It’s a combination of TED talks and a circus, a hectic tradeshow and a chance for old friends to meet again.
Certainly, for the gaming industry, the Global Gaming Expo is the greatest show on earth.
Taking place October 6-9 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, G2E evokes memories poignant and sublime from its 25-year existence.
Here are some of twelve industry professionals’ memories from the show:
Debra Nutton – Everi Holdings Board Member, Executive Coach-Gaming Consultant, American Gaming Association Gaming Hall of Fame member
I have walked the floors of G2E for nearly 25 years, and every time, I am reminded of the strength, innovation, and deep sense of community that define the gaming industry.
Our very first G2E was held in October 2001, less than a month after the tragic events of 9/11. I remember walking into the Las Vegas Convention Center unsure of what to expect. What I found was exactly what I needed, the familiar faces of colleagues who had become like family, and the unwavering spirit of an industry that refused to be shaken. That first year showed me just how resilient we are. Even in the darkest moments, we come together. We move forward.
Nearly two decades later, the COVID-19 pandemic brought our world to a standstill. Casinos closed. Teams were separated. For the first time in my career, I feared for the future of gaming. But once again, we rallied. When G2E returned after the shutdowns, it wasn’t just a trade show—it was a reunion. A celebration of perseverance. Proof that our industry doesn’t just survive hardship; it adapts, it evolves, and it thrives.
For me, G2E has always been more than a convention. It’s where we share leadership, learn from each other, and showcase what’s next. It’s where we reconnect, support one another, and shape the future of gaming.
Adam Greenblatt – BetMGM CEO
2023 was a memorable year for BetMGM at G2E. We won Digital Operator of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards, which was a huge moment of recognition given the strength of our peer group. The award also captured the strength and significant progress made in our OSB business, alongside our leadership position in iGaming, which was particularly gratifying.
G2E has also been the obvious and best launchpad for elements of our omni-channel strategy, which has Vegas at its core. In ’23 we launched the very first hybrid dealer, casino game in North America, MGM Bonus City, online and on the floor at G2E. The game, like many of BetMGM’s initiatives, aims to bring the magic of Las Vegas to players across North America. And it is this magic that lives in BetMGM’s DNA and is core to G2E’s place at the epicenter of the gambling industry in North America. Congratulations on 25 years!
Brian Christopher – BC Ventures Creator & CEO
In 2016, after only six months in the industry, I showed up to G2E with little knowledge of what I was walking into. Having just moved to the U.S. from Canada and finally making the trip to Las Vegas, I was personally shocked to find that smoking still existed on casino floors.
When I came across the ANR (American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation) booth, I quickly asked how we could work together. They had never heard of a YouTuber who filmed their slot play (to be fair, it was a very new concept at the time). I only had 12,000 subscribers then, but I wanted to do my part. I quickly connected with a partner who trusted me, and we formed a relationship just from meeting on the floor.
Fast forward two years—2018 marked the first time I had a speaking role at G2E, where I explained to the crowd what social media marketing could look like when leveraging the expertise of an influencer. G2E has been instrumental in shaping my career, connecting my team and me with slot manufacturers, press, and all sorts of movers and shakers in the industry to help build our BC Ventures brands like FlipTheSwitch.com and BCSlots.com. It was also through G2E that I discovered Gaming Arts, which eventually led to the creation of my first two slot machines on the casino floor!
Courtesy AGA
Maureen Beddis – American Gaming Association Senior Vice President, Membership & Events
My first time experiencing G2E was three years ago in 2022. I had just joined the American Gaming Association and was looking forward to absorbing all that the expo had to offer. While there were so many things that stuck with me during that initial show, what stands out most in my memory was the strong female leadership that was not only displayed but encouraged. That year there were keynotes led by powerful women from the industry including Amy Howe (CEO of FanDuel), Sandra Douglass Morgan (President of the Las Vegas Raiders) and Erika Ayers Nardini (Former CEO of Barstool Sports).
I left the show floor feeling immensely inspired. Seeing women not only lead the gaming industry but also seeing them share their knowledge touched me on a deeper level. It’s part of what I look forward to with each G2E and this year, we’re continuing to encourage not just women but diversity, inclusion, and innovation across the industry. With new voices, groundbreaking technology, and an unmatched energy on the show floor, this year promises to be one of the most exciting yet.
G2E is a place to make deals, unveil the newest products and share ideas, but more than anything, it’s a place to make long-lasting and meaningful connections with peers in our field. I can’t wait to walk the show floor again and be reminded why G2E is unlike any other experience.
