Lewis Pek Editor
Comment October 2017
Sad to hear the news that Hugh Hefner has passed at the age of 91. The Playboy brand he founded has had a profound effect on the casino sector; one that continues to this day. Ahead of the G2E show in Nevada, G3 received invitations to this month’s Halloween party at the new Playboy Club in London and another to a celebration in Vegas for the launch of the live social casino, Cleebo, hosted by Playboy bunnies. For me, it’s hard to think of a time in which Playboy wasn’t associated with the casino sector.
In 1966, when Playboy opened its Mayfair Playboy Club, it quickly became the largest and most successful casino in Europe, generating huge profits for Playboy. It drew the famous and infamous, from Peter Sellers to Sammy Davis Jr. and even hosted Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate’s wedding reception in 1968. The Club’s closure in 1982 also had the effect of dispersing a wealth of operational talent far and wide across the globe, with so many of my encounters with former Playboy staffers, it was more the question of ‘who hadn’t worked there?’
Playboy also formed a part of my own story. In 2006, Bally Technologies hosted an trip from the gaming show to the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. And G3 was invited.
WHEN PLAYBOY OPENED ITS MAYFAIR PLAYBOY CLUB, IT QUICKLY BECAME THE LARGEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL CASINO IN EUROPE
The coach ride over to the Mansion was 49 per cent testosterone and 51 per cent weak beer. Never have the proclamations of so many men ended in such polite behaviour and corporate nibbles, as we were professionally escorted around the property in an organised line. The Mansion even had its own zoo, which we duly filed past. The only excitement was my being forcibly removal from the roof of the Playboy Mansion Grotto, though the photo I took was worth it.
Mr. Hefner didn’t make an appearance, but I did spot him in his cinema room, where a large screen was playing a black-and-white movie starring Lucille Ball. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bally, our magazine covered the long-standing relationship with Bally and its Playboy Playmate slot machines, and featured a whole section dedicated to Mr. Hefner. The fact that he received a copy of my magazine is a source of pride. Though I won’t admit to ever owning a copy of his.
EDITORIAL
G3 Magazine Editor Lewis Pek
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0) 1942 879291
G3Newswire Editor Phil Martin
phil@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7801 967714
Features Editor Karen Southall
karensouthall@gmail.com Consultant
John Carroll
carroll@carrollconsulting.de
International News Editor James Marrison
jamesmarrison@gmail.com Contributors
Paul Witten, Krysztof Opalka,
Kurt Quartier, Simona Pinterova and Viv Ross
P6 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM ADVERTISING
Commercial Director John Slattery
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7917 166471
Advertising Executive James Slattery
james@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7814227219
Advertising Executive Alison Dronfield
alison@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)1204 410771
PRODUCTION
Senior Designer Gareth Irwin
Production Manager Paul Jolleys
Subscriptions Manager Jennifer Pek
Commercial Administrator John Pek
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