María Eugenia is 51, and is currently Sales Manager at Soloazar & Casinos Click. She hails from Argentina, and has three children.
Interview:
Hi
María Eugenia, please can you tell us a little bit about your career
so far.
I
started working in this industry in February 2003 as a representative
of the Delegation for Latin America of Casinos de Latinoamérica and
European Casinos – The Elite, two Spanish magazines specialized in
the industry with an international reach.
Then, in 2010, I changed my job and began working with Casino International: I was the representative for Latin America for the Casino Americano magazine, belonging to the same business group.
In 2012, my partner (Sergio De Valais) and I had the opportunity to acquire a venture: a digital newspaper that had been created in 2004 by another business group. This is how we began to give a more international image to Soloazar.
I travelled and participated in various fairs, congresses, conferences, casino openings, anniversaries, presentations, new product launches, tournaments, etc. in various countries all over the world.
Among other activities I was part of the organization of ELA, the fair in Mexico and in its beginnings with SAGSE Panama, when it was carried out together with the magazine Casinos de Latinoamérica and European Casinos – The Elite.
I collaborated, promoting in ventures such as Miss Gaming International: it was a tool to unite the industry and spread the corporate responsibility of our sector through social aid actions. I was also carrying out activities at the beginning of the call for a congress of operators and regulators in Latin America.
Please tell us about your company.
Soloazar is a digital newspaper, in which, day by day, we publish the most relevant news in the Gaming industry.
We have been trying to be present at the most important events for 16 years.
Soloazar covers and is represented at several of the most important events in this industry: G2E Las Vegas, ICE in London, SAGSE in Buenos Aires and Panama, PGS in Peru, FADJA and GAT in Colombia, ENADA in Rimini, BgC in Brazil, International Game Fair in Madrid, Expojoc in Valencia, CGS in Cancun, ICE North America, ICE Africa, SIGMA in Malta.
The newspapers two versions (Latin America and International) reach thousands of subscribers free of charge every day.
Is there anyone you would like to thank for the success you have had in your career so far?
Yes, I would like very much to thank my children because for many years I have been travelling continuously to carry out this work. I also want to thank the angel who today watches over us from heaven who is my mother – without her help I would never have been able to get to where my children and I are today.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
What I enjoy most about this type of work is the possibility of traveling, meeting people in different parts of the world and having very dear friends in different cities.
Many of the events I attend take place in some very exotic or striking tourist places. It is the ideal seasoning that makes this type of work special for me: getting to know different cultures, cities, people, meals and lived experiences fulfils me as a person, and strengthens and enriches not only me, but the way in which I have educated my children.
How important a part does social media play in marketing?
Social networks play a very important role in our lives, both in business and personally. Thanks to social networks I can be connected – it brings me closer to everything immediately. I feel that in my job role the task complements me.
Whoever knows me knows that I always ask for another photo, for Instagram!!!
For the activity that I carry out in Soloazar it is important to be aware of everything and I believe that today social networks unify that information from our clients in a summarized and fast way.
What are the challenges and opportunities right now for the gaming industry?
The challenge, in my opinion, is that everyone must reinvent themselves to this new reality that we have to live.
I think that the opportunities for the industry should come from the regulators of each country, who can regulate online gaming activities, with the new technologies that the current market is targeting.
How has the world of gaming changed in recent times, and in what ways do you think it will change in the future?
The games have changed completely, from being purely land-based to being able to play from a mobile device from anywhere. I believe that in the future it will continue to evolve as time passes.
Today the impact of digitization and new technologies has been to create a new market: online gaming. Here, big businesses are articulated on digital platforms of different modalities, which generates a great variety of products within this industry.
What websites do you use to collect information for your work?
In regards to my area of work I use social networks: I always try to learn more about people. The rest of the information that we publish in Soloazar is generated from contacting clients for interviews.
We have very well-segmented work areas – we are all connected all day with each other. We are a small work team: two editors (Noelia and Andrea), and in the commercial branch this year we added Ivana Goldaracena as a project manager for Soloazar and BGS, a new product that will be focused on online gaming.
As a representative for Spain we have the contribution of Carolina Armúa, one of my daughters. How happy I feel to be able to share this experience with her!
My role at Soloazar is to do a little bit of everything, I am in permanent contact with clients, generating content, doing interviews, travelling and covering most representative shows for our newspaper.
What events will you participate in soon online?
This particular year we will be at all the digital events that we can cover. Last week we closed an agreement with the SBC Events group to be at all their digital events for this year.
In the month of May we joined the list of strategic alliances at GAT Expo Virtual, which is the first virtual show in the Gaming industry in Latin America. This will be an experience close to the reality of meeting everyone, but at a digital event.
We were at ICE London in early February, then at ICE North America at its digital version. We will be at PGS, the fair in Peru at its digital version. SIGMA Malta is another of our destinations where we are a media partner.
We will be present at SAGSE Latam scheduled for the beginning of 2021. This year the EXPOJOC edition was not held in Valencia due to COVID 19, nor was ENADA, the Italian fair in Rimini. We hope next year to meet again at events in Spain and Italy.
How can people connect with you?
They can find me at ventas@soloazar.com or on social media by my name.
Website www.soloazar.com
email ventas@soloazar.com
Skype: mecaslat
Linkedin linkedin.com/in/maría-eugenia-crivellini-89654b2b
Instagram @eugeniacrivellini
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mariaeugenia.crivellini