The Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association, organizer of the Macao Gaming Show, last week announced that the 2016 edition of the show, created as a local rival to the late-spring G2E Asia, will be moved to October 11-13, a month earlier than the 2015 show.
The move put the Macau show only two weeks after the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, which is scheduled for September 27-29. The organizers say the dates were determined to attract more interest from the Chinese and Asian markets—the dates immediately follow China’s Golden Week national celebration, a week-long holiday period beginning October 1 to celebrate the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
“This move will facilitate a key focus for commerce in the city, aligning us more closely with Macau’s major trading events,” Jay Chun, chairman of the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association, said in a statement.
But the proximity to G2E distressed possible exhibitors so much that Chun and other officials decided to leave the 2016 version in November.
The organization also announced that the 2015 Macao Gaming Show, held in early November, attracted a record 168 exhibitors, up by 22 over 2014, and 12,000 square meters (129,167 square feet) of exhibit space, a 20 percent increase.
