CES Preparations Underway in Las Vegas, Electronics Show Expects 100K Attendees

Posted on: December 21, 2022, 12:37h. 

Last updated on: December 21, 2022, 10:23h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

This year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is expected to keep Las Vegas casino guest rooms occupied and resort ballrooms and exhibition centers packed.

CES 2023 convention Las Vegas casino room
The 2019 CES event at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Local officials in Nevada are expecting more than 100K attendees for CES in January 2023. (Image: CES)

Following three years of abbreviated and/or hybrid CES events where in-person attendance was low in favor of virtual events, local officials are expecting busy exhibition halls and a flood of attendees.

CES is traditionally Las Vegas’ largest and most important convention each year.

Prior to the coronavirus invading the US, CES counted more than 175K attendees for its 2019 showcase. Attendance for the 2020 show was also strong at 170K visitors, as the January show was held prior to the widespread pandemic lockdowns that came two months later in March.

CES’ January 2021 event was fully online because of the pandemic. This year’s program was a hybrid consisting of in-person and digital events. In-person attendance for the 2022 show totaled only about 40K attendees.

A significant attendance return for the 2023 program is anticipated. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) predicts that the 2023 CES will lure in more than 100K attendees, about 3,000 exhibitors, and nearly 3,000 media members.

CES 2023

The 2023 edition of CES runs Thursday, January 5 through Sunday, January 8. The show will be hosted at several convention spaces, including the Las Vegas Convention Center, Venetian Expo, Palazzo Ballroom, Aria Convention Center, and Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

CES regularly attracts many of the world’s largest companies. Notable exhibitors in 2023 include Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

CES also encompasses parts of the gaming industry. For 2023, CES scheduled sessions include a discussion on investing in sports betting platforms, whether real money casinos can find a place in the Metaverse, and pinpointing the biggest technology trends in gaming to watch for in 2023.

We’re thrilled to return to Las Vegas — home to CES for more than 40 years — and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which produces the show. “Excitement for CES 2023 continues as we get closer to the moment where the world’s most influential technology innovators meet in person with customers, media, investors, and policymakers.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that preparations are already underway for CES, which begins in a little more than two weeks. Temporary exhibit structures were recently erected in the LVCC parking lots.

Economic Boost

Convention travelers are coveted in Las Vegas. With their rooms often paid for by their employer, exhibition guests tend to spend more on dining and entertainment compared with leisure travelers. Conventioneers gamble robustly, too.

Even better, the LVCVA says 44% of convention travelers last year opted to extend their business trips for leisure purposes. The tourism and convention agency reported that 11% of conventioneers stayed another night, 10% stayed two extra nights, 9% tacked on three more nights, and 13% stayed in Las Vegas for four or more nights longer than they needed to be in town for their meeting.

Las Vegas experienced a record 6.6 million convention attendees in 2019.