Welcome to Casino Life
 Let me start by saying a big thanks to Per Jaldung, ECA Chairman, who starts our year as guest editor. In a busy time of year it's reassuring that he took the time to give us his thoughts. The ECA at one point seemed to have stalled but in recent times has become more active and now represents over 900 casinos in Europe.
Something that has stagnated is our competition - who continue to peddle news as editorial content when it's a month old. This tired approach seems to work like the story of the Emperors New Clothes but if I was a manufacturer CEO (or a shareholder perhaps) I'd be questioning the benefit and why marketing spend year-on-year goes to the same old faces. At times it's like the commercial manager of the local rugby club advertising his wife's marketing company in the match programme.
And so to this issue where we start with a visit to the Tigre de casino in Vladivostock where income has exceeded expectations – the casino continues to outpace similar venues in Macau mainly due to the impact of local players and favourable taxation allowing greater margins to be paid to junketeers. That said promises of fee visas for the Primorsy Kriy need to come true or other casinos in the region will be in a position to catch up.
Over to Cairo next and I dropped in to see Scott Cowan MD at Intercasinos Management – part of the Caesars empire. Many thanks to Scott and his team for their hospitality – I enjoyed our lengthy tour and catch-up long into the evening.
Tracy Damestani CEO of the NCF next giving a very robust view of the future of the casino industry in the UK despite the implications of Brexit. It could be argued that now Britain is making it's own way in the world there is no better time to revisit the 2005 Gambling Act and (Daily Mail willing) do now what should have been done then to make the UK ahead of the game globally.
G2E may be a distant memory but Victor Royer is still excited by some of what he saw and is reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly. Space in December was at a premium so this feature is slightly delayed but as manufacturers spend fortunes to be there it's worth inclusion.
Robert Ambrose brings us up to speed on Gambling moves in New Jersey and pulls out every pun in the book as he refers to the Trojan Horse racing element.
Finally – a quick runaround some of what you'll see at ICE in a few weeks and in four months time in other magazines. If you're at ICE you are as always very welcome to drop in and see us on our booths: ND6-C ND6-D
OK - off to Leeds for the opening of the Victoria Gate Casino...
Glyn Thomas
Editor in Chief
glyn@ace123.com
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