Nonslot Products Give Showgoers Plenty to Marvel at, Maybe Buy

Not every product on sale at the Global Gaming Expo was a slot machine, it just seemed that way.

Hundreds of new slot machines and slot-related products covered a big chunk of the G2E floor before the gaming industry's top show ended Thursday.

But hundreds of vendors hawking all kinds of other casino products were there too, with some saying they did a lot of business.

Carlsbad, Calif,-based Gary Hanick was selling his company's steel art trees Thursday afternoon.

Standing underneath the base of a lifelike tree, Hanick handed out brochures and chatted with casino bosses as they considered trees that cost between $30,000 and $1 million.

Hanick's company, NatureMaker, already has trees in Paris Las Vegas and Mandalay Bay, and got its start supplying the casino business when Steve Wynn used its trees when he opened The Mirage in 1989.

"It's been a busy week," Hanick said from under the giant tree base. He said the show affords his company a chance to display itself to a large number of casino operators.

Typical NatureMaker casino projects range from $250,000 to about $1 million, he said, but the company's now working on a single tree, a really big one, expected to cost about a million by itself.

Who's buying? He can't say. It's a secret, he said.

One vendor of a nonslot product leveled strong criticism at Las Vegas casino operators.

Delray Beach, Fla.-based Alan Brill was displaying his company's product, described on his business card as "hands-free electronic sanitary toilet seats."

Conventioneers could check out a model of Brill's contraption, which feeds a continuous loop of thin plastic sheeting to cover the toilet seat.

The product is advertised as being more sanitary and customer-friendly than the disposable paper doughnuts dispensed in most casino bathrooms, he said.

His company, Brill Hygienic Products, has placed thousands of the electronic sanitary systems on casino toilets nationwide, including hundreds at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, he said.

"But none in Las Vegas!" he said, at least a little angry.

"You tell me. Why is that no Las Vegas casino will buy them?" he asked, before quickly responding: "Because they're too cheap."