We came, We Saw, We Pondered
(Our MD Chris Manion, practicing what we preach)
After a reasonably drama free trip to London, Docklands, team Manco arrived at the assault to the senses that is the EAG.
As usual, we started with the best of intentions, first skirt the perimeter, then systematically walk the columns and rows assessing stands that we’d like to check further…then we met Dave Ellwood from Crane Payment Solutions. We discussed the imminent arrival of the polymer £5 note and the new £1 coin, something not only Manco but the whole of our industry has been preparing and planning for, for some time now.
Half an hour later, first meeting done and so it began. Barely able to walk 20 feet without meeting a supplier, customer or friend, the rest of the day went by in a whirlwind. We saw Blueprint’s impressive Aurora Cat C or B3 games compendium and Barcrest’s latest B4 release, Enchanted Isle; we expect to be seeing a lot more of these in 2016.
Then we bumped into Keith Lee from Cosmo Bingo and Steve Cook from Jigsaw and so began the food, drink and discussion. Managing the noise and lights of the EAG is both hungry and thirsty work. The social element of this exhibition has always been a great way to unwind and talk shop in a much calmer environment.
During the evening, not for the first time, the thorny question of what EAG actually stood for came up and still, no one knew for sure!
On the final morning we arrived, bleary eyed, to the exhibition still none the wiser about the meaning of EAG. We asked a senior BACTA figure and at the exhibition’s management suite…still no one knew for sure. Finally, the definitive came from those clever ladies at BACTA, Linda, Pru and Parveen advised me that it meant European Gaming Amusements. It did leave me wondering why it is usually followed by the word International. If it’s international, then the word European is unnecessary. And if hardly anyone knows what it means in the first place, then perhaps we need a snappier name.
To be continued……