LONDON — The Amusement Trades Exhibition International will likely return to its longtime home - Earls Court - in 2009, reported InterGame, a UK- based trade magazine. If so, the event would see a repeat of the controversial floor plan that puts amusement exhibits upstairs and the International Casino Exhibition downstairs.

Shortly after the London Show this past January, a vocal group of unhappy exhibitors met with Clarion Events, ATEI's owner, and urged them to move the event to the Olympia, an alternate hall that interestingly is owned by the same company as Earls Court (EC&O Venues). The group strongly suggested a split between ATEI and ICE. According to InterGame, Clarion responded by making an effort to consult with more exhibitors to get their opinions - and reported that "apparently only 50% wanted to move to Olympia."

"No official statement concerning a conclusion has been made by Clarion," the publication said, "but it is likely that a repeat of the highly criticized 2008 layout will happen in 2009."

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