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Alliance Gaming, Harrah's Sign Coinless Slots Agreement

Under the agreement with Alliance Gaming, Harrah's will use the Bally eTICKET(TM) and ePRINTER(TM) solutions in deploying "Fast Cash," a coinless gaming environment, at Harrah's properties. The agreement also includes the continued implementation of the Bally eCOUPON(TM) system to support Harrah's "Reel Rewards(SM) Express Play(TM) coupons" promotional program.

"This agreement with Harrah's will allow us to deploy coinless initiatives in greater numbers and at a much faster rate than under normal market conditions," said Robert Miodunski, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Gaming. "Our system-centric solution allows our customers to deploy coinless technology on a much more rapid basis without the normal capital constraints."

"Our business engine is driven by building strong relationships with customers fueled by great customer service," said John Boushy, Harrah's Senior Vice President, Operations, Products & Services and Information Technology. "These coinless systems will give us the capability to take our customer service to an even higher level. By eliminating wait times for change and hopper fills, coinless gaming will offer our customers unprecedented convenience. Bally's systems will also enhance our world-class customer relationship management systems by extending these systems' capabilities directly into our slot machines."

The two companies are implementing ticket-in, ticket-out coinless systems at Harrah's-owned and operated properties once local regulatory approvals are received. Harrah's expects to have a combination of eTICKET(TM) or eCOUPON(TM) installed at most if not all of its properties by the end of 2003, pending regulatory approval. Individual slots at each casino will be outfitted for coinless capability as warranted by customer and business value.

The advantage to using the eTICKET and ePRINTER products, Boushy said, is their compatibility with slot machines from all manufacturers, which will allow Harrah's to install coinless technology in older, "legacy" slot machines. Machine-centric coinless solutions typically require operators to replace older slot machines, making the introduction of coinless technology time-consuming and more expensive.

"If you replace a popular slot machine with a new machine solely for the purpose of coinless gaming, only the slot machine manufacturer benefits," Boushy said. "Bally's approach lets us keep existing slot machines that are still very popular with our customers. Long-term, this approach is consistent with our vision of a slot floor enabled more and more by tightly integrated, secure, system-driven technologies."

In the future, ePRINTER will be integrated into systems that allow Harrah's to recognize slot players and extend them promotional offers in real- time.

Fast Cash, Harrah's coinless gaming system, is currently installed on existing slots at three Harrah's properties with excellent results. Current plans call for Fast Cash to be introduced at two additional Harrah's properties by the end of June, resulting in more than 3,000 coinless slot machines in four jurisdictions.

Reel Rewards, Harrah's promotional program powered in part by Bally eCOUPON, gives customers the ability to redeem promotional offers by simply inserting a coupon in a slot's bill validator. Reel Rewards is now installed on nearly 5,000 Harrah's slot machines at seven properties in four jurisdictions.

"Our coinless gaming plans are ambitious, and based on significant customer research and initial customer feedback, we're confident that our customers will embrace these new services and products," Boushy said.

Recognized as the industry leader with approximately 225,000 game monitoring units and 187 casino customers worldwide, the Bally Systems product line offers slot machine cash monitoring, accounting, security, maintenance, marketing, promotional and bonusing capabilities, enabling operators to accurately analyze performance and accountability while providing an enhanced level of customer service.

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