Espelkamp/London. ICE is back, in its traditional format and with the gaming industry’s biggest names once again on show. None bigger than Merkur, as the German conglomerate is aiming to hit the jackpot on what will be the biggest and brightest booth display in London ExCel’s north halls. Merkur has great expectations for its return to ICE and has gone to enormous lengths in having all of the brand’s newest innovations, in cabinets, game titles, multigames, Mystery and Linked Progressive Jackpots plus the theatre configuration Merkur Roulette all on display.

Merkur Gaming will, as always, be supported extensively by other members of the gaming family. Colleagues from Spain’s Merkur Dosniha, led by CEO Carlos Chacon, will feature three casino jackpots, an arcade specific jackpot and an all new G-Box selection while also serving up a tasty Spanish delicacy, Jamon, freshly prepared to whet visitor appetites even further.

The Netherlands is a hugely successful market for Merkur and also has its own dedicated area of the ICE booth, showing top game titles, for both casino and arcade applications. A recent slot performance and analytics poll conducted by Eilers & Krejcik highlighted the M-Box Trio and its multigame content as the number 1 performing cabinet in the survey’s featured Holland Casinos location, running at 4.89 times floor average.

Having shown impressive growth and performance, even through Covid affected times, Merkur’s UK subsidiary Blueprint will present its Avante Trio, Auroramax, Ultramax and Alpha Trio cabinets; each presenting powerful games collections that will enthrall the home visitors to ICE, and those far beyond. Blueprint, as well as being hugely successful in terrestrial gaming markets also has a high standing and reputation in the online space. At ICE, Blueprint Online will demonstrate its experience and expertise to maximum effect.

Merkur’s ICE headline display covers both the International and German domestic markets and features the latest Linked Progressive Jackpot attractions Link Zone, The Legend of FuLu Chen, China Charms, Solar Link and the all new Five. Also new is the futuristic styled Zonic cabinet that has its own area on the ICE booth, featuring the Red Pocket Jackpot and the arcade gaming hit title Merkur Mystery Jackpot. Added to these attractions the presence at ICE of Merkur Roulette, a truly top class ETG presentation that will be shown in London with a theatre configuration in its own special location.

Merkur eSolutions will present its eSolutions terminal that allows customers, and their customers, rapid and seamless access to value-added online services. The company’s Paylado e-wallet will also be on show, presenting what is described as the ‘easiest way to turn cash into e-money’.

Online gaming specialists edict eGaming, based in Hamburg, Germany, and with almost a quarter century’s experience, in 2021 launched and will display at ICE its Aggregator Solution that integrates various world class content providers into the edict platform.

‘Cash is King’ has long been a staple description of the gaming industry and it perfectly describes the cash handling technology of GeWeTe. The specialists in cash handling technology will display a large selection of their market leading products, including a new addition to their Cash Center range, the Cash Center Backloader.

Merkur Gaming Chief Executive, International, Athanasios ,Sakis’ Isaakidis eagerly looked forward to ICE, stating: “It is hugely significant that ICE is now back on the gaming calendar and once again in its long established traditional format. Merkur has made great efforts to design and create a show presentation that will be something really special. We appreciate what ICE was in 2020 and before the full extent of the Covid pandemic, but our expectation is not just for a show that will be ‘as good as’, it must absolutely be ‘even better than’ and that is exactly what we have all worked so hard to help bring to reality. Our Group will be represented in all its many areas, covering each of our markets and presenting the attractions that we know will excite and inspire all of our customers and business partners. Our full team is working hard to make sure, as I said, that this is a comeback show ‘even better than’ before. We really do have Great Expectations for ICE 2023 and beyond.”