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IGT Releases Preliminary Information On Q4 and Fiscal 2000 Earnings

``FY 2000 will be a record year for IGT, and we believe it speaks to how well our products are being received by customers,'' said Tom Baker, IGT's President. ``This record top-line performance has been driven by increased demand for our growing lineup of new game themes, strong gaming operations performance, and solid market share growth by our major international subsidiaries.''

Product sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2000 exceeded 16,000 units in North America, which is more than 25% growth over strong Q3 performance, and up 83% compared to Q4 1999.

This growth was due primarily to strong demand for IGT's video game lineup, including Texas Tea, Double Diamond 2000, Fortune Cookie, and Little Green Men, and sales in the California market, where shipments exceeded 3,400 units for the quarter. For the quarter, IGT's video reel and video multigame sales exceeded 9,100 units. This compares to Q3 sales of 6,250 and Q4 1999 sales of 3,300.

A significant new trend during Q4 was the emergence of ticket in/ticket out technology and its acceptance by both customers and operators. During Q4, 2,700 IGT machines, or 17% of total sales, were installed in properties using this technology.

``The approval of this technology for use in selected markets throughout North America has led to an influx of new machines and systems by many of our major customers,'' said Bob McMonigle, executive vice president. ``The successful performance of these machines and systems is now gaining momentum, with new installations and tests beginning in just about every gaming market.'' At the end of the quarter, there were six properties with ticket/voucher systems and machines. Those include the Suncoast, Fiesta and Reserve in Nevada, Casino Arizona in Arizona, and Grand Casinos in Biloxi and Tunica, Mississippi. IGT offers a complete EZ Pay Ticket System and EZ Play machines with imbedded ticket printers and selectable game and denomination menus. Current open orders for EZ Pay Ticket Systems at the end of September exceeded 20 separate casino locations.

Gaming operations continued to grow in Q4, ending with a total installed base of more than 19,000 units. This compares to the Q3 installed base of 17,600 and the Q4 1999 installed base of 15,100. The main contributors to this growth were the Wheel of Fortune® products, which now exceed 11,100 units, up from the Q3 level of 10,100, and which have open orders in excess of 1,100 units.

Also contributing to the growth is The Addams Family(TM) product lineup, which has grown from 140 machines at the end of Q3 to more than 700 machines at the end of September 2000, with open orders exceeding 1,300 units.

California MegaJackpot installations have also grown significantly in Q4 and now exceed 350 units, with Q1 installations expected to exceed 300 additional units. New systems that are just coming on line include Jeopardy!® Video, with open orders exceeding 1,000 units.

``In addition to the strong performance in North America, we are very pleased with the performance of our international locations, in particular Barcrest and Australia,'' said Baker. ``FY 2000 will be the most profitable year ever for Barcrest, where machine shipments for the year will exceed 33,400. We believe that our Australian operations have turned the corner and, in fact, have the best product lineup being offered there today.''

For the quarter, Australian product sales exceeded 2,600 units, allowing them to exceed 6,500 units for the year.

IGT will announce results for the year ended September 30, 2000 on November 7, following completion of its year end audit. A conference call will take place and be open to all interested parties via simultaneous webcast. This call is currently scheduled for November 7 at 11 a.m. PST.

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