Though the tropical rainstorms may have tried their level best to cloud the atmosphere on the opening day of the SAGSE Gaming and Amusement Expo, which took place in Panama City in June, the Central American gaming show attracted a diverse mix of exhibitors and delegates.

The 2008 edition of SAGSE Panama housed more than 50 exhibitors from around the world, and although the expo is pegged as an ‘international’ event, it retains a favourable local identity.

"This show is good for the local market," said David Charnock, TCS John Huxley’s vice-president of sales for Central and South America. "Many of our customers have been operators from Central America, and Panama in particular."

More than 2,500 delegates attended the show, the majority of whom came from Panama, followed by Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and the US. Monografie, the show organiser, said 47 per cent of the visitors were company decision makers.

Although SAGSE Panama attracted a diverse mix of delegates, it must be noted that the show was markedly quieter on the second day, and the general consensus was that local operators had opted to condense their presence at the show into one afternoon.

"The Panama show is a good opportunity to see our customers in the region, but it is perhaps not necessary to have a booth," said Pablo Zampolla of Suzo-Happ.

WMS and the recently acquired Orion Gaming took up a sizeable portion of the SAGSE exhibition hall, and the companies’ numerous video slots on display generated significant footfall.

"The show kept me extremely busy and I made some new contacts," said WMS sales manager Maria Leyva-Begue.

"SAGSE Panama has always been of interest for WMS and Orion, not just for the show - it is also a good place to have the operators visiting the show and to see our products in the local casinos."

WMS was exhibiting for the third year at SAGSE, despite increased competition from other shows, such as the newly formed ELA, which took place in Monterrey, Mexico, a month earlier.

"We do not generate specific products for Latin America but they are all of course available to be configured for the needs of the various markets," Leyva-Begue said.

Carlos Carrion, Latin America project manager for Aristocrat Technologies, said SAGSE Panama enabled the global gaming firm to demonstrate its "continued commitment" to the Panamanian gaming market.

"Panama is one of our biggest Latin American markets," Carrion told InterGaming. "SAGSE not only gives us the opportunity to exhibit our latest products, it also allows us to meet our existing clients."

Aristocrat was showcasing the 100 per cent RoHS compliant, sustainable Viridian cabinet for the first time in Latin America. The company was also distributing a newly designed portfolio brochure geared specifically for the Latin American market.

Panama is one of Aristocrat’s primary Latin American markets, and Carrion said the company’s most popular game in the region was the Egyptian-themed Queen of the Nile.

"We have a number of games geared towards Spanish-speaking markets," he added. "We have no ‘fake fronts’ on any of our games, where the software is still in English. When we say Spanish, we mean Spanish."

David Charnock, an 18-year veteran of TCS John Huxley, used SAGSE as an opportunity to meet clients in his new role as vice president of sales for the gaming giant’s Central and South America operations.

"Show-wise, we have drawn interest from a number of large operators based in the region," Charnock said. "We have had lots of interest in our TouchTable MultiPLAY Roulette."

MultiPLAY took centre stage at TCS’ stand, and Charnock said the product, which has recently enjoyed phenomenal success in Europe, was now moving "very well in Latin America too."

Charnock was previously general manager for TCS John Huxley’s European division, in which he oversaw development in 47 countries, joined the team in May, reporting to Roger Hawkins, CEO for the Americas.

The new strengthened team will manage sales growth and strategic development of the Central and South American markets, with Elizabeth Romano continuing her role as business development manager for South America.

"We have had many successful years within the European market and continue to develop opportunities over there at the same time as recognising the stabilisation of the Central and South American market and the great growth potential it offers." Charnock said.

After inaugurating its new offices in Argentina earlier this year, Belarus-based slot manufacturer Belatra Company said its expansion into Latin America was going well.

Belatra was exhibiting at SAGSE Panama for the third consecutive year, and the company’s Latin America manager Alejandra Burato said: "We have now gained the recognition of the industry, as our new technical department in Buenos Aires allows our clients to have immediate solutions."

The Minsk-based group was showcasing its Multi Vision platform, linked progressives and management systems.

In particular, Burato said the company’s Nice Pair platform was set to have a strong impact on the Latin American market, as the ‘four-in-one’ machine enables players to determine the mode of play.

Robert Reyes, supplier development representative for testing house Gaming Laboratories International, said: "It has been a good show, but a little slower than expected.

International growth for suppliers and OEMs is GLI’s number one target, and Reyes said the group’s growth target in Latin America was large.

"We undertake testing for most OEMs in the region, and their growth is our growth," he noted. "We are excited about the future opportunities."

Alfastreet enjoyed a busy stand at the Panama show, and Yeshua Martinez Sigala, the company’s Latin America sales manager, said the company is moving ever closer into becoming a one-stop shop for operators.

"The show was a pleasant surprise," he said. "We came here to make contact with our local customers, but also got some very good sales from Venezuala, Panama, Colombia and Trinidad, among others."

When asked what percentage of Alfastreet’s business is in Latin America, Martinez Sigala said: "That’s a tricky question - due to the boom of our new Alfastreet Dice product, which is being incorporated into the Mexican market. The demand from clients is set to grow exponentially.