Tashina Lazcano – Konami Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
G2E has long established itself as the world’s grand stage to debut totally original game creations for the casino space. Over the years, Konami Gaming has brought some truly jaw-dropping entertainment to that stage. In 2013, it was the G2E debut of Titan 360—a 12-foot-tall multi-station game that combined traditional video slots with a gigantic mechanical prize wheel at the center. In 2015, it was Frogger, featuring retro 8-bit animated tractors that pushed away the slot reels, revealing a classic Frogger crossing course! Konami’s popular electronic horse racing game Fortune Cup marked its industry debut at G2E 2016. My personal favorite was the G2E reveal of Beat Square tournament in 2017. Guests at G2E lined up for the chance to trial their rhythmic skills against other players in this skill-based Konami creation, with real-time tournament leaderboard tracking. Today I think about G2E’s Beat Square debut every time I hear Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” — which is frequent. Even though the product’s play-centric format couldn’t deliver the velocity of coin-in required to secure casino footprint, it exemplifies the industry’s unending drive toward creativity and innovation, which we see wonderfully displayed every year at the Global Gaming Expo.
Daniel Kustelski, Chalkline
Dan Kustelski – Chalkline Founder and CEO
The 2016 Global Gaming Expo stands out as a turning point in the evolution of legalized sports betting in the United States. Taking place nearly two years before the repeal of PASPA, it was a moment when industry leaders and policymakers openly signaled that change was coming. The most memorable highlight came when David Stern, the long-time commissioner of the NBA and arguably the most influential sports executive of his era, shared the stage with the CEO of the American Gaming Association.
Stern’s remarks carried enormous weight. Historically, major sports leagues had resisted any association with sports betting, often citing integrity concerns. Yet, at G2E, Stern delivered a strikingly positive message in support of legalization. He framed regulated wagering not as a threat but as something that was happening in other parts of the world already and on mobile phones. It was a necessary step to protect fans, ensure transparency, and capture revenue that was otherwise flowing to illegal markets. This was not just symbolic; it was a clear endorsement from one of the most powerful voices in sports that the time had come to rethink sports betting.
It seemed to electrify the industry because it provided validation that the legalization movement was gaining legitimacy at the highest levels. For casino operators, state regulators, and technology providers in the room, Stern’s words were both a green light and a rallying cry. Looking back, for me, I vividly remember it as the moment when sports betting shifted from a whispered “what if” to an inevitable “when.” It was a rare glimpse of alignment between sports, gaming, and policy that forecasted the tidal wave to come.
Michelle Schenk – IGT Director Global Communications
Although there have been many memorable moments at G2E over the years, my favorite (by far!) was in 2016 when the then-Mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, honored Wheel of Fortune star and entertainment icon Vanna White with a Key to the City of Las Vegas.
The key presentation took place during trade show hours on the perimeter of IGT’s sprawling G2E booth. The event was organized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Wheel of Fortune Slots game – a fixture in gaming venues across Las Vegas and beyond. The mayor mentioned that the game theme welcomes the millions of passengers who travel through Harry Reid Airport each year, has made more millionaires in Nevada than in any other state, and has become tightly associated with Las Vegas casinos.
With a sea of onlookers, TV crews and photographers that extended deep into the convention center walkways, the celebrity-status mayor joined IGT executives in presenting Vanna White with a dazzling, perfectly packaged key to the city. Vanna, in true Vanna fashion, was lovely with the crowd, spoke highly of Las Vegas, and honored multiple journalists with one on one interviews. The event was hailed a success and was covered by media near and far.
Kim Cohn – Light & Wonder Vice President of Game Design
My favorite G2E memories always revolve around seeing people’s reactions when they experience Light & Wonder’s latest games for the first time. There’s nothing quite like unveiling new products to our sales team, customers, and fellow designers across the industry. It’s incredibly rewarding to add great games to the Light & Wonder portfolio, and some of my favorite years have even included focus testing before the show opened; hearing players’ candid feedback was invaluable.
One memory that stands out is the year we debuted the Titanic game. The customer response was overwhelmingly positive, and after all the cinematic work that went into it, it was gratifying to see such a strong reaction. At the same time, our player focus group that year pointed out that one of the bonuses needed reworking. We took that feedback to heart, postponed the launch by two months, and ultimately delivered a game that went on to be a huge success. I’m still thankful for every bit of feedback.
Another highlight was the year we introduced Ultimate Fire Link. Originally, the game was called Ultimate Fireball until just two weeks before G2E. During the executive pre-show walkthrough, people kept asking, “What does that game do again?” That’s when I realized it needed “Link” in the name to make its functionality more obvious. We raced to update the logo everywhere in time for the show, even hand-carrying software to the floor to get it installed at the last minute. Thankfully, the name stuck, and the rest is history.
