Lucky Crew

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Through July, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reported that visitor volume has rebounded only 0.5%. 2026 followed a difficult 2025, where visitation crashed 7.5%.

Far fewer travelers are arriving in the casino town by air this year. Harry Reid International Airport reported 30.2 million passengers through July—a 6.9% drop from the same period in 2025—with international traffic down nearly 9%.

The LVCVA and Harry Reid International Airport have not yet released their August reports. Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas isn’t expecting a major rally.

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Dunn pointed out that ICE saw the same demand last year, with the Innovator Challenge alongside Microsoft and keynotes from the likes of AWS and Huawei.

This year, the team is responding with a new initiative, Hall 7. The launch of Hall 7 represents a stronger platform to drive the next phase of iGaming innovation.

Tech Race in Warsaw this September and Hall 7 at ICE in Barcelona this January are set to become sequential chapters of the same conversation. CTOs, CSOs and data leaders can expect to pick up where they left off four months later.

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“You shouldn’t necessarily need 100 people and millions of euros of infrastructure to have a great idea and turn it into a successful slot,” Curwen says.

Lower barriers to entry could significantly widen the pool of potential game creators. Curwen sees opportunities not only for established and emerging studios, but for operators, suppliers, entrepreneurs and potentially entirely new entrants.

“The big change is that technology can increasingly provide the infrastructure,” he says. “The creator provides the idea. And I think that will make the industry much more interesting.”