CASINO AFFILIATES CONVENTION WELL ATTENDED

(478) (19-September-2006)

Not as many as last year, but a creditable turnout under the current legal circumstances

Initial reports from Las Vegas indicate that this year's Casino Affiliates Convention may not have been as well attended as previous years, when up to 700 delegates pitched up but still attracted a creditable 500 affiliates unfazed by wild rumours of mass arrests at the Stardust venue.

Several major programs pulled out of the CAC (see previous InfoPowa reports) following the Louisiana warrants incident involving ex- Sportingbet chairman Peter Dicks and wildfire rumours that the Department of Justice had up to 400 warrants of arrest made out and planned a dramatic swoop.

RGT Online reports indicated that organiser Marc Lesnick had not softened his opinion of those delegates who had pulled out (see previous InfoPowa report). "The biggest threat to this industry is not the United States government," said an obviously annoyed Lesnick during the opening remarks of the convention. "The biggest threat to this industry is the little boys who were afraid to come here today."

Those who braved the conference were greeted with a sign at the registration desk that read "GUTS" in large bold letters. Lesnick elaborated on this theme in his opening address, telling attendees that they were pioneers who exemplified the resolve of the industry. On a large screen projector he displayed the famous photo of American soldiers planting their flag at Iwo Jima as he said, "That's you guys. That character, that spirit is you guys."

RGT reported that 9 of the event's 18 main sponsors withdrew from attending, and 21 of the registered 49 exhibitors declined to set up their booths. Representatives from two of these companies are known to have been in attendance, while representatives from a third had just finished setting up their booth when they received an order from higher management to strike it and leave the event.

Lesnick revealed that many individuals in the online gambling industry had been exerting pressure on him to cancel the conference. "The amount of pressure I received internally - from within the industry - was tremendous. There was no pressure externally," he said.

Reporting on general perceptions of the two-day conference and exhibition, RGT said that it was quieter than the previous year and that there was not much traffic or excitement in the expo hall. Yet it was still a success in many ways. A majority of the attendees present at the closing session - a 90-minute panel in which casual open discussion was encouraged and mugs of beer were widely distributed - raised their hands to agree that they believe the knowledge and connections they obtained at the conference would increase their revenue in the next few months.