Event

Park Avenue Open Day 2019

Park Avenue, London – United Kingdom

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In keeping with the format the event has followed in recent years, guests headed to Electrocoin’s offices for a Greek-style barbecue followed by afternoon tea at UDC. To celebrate its 35 years in the industry, UDC served cupcakes and doughnuts adorned with “35.”

“We used to do a cake, which looked great at first, but by the time the afternoon rolled around it wouldn’t look as good with pieces missing, so cupcakes felt like a better option, with people arriving at different times,” said the company’s sales manager, Liz Padgett.

James Miller, who took on the role of president of Bacta in March, said: “This has always been a show where it’s social first and business second. It’s a chance to catch up, take the temperature and see how the year has gone so far, see which games are working and which ones aren’t so hot. It’s a vibrant part of the calendar and it’s always well supported.”

Bacta, describing the event as “the biggest and most popular summer event in the UK’s coin-op industry,” held its yearly raffle, raising money for the Bacta Charitable Trust.

First place, a round of golf for four at Crews Hill Golf Course, was claimed by Andy Mitchel of Electrocoin and second, a 32ins TV, went to Jonathan Lauder of RLMS.

John Stergides Jnr of Electrocoin said: “It’s been a really optimistic day, certainly compared to the kind of conversations we were having at this show in recent years. I haven’t heard Brexit mentioned once and the industry is starting to see the benefits of the change in the FOBT legislation.”

This is in relation to the UK government’s decision to decrease the maximum stake that can be placed on a fixed odds betting terminal from £100 to £2.

BANDAI NAMCO was present with its Super Bikes 3, Sega had Super Kixx Pro and Ball Runner, while UDC had a swathe of new product including Bug Cruncher, Mars Sortie, Pearl Fishery, UFO Attack and Clutch Shoot Combo.

Electrocoin had its latest pinballs, Black Knight, The Munsters, and The Beatles, on show, along with GoGo Chicken and Dance Dance Revolution.

A complete roundup of the show’s products and revelations will be included in InterGame’s July issue.