Jonathan Michaels – Michaels Strategies Founder and Principal
Having attended a dozen iterations of G2E, there have been countless memories and experiences I’ve gotten to share with my peers across the gaming industry. But unquestionably, the most memorable G2E occurred because of the tragic October shooting back in 2017. The tragedy occurred on Sunday night, immediately prior to the opening of the show. I’ll never forget what occurred during the wee hours of Sunday night and Monday morning. Figuring out if any of your friends, colleagues, or attendees of the show were at the festival. If they made it. If they didn’t. Trying to figure out whether it made sense to even host the show.
In the end, we made the decision to press on with the event. It was almost surreal. Gone was the normal buzz from the show and in its place was something more meaningful and profound – a real sense of community. There were blood drives and fundraisers to help those in need. Instead of everyone wondering where the next party was, we took time to appreciate each other more. I can’t recall a G2E where I saw and experienced more hugs than that week. Our industry came together to grieve and to rally around the city that many of my peers call home.
As we celebrate 25 years of G2E, I am filled with gratitude for the people, the passion, and the unbreakable spirit that brought us here.
Bronwen Gregg – Insight Global RevOps & Event Marketing,
When I think back on my last five years attending G2E, so many favorite memories come to mind! But what consistently outweighs them all are the casual, unplanned, impromptu moments. In 2022, with less than two business days to prepare, I was asked to moderate a panel on talent acquisition in the sports betting industry – to this day, it’s still one of my favorite panel conversations, as the spontaneity led to a super authentic and organic discussion.
In 2023, Sue Schneider and I decided last minute to bring together some of the best women we know in the industry for a casual pre-conference Sunday meetup at Stadium Swim – this has now become our annual tradition, setting the tone for the week with great vibes of women supporting women.
Last year was the first season of Global Gaming Women’s Fair Game podcast, and I had so much fun bouncing around the trade show floor striking up interesting, spur-of-the-moment conversations to record on our short-form “pop”-cast (unfortunately, we had audio issues so couldn’t publish any from 2024 – but we’ll be coming back strong this year with amazing audio quality, so make sure to find me on the floor if you want to be featured)! My answer may be a bit ironic as I’m now a literal event planner, but oftentimes the most impactful moments at a trade show are the ones that are unplanned. I can’t wait to see what last-minute pivots bring out the favorite memories of 2025!
Dave Kubajak – JCM Global SVP, Sales, Marketing & Operations
My most memorable moment from G2E would be how the booth and the aisle outside of JCM’s booth were overrun with attendees wanting to see our ICB ASAP robotic automation solution, understand what it did, and watch the demonstrations. In 2019, customers were coming into a private meeting room in the booth, seeing the robotics system for the first time, then calling their coworkers and friends inside the casino industry to come over to the booth to see ICB ASAP for themselves. We took second in Best Technology for the Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Post-G2E survey that year and would go on to finish in first place for the Most Innovative New Technology in 2022 and 2023 when we openly showed it in the booth.
The buzz all over the show was incredible, and we had operators, OEMs, regulators, and competitors all flooding the booth trying to see the robotics system JCM had created and how it worked. It was the most secretive product launch JCM had ever done at a trade show, and it was a resounding success. We coordinated closely with G2E and its partners to bring in ICB ASAP before others started constructing their booths, and we quickly built up around it, including an overhead cloth covering to avoid any sightings from drones. This couldn’t have happened anywhere else in the world, and it solidified G2E as the target for all our new technology launches.
Ashley Skeen Unga – Gaming Analytics Senior Director of Customer Success
I’ve been attending G2E since 2011, first as an operator and now as a vendor, and every year I’m amazed at how it continues to evolve with the industry. Watching the show grow and innovate over the years has been inspiring, and it has truly been a cornerstone of my professional journey.
G2E is more than just a conference for me, it’s part of my family’s story in gaming. I’ve attended with both my dad and my husband, who are also in the industry, and it has always been a place where we connect, reflect on the day, and share the ideas shaping the future of gaming.
One of my proudest G2E moments was helping to bring the first mothers lounge & nursing pod to the show. It was a meaningful reminder that this event isn’t just about innovation in gaming technology, but also about supporting people and building community.
I’ll also never forget G2E after COVID. Being on the vendor side to witness as the doors reopen and the crowd poured in was unforgettable. The excitement and joy in the room was electric. It reminded all of us how important it is to come together, reconnect, and move the industry forward.
G2E has been the heartbeat of the gaming industry for 25 years. It’s where ideas are born, partnerships are built, and memories are made. I’m grateful to have been part of its journey and look forward to celebrating many more milestones. Happy 25th Anniversary, G2E!
