If you hang out at the back of the Global Gaming Expo (aka G2E), there are dozens of inventors in little booths trying to show off their new game and get you to try it. If you don't have a connection to a big company, this is one way to get discovered, but by judging what I've seen in some of those booths, you really have to have a compelling, easy, addicting game to get noticed. And most of those little guys have none of the above.
Anyone can demo any game they have developed, but before those games go into a casino, they must go through everything I said above. Many of those guys go to G2E to either get noticed by a larger manufacturer, or to find investors to help them go through the licensing process (or convince existing investors to do the same after a good response at the show).
