The 18th edition of ENADA Spring International Amusement & Gaming Machine Show, inaugurated on Thursday with the participation of SAPAR chairman Lorenzo Musicco and Rimini Fiera SpA chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni, closed yesterday afternoon at Rimini Fiera.
During four expo days, ENADA Spring was attended by 21,680 trade visitors (of whom 2,251 were from abroad) an increase of 3.8% on the previous edition's figures.
Laid out over 35,000 square metres, the expo promoted by the SAPAR showcases all the newest products regarding the coin-op amusement and gaming machines from 350 companies exhibiting directly and indirectly, which occupied six halls.
THE EXPO AND THE PUBLIC
On show, the entire range of products intended for public entertainment and leisure venues: accessories and spare parts, games of skill and for amusement, AWP/New Slot Machines, billiard tables and bowling, network licensees, dispensers, certification bodies, pinball machines, inflatable items, Internet points, juke-boxes, monitors, kiddie rides, payment systems, technology and services for bingo halls, video games and video lottery.
Also due to the changes on the market the visitors' profile is increasingly varied: shopping centre and mall managers; private clubs, organisations, associations and collective bodies; cruise and ferry lines); theme park, playground and recreation club owners/managers; pub, bar, restaurant, hotel and resort venue owners/managers; amusement arcade owners, billiard hall owners, bingo hall owners, owners of bathing establishment, coin-op machine owners and renters, bet collection points, video lottery, resellers-importers, public gaming halls, betting shops, technicians and repairers.
A SIGN OF OPTIMISM
Lorenzo Musicco, Chairman of the SAPAR, the association that unites coin-op trade members, said at the inauguration, "I'd like to congratulate Rimini Fiera for having organized another excellent edition of ENADA Spring, which for me is the best in Europe. The expo is also a sign of optimism: trade members and companies claim juridical recognition and a more incisive role in the sector's policies, and are here above all because they have faith in the future, and are wait for many outstanding normative matters to be overcome."
On the hottest matters, Franco Pirrello, Deputy Vice Chairman of the SAPAR also expressed his opinion: "At this point, the companies that propose coin-up amusement machines are excessively subject to the network concessionaire, for whom they carry out the fundamental work of collection, ensuring the State very high tax revenue. We request real recognition, otherwise the future of numerous companies is at risk.
INTERNATIONALITY TO THE FORE
The event therefore confirmed its role as the most important for the sector in the whole of southern Europe with a very high international profile. Among the numerous foreign companies exhibiting at ENADA Spring the outstanding participation of about ten excellent quality Spanish firms, mainly from the Barcelona and Malaga areas. At the show, there were also companies from Poland, Great Britain, Taiwan, United States, Slovakia, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Malta, Portugal, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, etc.
A BUSY PROGRAM OF MEETINGS
The meeting point between trade members and institutions, with the common aim of forming a culture of 'responsible gaming', was the issue at the centre of the first conference. In the Diotallevi room, round the title 'Responsible gaming and specialization of bet collection. Trade members' initiatives and directions taken by the institutions", numerous experts from the sector took part.
The new world of video lotteries on the other hand was spotlighted in the meeting on "Video lotteries and New Slot 2. Opportunities and security in on-line gaming", at which the introductory speech was by Anna Maria Barbarito, director of the coin-op machine department of the State Monopoly Administration. Ms. Barbarito reminded attendees of the extraordinary result of 2005, a historical year for the sector, with takings from amusement machines of over 11 million euros, as higher sum than the traditional 'Lotto' lottery.
Also in the context of the conferences held at the Rimini expo centre, an appointment was organized dedicated to amusement machines that do not offer cash prizes. Technically speaking, these are known as 'paragraph 7' (due the section of the regulations regarding them) and they are the machines that normally animate amusement arcades.
The meeting, entitled "Coin-op amusement machines.
ENADA RIMINI POOL OPEN
On the exhibition and sports tournament front, the 'ENADA Rimini Pool Open Tournament - Longoni Cup' was staged and, over the four days of the show, involved 111 players on 16 billiard tables under the large cupola of the south foyer.
It will be a 9-ball Pool contest, open to all players. In the 'Pro' category, the winner was Angelo Millauro of Verona, who beat Francesco De Giovanni from Palermo in the finals by 11 to 4. In the 'Open' category, first place went to Michele Flenna from Perugia, who beat Cristian Rinaldis from Rome by 9 to 7.
HAPPY DAYS. EXHIBITION OF PERIOD AMUSEMENT MACHINES
With an initiative of L'Automatico magazine and Web site www.lautomatico.net, in the stand set up in Hall C 7, ENADA Spring hosted approximately 100 period amusement machines, from the most prestigious Italian collections. In show, there were marvellous slot machines built from the beginning of last century through to the forties; electromechanical and electronic pinball machines, manufactured between 1950 and 1980; jukeboxes built in the thirties and forties, as well as various electromechanical games manufactured in the forties.
A DANCE CONTEST WITH PUMP IT UP
Among the events that met with most success with visitors, the dance contest with 'Pump it Up', a video game in the 'dance game' category, where players must follow pieces of music, dancing on a platform and following the instructions on the screen.
THE APPOINTMENT AT ENADA ROME
As was the case last year, Rimini Fiera's commitment to the coin-op trade involves a second important appointment: from October 12th to 15th, the Rimini company will handle the organization of the 34th edition of ENADA in Rome. In fact, the agreement reached with the SAPAR in 2005 is valid for nine years.
www.enadaprimavera.it
