Issue #262
Special London Report - ICE 2006
Dear Reader,
I'm back and that's a good thing. Lots of business to take care of, lots of emails to answer, lots of players looking for assistance - wondering where I am. Lots of grandieux plans. But before any of this is going to happen, you're going to have to bear with me and hear of the tales of decadence and other cool things during my ICE London trip.
So grab yo'self a hot cup o' java, and read on...
Busily yours,
Bryan
Can't read this newsletter in HTML? Click here (or copy and paste this link into your browser): http://www.casinomeister.com/newsletter.html#skip for the bitchin' online version.
Forced to drink "Girly Drinks"...
So where should I start? Perhaps I should begin with the delayed flight out of Charles De Gaul airport in Paris - the worst airport in the EU, or perhaps I should start with my train ride from Heathrow to London's Paddington station - nope, too non-eventful. Me thinks I'll begin this tale with my Sushi dinner with a fellow webmaster Webzcas and a bloke from Forwardslash.comI think it was Webzcas' first time at Sushi, and it's always a treat to turn someone onto something a bit exotic - even though for some people, Sushi is quite the norm. Webzcas is the webmaster of Onlinecasinoreviewer.com, an excellent online casino portal and he's a very sharp and dedicated webmaster. We discussed webmastery things like search engine optimization and how we deal with casino stuff. In fact, one of my missions in London was to meet with various webmasters and talk about what concerns us: webmastering.
Anyway, we left Sushi Uno and delved into the heart of London's Soho district. London is by far my favorite city. There is so much history, so many faces from every nationality and culture, so many people to bump into - it's always crowded. And we made it to the Detroit Bar, checked my coat and we descended the spiral staircase into the bar.
This is one of the best things about these conferences - the pre-partying. There are so many cool people in this industry, and I'm talking webmasters. Many of the webmasters present were from Casino Affiliate Programs and the party was being sponsored by Wildjack Gaming
Nevertheless, there were many familiar faces, Greedygirl, the Reviewed-casino guys, Tim Whyles from Wagershare
Greedygirl began to force me to drink some of her "girly drinks." She partakes in this gawd awful concoction of a white Russian with a "splash of Coke". She forced me under threats of pain to drink a few of these, and I think they added a splash of poison. Things began to get a little trippy, so I felt it was time to leave.
I picked up my jacket at the cloakroom, and I had discovered to my dismay that someone had sabotaged the jacket's zipper. It didn't work no matter how hard I tried to make the zipper ends meet. But I finally got it, and I commenced to meander back to my hotel.
The hotel was maybe a ten minute walk away, but the once familiar streets were all turned around and whacked out. I had no idea where I was. So I hailed a cab, and left it up to him to get me back to the hotel. What a nice cabbie.
I was relived the next morning to find that I was still on one piece, that my wallet wasn't empty, that I still had my mobile and all of my stuff. In fact, I didn't feel bad at all, and I was ready to hit the ICE in all its glory.
The ICE - International Casino Exhibition - is the largest casino exhibition outside of Las Vegas. It's focused internationally, but being in London it gets a lot of traffic from this side of the globe. I go to meet operators - good and bad - meet software providers, and licensing representatives, and all the other folks who are scattered about. This year's show was huge, but I wasn't too impressed with anything new.
I wandered about, and I remembered how innovative the industry has been - different payment solutions, poker, bingo, skill games, and games for the pocket computer and mobile. Even so, it's still so drearily focused on marketing, and sometimes I get put off by the "make a load o' cash" techniques many of these firms are touting. But then there are the organizations that are trying to better the industry by providing information for operators and players, or quality products that enhance the players' experiences.
Suddenly, I bumped into Ed Ware the CEO of 32Red Casino
So we sat there - chatted and ate some bitchin' food. And while we were finishing lunch, Ed spotted Paul Gascoigne who had just entered the pub and was ordering a meal at the bar. Being the displaced Yank that I am, I had no idea who he was referring to - so Ed explained to me that this was probably the most famous footballer in the UK. Well, he looked pretty normal to me. I guess I could be bumping into all sorts of celebrities here and not even know it.
