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The Prague Affiliate Super Show for the online gambling sector is now history. Most of us are now back home after nearly a week of revelry and networking.
Make no mistake about it, Prague is a great city and relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of Europe. Organizers, however, do not expect an immediate return. While the city itself is relatively affordable, getting there is not. Few flights go direct to Prague from the United States. Most fares cost anywhere from US$1000 to $1400 round trip.
The Hilton Prague is a very nice hotel, but a bit out of the way from the town center. Taxis from the hotel typically cost double the return trip. While we were all warned that taxi cab drivers in Prague are notorious for overcharging tourists, I found that this was more the case as it applied to hotel cab service.
A shuttle ran between the hotel and conference site. The two venues were a bit far apart, acknowledged the organizers.
With all the partying, most attendees found little reason to check out the conference venue during Day 2 of the two day event.
The organized parties did not get a whole lot of positive feedback.
JetBull's closing party was described as being like "a wedding ceremony".
A party at the Hard Rock in Prague center was said to be "a bust" as well.
Many of the conference organizers ended up forming their own parties and heading out to the overpriced strip clubs near the National Museum.
Of course there was the CalvinAyre.com party Tuesday night that only allowed for 200 passes. This was the best party by far but only a handful of the 2000 plus attendees actually were able to get in and some of those who could not voiced their frustration at organizers.
These types of shows will continue to grow and improve as time goes on. Soon everybody, whether they are involved in the casino affiliate side of the business, operators, vendors, etc... will gather as one giant show. While the emphasis on this show continued to focus on the affiliates, people from all areas of the industry attended for the various networking and partying opportunities. Much of the feedback related to the networking aspect was quite positive.
What I envision is something akin to the Miami Winter Music Festival where the industry can attract 10,000 plus attendees. Each company in the industry will have a chance to showcase their product and brand through partying and other network events.
The industry needs to show its economic prowess. Certainly, the last week's i-Gaming Super Show brought in some great money for the city of Prague. The Calvin Ayre party cost a ridiculous amount of money per person we are told.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
