open Day unfolds
John A Stergides: “The day kicks off at 10am with a champagne reception to welcome guests to the Open Day.
They then have the time to walk around and speak with suppliers who will have their equipment set out.
During the afternoon, the famous Greek BBQ is ready. During this time, there are opportunities for everyone to be involved with the raffle, with all proceeds raised going to the Bacta Charitable Trust.
And to bring the day to a close, for afternoon tea, there is usually a Greek Dessert available and the popular Ice Cream Van.
The event usually finishes at around 5PM.