As we left, Ed gave Paul a friendly wave and told him it was good to see him. Paul returned the wave and smiled. What a nice chap.
I returned to the ICE and met with Catherine van Battum, the representative for Brand Conversions. Brand Conversions is an affiliate program based in the UK that promotes some of the leading UK based casinos and poker rooms. She was concerned that I had only recently given Chartwell Technologies a "Head in the Sand" award for 2005. Chartwell is the software provider for a number of casinos - some of which are very solid and promoted by Brand Conversions. The problem - as I stated in the award and in the "Cautions" section - is that in the past, the software provider does not offer assistance to players is they have issues with their licensees.
Well apparently, there are changes in the making. According to Brian Cullingworth, who was able to track down the right people, Chartwell seems to be relooking at this stance and is planing to implement some sort of player assistance. He reported:
Elite Club is now tasked with dealing with player complaints at its 16 licensees, and the director of sales anticipates that through Elite's immediate involvement and close communication with Chartwell disputes will be dealt with fast and fairly.
"No player will be disadvantaged in the unlikely event of any licensee going under," he said.
I had the pleasure in meeting "Caruso", one of the more outspoken members of Casinomeister's forum. We had met before last year at the ICE, but only briefly. This year we had a chance to talk for a while about a number of things.
He was just finished with speaking to both Playtech and Gambling Federation - two casino entities that have had their share of problems. He did a nice write-up which he posted in our forum here. Again, I was impressed on how this industry has gotten a number of players involved with trying to make things right. It's not just a money churning entity, it's an entertainment industry that can never forget its responsibility to the player community. "Caruso" is also a nice chap.
It was about time for me to head out - I had plans that evening to hook up with the iNetBet guys. Little did I know that I was to end up in a girly bar at the end of the evening. What's up with that? Find out after this....
to be continued...
InterBingo
Kiwi Bingo
Tiki Bingo
http://www.casinomeister.com/casinos.html#bingo
Check out the section in our forum "Bingo!" for more Bingo information:
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/bingo/
iNetBet
Use coupon code: CMF10 to receive $10 free no deposit required.
2. Get a 200% match bonus*
Make an initial deposit of $10 enter the coupon code below and receive an extra $20 Free. Coupon code: CM200
3. Get an extra 10% on our standard initial deposit bonus* Get up to $200 Free
Make an initial deposit of between $10 and $500 and redeem coupon: CMB40 Get a 40% deposit bonus.
4. Get a 100% New Player Slots Match Bonus*
Make an initial deposit of $10 - $100 enter the coupon code below and receive an extra 100% Free to play at slots. Coupon code: CM100
Terms and conditions apply. Please sign up and refer to the details posted here:
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=98&mid=338&id=492
Do you like Playtech software? Well, I do. These are probably some of the best Playtech casinos that exist. Good quality support - fast cash outs! Main Street Casino Group - Playtech
Diamond Deal Casino
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=135&mid=533&id=323
Vegas Casino Online
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=136&mid=537&id=599
Las Vegas USA Casino
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=139&mid=549&id=177
Twin Aces Casino
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=140&mid=553&id=575
Slots.com
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=141&mid=557&id=47
Sun Palace Casino
http://casinomeister.com/cgi-bin/adcycle1.15/adclick.cgi?gid=5&cid=142&mid=561&id=477
All listed here: http://www.casinomeister.com/casinos.html#casinos
I like dem boobies...
We went to the Strictly Hush restaurant in Mayfair. I almost didn't find the street since it was barely on the map. It's actually a tunneled alleyway which slips into an ancient courtyard. Another reason to love London. There are some really trippy old places to check out.I was met by the operators of iNetbet, which is probably one of the best run RTG casinos on the planet (scroll back up to check out their exclusive offer just for you my dear ${token2}). The restaurant is quite exclusive and it seemed a bit uppity at first. They didn't have much to choose from in the beer department. Just some light Italian beer. But we had a drink and sat down to eat, and they told me the restaurant is owned by Roger Moore's son. The problem with these places is that the food never seems to meet one's expectations, but I was wrong here. The food was absolutely splendid, and the service top-notch. It was a very nice eating experience.
