Alon Cohen, 41, said it was a "huge surprise" to hear his name called out over the public address system at the Earls Court exhibition.
"I was so happy, I couldn't believe it. I thought someone was having a laugh," said Cohen who was one of almost 2000 PLASA attendees to try their luck at winning a Sharpy by playing a pair of specially customized slot machines at the Clay Paky stand.
The vintage machines had been carefully restored by Clay Paky president Pasquale Quadri, a long-time collector and slot machine enthusiast.
Alon Cohen was at PLASA in his new role as product manager for lighting console maker Compulite Systems. "It was almost not to be," said Cohen. "I've only been with the company a couple of weeks, and only decided to come to PLASA at the last minute."
Cohen was given the choice of taking the Clay Paky spotlight home or swapping it for cash. "I must admit I took the money. I would have loved to have been able to take the Sharpy home with me, but the money will also come in useful."
The competition is in support of Clay Paky's most popular new product, the Sharpy, which has experienced "a phenomenal uptake winning favourable reviews" as well as a string of awards. Since launching earlier in the year, the Sharpy has seen action on dozens of TV shows and toured with international acts such as Paul McCartney, Take That, Usher, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, The Foo Fighters and Ricky Martin.
(Jim Evans)
