Even though the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the G2E Las Vegas will go on as planned. Organizers announced on Thursday that Sands Expo will remain the host of the mammoth event that is set to take place from Oct. 5 through Oct. 8.
The G2E is also known as the Global Gaming Expo, and it attracted more than 27,000 people to Sands in 2019. The event is expected to draw a larger number of attendees in 2020, although the coronavirus pandemic will affect some of the current plans.
The American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions are the joint owners of this event, and they have been monitoring the situation closely. Both groups are committed to hosting the event in Las Vegas, and they have been working closely with health organizations from around the country.
The G2E is recognized as the biggest trade show in the casino industry, and there was simply no way that it wouldn’t take place in 2020. Other locations were explored as hosts, but the two co-owners felt that Las Vegas was the best option.
Nevada was hesitant to reopen non-essential businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but casinos began to reopen on June 4. Earlier this week, the state posted the highest daily increase of positive cases of coronavirus infections, and the state could be shut down again soon.
Reed Exhibitions has been developing a task force to protect all of the guests and presenters that show up at G2E. Even though there is a threat of a second wave of COVID-19 appearing this fall, the show will go on as previously scheduled.
The two co-owners have yet to announce all of their health and safety protocols that they will be implementing, but social distancing guidelines will be followed. Several booths or exhibits will likely be kept out of the expo to keep people at least six feet apart.
The fact that casinos have been allowed to reopen in the state of Nevada was a major reason for the two companies to keep G2E in Las Vegas. The casino industry in Las Vegas is the biggest in the United States, making the city an easy choice to host the event.
Even though Las Vegas is known for its casinos, the convention industry brings in a ton of money each year. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimated that conventions brought in more than $9.8 billion in revenue to the state in 2017. These numbers continue to climb, and 2020 was set to break all of the previous records.
Las Vegas has already lost out on several major events due to the coronavirus pandemic, and keeping the G2E event was important. The G2E expo could still be forced to another location, but for now, the plan is to keep it in Las Vegas.
What is G2E?
The G2E Convention is more commonly known as the Global Gaming Expo, and it has appeared in Las Vegas every year since 2001. There have been many different hosts of the event, but Sands Expo has been the most recent host.
VIP keynote speakers are invited to attend the conference every year, and almost all of the biggest names in the casino industry make an appearance. G2E not only features the newest products that are set to hit the market, but it also offers classes on the gaming industry.
Other G2E events take place in other parts of the world, but the original conference in the United States remains the biggest.