From there, we decided to go have drinks elsewhere. It was suggested that we go to "where all the RTG guys were hanging out". This I thought would be intersecting, little did I know they were jivin' me.
We arrived at the Windmill International, and we checked our coats and went upstairs to the bar. Swarming around the bar were about twenty knock 'em dead young ladies - some hanging on the arms of middle aged men, or making eye contact with me. And down below us was a lounge area and a stage where some girlies were shakin' their booty. Oh jeese, troublesville I thought.
A beer appeared - a Heineken - and a young brunette sided up against me, "What's your name? Where are you from? What are you doing later tonight?" I thought - oh, pu-lease be real. I'm really not into this at all. But I tried to oblige her - I was polite and gave her the information she was asking for. What these girls are trying to do is to sucker you in to buying a lap dance that you can get for free at home. So I told her up-front the truth. I'm here for the beer, and I don't need you near. But I was cool about it.
It was a trip watching some of the other guys in there playing into the fantasy. I guess it's harmless, and for some of these older guys I'm sure it's somewhat of an ego boost. But I sure felt sorry for these girls, having to put up with these guys just so they can pay the rent.
No sign of any RTG guys by the way - except for my hosts.
The following day I found myself having breakfast in Harrods drinking coffee and eating pastries with a representative of Fortune Lounge. The Fortune Lounge group of casinos were the recipients of Casinomeister's 2005 Fall From Grace award for the recent spam issue. We went over my posted statements carefully - he had a copy of them at hand, and we came to the conclusion that we agree to disagree. We agree that they are one of the best and most solid casino groups around, but where we disagree is at the US CAN SPAM act. The FL group feels that this is a legitimate guideline to use to send out their mailers; I feel that it is only a license to send unsolicited bulk email. You can read more about my views on this here.
The meeting was cordial and productive, but I still don't plan to list them back at Casinomeister anytime soon - not until they reconsider their marketing techniques and their philosophy on the Can Spam Act. Casinomeister subscribes to SpamHaus' viewpoint on advertising via email, and I won't change my position.
From there I made it to the Partnerlogic offices. Once more, I met with the people behind the scenes at Intercasino
I caught a matinee that afternoon. Now most people know that when I travel to London, it's the movies that are way on top of the agenda for me. English language films suck in Germany because they are all dubbed. This is a reason (in my humble opinion) why the few Germans who are able to speak English speak it so terribly. They rarely hear the language. This goes for the French too (they dub all of their films as well), and there are very few French people who can speak without a heavy accent. Now head to the Netherlands, or Sweden, or any other country that keeps film and English television programming in the original language (it's subtitled) and you will hear these people speak fluently, many times without an accent at all. Oh, I digress - but I think I made my point. Don't be so damn lazy by overdubbing the voices.
I saw "Jarhead" which was a bit off base for me. Jarhead is about a platoon of Marines that are sent to the first gulf war. Some of it was pretty much how it was, but quite a bit didn't ring true for me. Many of you probably know I spent nearly six months in the desert during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and about eleven years in the US Army. And I can say for a fact that the leadership in any combat unit - whether it's Marines, US Paratroopers, mechanics, or cooks, is a big part of your life - you're either being lead, or you're leading - and in most instances you are doing both. In this film, there was no leadership - no troop formations, no daily troop briefings, really nothing. And I know for a fact these sorts of things are something that happens every day. I was a squad leader, and I had squad meetings twice a day - once early in the morning - once at night. And in the months that I spent in the desert, we had only two days off - Christmas and New Year's day. Every day spent in the desert we worked our asses off. I was in the combat engineers, and our main mission was to breach the Iraqi minefields. We spent weeks rehearsing on how to do this, and after the ground offensive - we spent about four months cleaning up the mess and collecting all of the Iraqi munitions. We had no time off until we were ready to redeploy back to Germany. It was then (our redeployment) that we were able to really party. After six months in a desert with no beer and no women, the GI bars in Germany became a bit chaotic. Man, another digression.