"We have over 100 machines on order, but this is still a drop in the bucket into this market that is still embryonic."

While Alfastreet has always been known primarily for its roulettes, Martinez Sigala said the company was also now working on several new multiplayer games.

Speaking to InterGaming on the second day of SAGSE, Hector Collazo, president of Caribbean Gaming Distributors, said it had been an "OK" show.

Puerto Rico-based CGD does not always exhibit at the SAGSE events, but Collazo said that in 2008 his company will also be at the Buenos Aires expo, which is due to take place in October.

"We scored some new contacts, but I find that many operators and visitors do the show in just one afternoon."

"More than anything we’re a distribution company - a one-stop shop," he continued. "We can set up a full casino, especially small-to-medium casinos."

CGD works with a number of major gaming companies, including Unidesa, JCM, Cammegh and VSR Industries. Collazo said the Unidesa machines are among the most popular of his clients.

"Panama is an important market, but no longer growing," he continued. "It was in expansion mode over the past three years. Following on from this, the rest of Central America is now growing. Mexico is now very important."

Miseal Vera, senior field technician for Ainsworth Technology, said Raging Roosters remains the company’s most popular game in South America.

"In addition to Raging Roosters, our Ambassador machines are also proving particularly popular," he said. "We only use fully localised, integrated software. For example, it is illegal to use the term ‘credit’ in Mexico, so we have renamed this as ‘points.’"

Vera, who is based in Ainsworth’s Florida offices, said SAGSE was "a little slow," but that it remained a good opportunity to meet existing customers.

The Americas now accounts for the majority of Ainsworth’s global revenue, and Vera said it was particularly successful in Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Chile, and currently has 8,000 machines in the Latin American market.

Ainsworth has a distribution centre in Lima, Peru, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Euro Games Technology of Bulgaria was showcasing three new games for the first time in Latin America - Age of Troy, The Big Journey and Jungle Adventure, all of which are available on the Vega Vision slant top platform.

Georgi Georgiev, the company’s marketing and sales director, said: "The Latin American market is growing, but with this growth comes increased competition.

"We have had adapted to the market and are enjoying particularly strong sales in Venezuela and Colombia, in addition working with GLI regarding the Panamanian market. The next step is towards homologation."

Although EGT remains primarily a European company, it is quickly growing presence in other regions.

"Our results in South America have been really good," Georgiev added. "Our strong global reputation is the reason customers come back to us again and again."

Georgiev said that EGT will open its new factory and headquarters in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, later this year. The company is currently working on a new upright cabinet.

InterGaming caught up with Urbain Thewissen, vice president of Seeben, the Belgian distributor, at SAGSE.

Although Seeben did not have a stand, Thewissen said he used the show as an opportunity to visit several of his Caribbean clients, and also spent two days with customers in Venezuela.

"SAGSE is not a big show, but provides a great opportunity to meet existing customers," he said.

Thewissen said the Panama expo was good for those looking to establish a presence in Latin America, and he also drew attention to the noticeable lack of presence from big companies such as IGT.

"The Central and South American export market is growing for Seeben," he continued. "Mostly in second-hand casino machines. We are now selling more second hand, refurbished machines in Central and South America than we are in Europe."

Seeben has been active in South America for more than a decade. Despite the fact that the group is based more than 8,000 miles away, Thewissen said the company’s strong reputation keeps the customers coming back.

Brian Wedderspoon, director of sales for MEI’s gaming division, said the cash managment solutions company had received a lot of steady traffic throughout the show, and that it had maintained a "good dialogue" with both OEMs and casino operators.

"We enjoy a strong presence across Latin America, due to our products’ ability to support currencies throughout the region," he said. "We are rapidly growing our presence in South America. In particular, we have having great success with the many new casino projects in Chile.

The Bally Technologies team used SAGSE Panama primarily as an opportunity to meet existing clients from across Latin America.

Antonio Velez, director of sales and operations for the company in the region, said: "Our progressive spinners have performed well, with the Quick Hit Platinum perhaps performing best. It was the first time it has been showcased in Latin America.

"Latin America is still very much a growing market for Bally," Velez continued. "We enjoy a strong presence in Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. We also own approximately 45 per cent of the Mexican market."

Marco Herrera, vice president and managing director of Bally’s systems division, which is based in Nice, France, said the group continues to be the systems provider of choice for the Latin American region.

"We dominate the Chilean market and also maintain a strong presence in Aruba, the Bahamas, and of course, Panama," Herrera said. "Our systems are also very popular in smaller casinos because we offer a convenient, one-stop solution."

Reinaldo Togores, business development director for Zest Gaming’s Latin American operations, said the Italian company was using SAGSE as a platform to showcase several new products, including the MG5 casino gaming system and its new bingo game.

"We have had a very good response for the MG5, and this will soon be rolled out into the Mexican market," Togores said. "We are presenting our bingo machine for the first time, and this has also had very good acceptance with operators."

Zest’s main markets in Latin America are Columbia, Peru, Argentina and Mexico. "We had a good balance between new and existing clients at the show," added Togores.