SANDY — In the middle of fielding frantic calls and emails booking concerts, event promoter Jake Williams realized he wasn't having fun.

And with that realization, he shuttered his concert promotion business, set out for a year off to recharge, and ended up somewhere he hadn't anticipated: a national tournament for a superhero-themed tabletop game.

At Gen Con, an annual gaming convention in Indianapolis, Williams was named world champion of HeroClix, which he describes as hero-themed chess that integrates a few new rules and some dice.

Williams' title led to a sponsorship and a tour playing at similar gaming conventions around the country. Williams was having fun again, and when it was over, he wanted to keep having fun.

"One day I had the thought, 'Well, if they do this everywhere else, why don't we do this in Utah with us having such a big geek culture?'" Williams said.

So he came up with an idea for his next business: Salt Lake Gaming Con.

Scheduled to kick off its third event at the South Towne Expo Center on Friday, the all-ages game fair aims to give Utahns different ways to play. On top of video games, tabletop games and tournaments, planned events include a life-size Mario Kart track using go-carts, Nerf gun battles, and a 700-game board game library.

"When I was a kid, I grew up in the arcades. … A big part of gaming con is trying to bring that part of it back, getting people to play with each other," Williams said. "Right now, 80 percent of the population plays some kind of a game. We're trying to find something for everyone at the convention."

In Gaming Con's first year, Williams recalls, he planned and carried out the entire event with the help of two friends, his father acting as a shuttle driver for featured guests flying in, and his mom's credit card.

"My parents have been very patient," Williams said with a laugh. "You do as much as you can on your own, but at a certain point you need help, and it's really good when you have people like your parents to rely on to help you out."

Now, Salt Lake Comic Con has become a 50-percent partner in the company, which Williams has made a full-time job with about 15 employees who have been working 80 to 90 hours a week together leading up to the event.

Williams' parents will be helping out again as well.

Backed by the experience of the comic and pop culture convention, which has enjoyed a steady upward trajectory since its inception nearly four years ago, Williams believes this year's Salt Lake Gaming Con will reach a level of polish and professionalism.

Williams' goal is to see between 20,000 and 30,000 people attend gaming con this weekend. And with ticket presales more than double what they were at the same time last year, he's optimistic he'll make it.

The convention still carries some of the same stresses Williams' concert promotion business did when it comes to planning, logistics and hoping people will ultimately attend, but not enough to outweigh the enjoyment he has found.

And he is reassured by the high demand for family-friendly entertainment in the state.

"We're such a family-driven market, such a family-driven society out here, there's always going to be a market for that out here," Williams said.

That, combined with the boom in esports in Utah and around the country, Williams hopes the event will continue to grow, bringing more money into the state's economy and allowing him to keep working in a job he enjoys.

"We're in the business of helping people create memories, and when that's how you pay the bills, it's a lot of fun," Williams said.