As reported by the China Standard: “On the heels of a HK$6.98 billion deal to become a casino operator, Melco International Development announced it will also jump into the casino equipment business. “Hong Kong-listed Melco signed a 20-year agreement Tuesday with US gaming machine maker Shuffle Master under which Melco will take over distribution of the New York-listed firm’s products in Asia. The two will also jointly open a research and development center in Macau to design Asia- geared gaming machines to be built in a new Melco factory in China.
“Melco officials declined to forecast revenue benefits from the alliance, but its chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau-lung said results from the distributorship will be immediate.
“Shuffle Master’s flagship product line is card shuffling machines, but the company has been expanding into table game development, roulette chip sorters, slot machines and electronic table games.
“Shuffle Master chairman and chief executive Mark Yoseloff said Tuesday that checks with his existing customers turned up no reluctance to buy equipment from the prospective alliance, even though Melco is a competitor?”