That evening I - and a number of very cool webmasters and personalities in the online gaming world met with Ed Ware, Patrick Harrison, and Lee Simmonds from 32Red Casino
The highlight of the evening was watching two incredibly inebriated guests being assisted up the stairs (no, they weren't from our party). One guy had food - looked like pudding - smeared on the front of his shirt. There was no way he was walking up the stairs without assistance. The waiters were most helpful - I felt sorry for the cabbie who would be the unfortunate one to give them a ride back to wherever they came from. I wondered how in the hell two guys could get so wasted, but I figured they were victims of having to wait an excruciating long time for their meals; it was the restaurant's doing y'know.
The following day was my last day in London. I didn't feel the need to go back to Earl's Court - the location of the ICE, since I had about enough information that I needed. There are no casino operators to convince on how to run their operations, since most operators are doing what they feel is necessary to run their businesses anyway. This industry has matured, and casino operators - the ones who have survived so far - are set in their ways, for better or for worse. Sure, there are some newbie operators that I try to give guidance - I hope they listen carefully to what I have to say.
I met with Micki from Trident Lounge, Brian Cullingworth and Ted Loh at Memories of China on Kensington High street. Now I've eaten a lot of Chinese food in my day. I grew up within 45 minutes of San Francisco's China Town. I had mastered the use of chopsticks at the age of three. I know good Chinese food when I eat it. This was probably the best I've eaten. They had these crispy sesame seed crunchy things for starters which are to die for. The food was fantastic, the service good, and the company very enjoyable. In fact, Sir David Frost was sitting adjacent from us - finished his meal and left.
By the time I left, walking was barely an option.
Micki and I crossed the street to the Shehrezade, a Persian restaurant that had a very nice bar. We sat down and Micki recorded an audio interview with me - which unfortunately didn't record. So we did this over the phone once I returned (last week), and it's a very interesting one (it's about me of course) since it goes behind the scenes of Casinomeister - what makes it tick - what makes me tick. Trident Lounge should have this up on their site or announced in their newsletter in the near future. You can subscribe to their newsletter, or better yet - just join one of their casinos - Winner of Best Casino Group award for 2005 King Neptunes Casino
That evening was the grand finale for me. I went back to my dingy St. Giles hotel room, changed, and then headed to Leicester Square to catch "King Kong" at the Odeon. What a magnificent movie! When I was about 12, I was a special effects, Ray Harryhausen, Willis H. O'Brien, freak. I could only imagine a movie like this back then - every kid like me back then could only dream for this. And here it is, our wishes came true. If you haven't seen this film yet, please don't wait for it to come out on DVD - this one deserves the "big screen" treatment. You'll know what I mean when you see the Brontosaurus stampede scene.
Suddenly my time was up - had to check out of the hotel and the next thing I knew, I was back in Paddington station looking for the Heathrow express train. The trip was way too short. I didn't meet half of the people I wanted to meet; didn't see half the films I wanted to see. That's the shame about these functions - everyone is so damn busy.
And coming home. I barely had a chance to reflect on the trip since I have a ton of emails to wade through, PABs to bitch about, and lots of website updates to contend with. I was happy to hear that I was responsible for spreading the joy in London. Since I gave Tim Whyles a big smack on the lips, just about every affiliate he meets does the same thing. I guess I've started a tradition.
And one thing is for sure, I like this job. Thanks for making this work for me. It's because of you, my dear reader, that I do these things.
Return to Top
Complaints? Kudos? Please let me know.
Peace
|
Bryan Bailey Webmeister Casinomeister |  |