Shuffle Master Files Lawsuit

Shuffle Master, Inc. today announced that it has filed a new lawsuit against Ya Ya Awada and Gaming Entertainment, Inc.

The lawsuit alleges that Shuffle Master's highly successful Four Card Poker game is being infringed and illegally copied by the defendants' Play Four Poker game. The lawsuit, filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, claims that the defendants are violating the federal Lanham Act by infringing the trademark/trade dress of Shuffle Master's Four Card Poker game, and further, that the defendants are committing acts of unfair competition, interference with prospective business advantage and conversion. Shuffle Master's action seeks appropriate injunctive relief against defendants' Play Four Poker game, as well as unspecified monetary damages.

Mark Yoseloff, Shuffle Master's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer commented: "By filing this lawsuit, Shuffle Master is again protecting its intellectual property, its most valuable asset. The defendants' Play Four Poker game improperly and illegally infringes Shuffle Master's intellectual property concerning its very successful Four Card Poker game. We believe that the defendants have illegally copied Shuffle Master's Four Card Poker game in order to try to create confusion and disruption in the marketplace, and to try to pass off their game as ours. We have sought prompt redress in the courts in order to protect not only the value of Four Card Poker, but the interests of our customers related to the integrity of our games which they place on the casino floors."

Shuffle Master, Inc. is a gaming supply company specializing in providing its casino customers Utility Products, including automatic card shufflers, intelligent table systems, and roulette chip sorters, to improve their profitability, productivity and security, and Entertainment Products, including proprietary table games and Table Master (TM) games to expand their gaming entertainment content. The Company is included in the S&P Smallcap 600 Index.