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Shuffle Master Sues for Patent Infringement

LAS VEGAS -- (Press Release) -- Shuffle Master, Inc. (NASDAQ National Market: SHFL), announced today that it has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Casinos Austria Research and Development ("CARD"). This litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada was filed last week during the Global Gaming Expo and alleges that CARD's One2Six(TM) shuffler and Pre-Shuffler devices infringe five of Shuffle Master's issued patents. Shuffle Master's patents cover the basic operation of the One2Six shuffler and the Pre-Shuffler, as well as most of its key features.

Mark Yoseloff, Shuffle Master's CEO and Chairman, commented, "Shuffle Master's intellectual property portfolio is arguably the company's single most valuable asset. We take our intellectual property rights very seriously and will not tolerate infringement of any of our patents.

The CARD products are direct and clear infringements of these five key shuffler patents owned by Shuffle Master. We believe that the courts will agree and will enjoin CARD from selling, leasing, marketing, distributing or servicing any One2Six shufflers and Pre-Shufflers which are offered anywhere in the United States."

Yoseloff added, "In addition to the patents that serve as the basis for the current CARD lawsuit, Shuffle Master is expecting to receive several additional patents in the coming months. We believe that existing CARD products directly and clearly infringe these expected patents, and we intend to bring suit as soon as they are issued."

In a related matter, Shuffle Master announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Shuffle Master's request that it reexamine the so called "Plevyak patent" on which CARD has sued Shuffle Master for alleged infringement. The Patent Office stated that it would reexamine "all claims" of the Plevyak patent to determine if the Plevyak patent is today a valid or enforceable patent. Shuffle Master has denied that any of its products infringe the Plevyak patent, which was first issued in 1989 and which has never, in any manner, been asserted against Shuffle Master, prior to this time.

Shuffle Master, Inc. is a gaming equipment supply company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative technology-based products and services to the casino industry, including card shufflers and other table gaming equipment, table and slot games, and gaming machine software and related hardware.

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