Shuffle Master, Inc. Announces Intent to Purchase Casinos Austria Research and Development -CARD-

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2004--

Acquisition Will Significantly Expand Utility Product Line

“We are pleased to be in negotiations with Casinos Austria AG”

Shuffle Master, Inc. (NASDAQ National Market: SHFL) announced today that the company has signed a letter of intent to purchase Casinos Austria Research and Development ("CARD"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Casinos Austria AG. Subject to due diligence, regulatory approval and approval by each company's Board of Directors, the proposed transaction is expected to be finalized within the next 90 days and all pending litigation between the two companies has been stayed during the negotiations of a definitive agreement.

CARD develops, manufactures and supplies innovative casino products including One2Six(R), a continuous shuffler that accommodates up to six decks of cards and can be used for almost every casino card game; the Easy Chipper, a next-generation chip sorting device; and the Shuffle Star(TM). Once the transaction has been finalized, Shuffle Master, Inc. will assume ownership of all underlying patents and trademarks.

"We are pleased to be in negotiations with Casinos Austria AG," stated Dr. Mark L. Yoseloff, Shuffle Master Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. "CARD's strong sales, particularly outside of North America, should prove to be an excellent complement to our current business. We are confident that negotiations will proceed as planned and we look forward to further diversifying our Utility Products line with CARD's innovative products and personnel."

Shuffle Master, Inc. is a gaming supply company specializing in providing its casino customers Utility Products, including automatic card shufflers, to improve their 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. Information about the Company and its products can be found on the Internet at www.shufflemaster.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs as well as on assumptions made by and information available to management. The Company considers such statements to be made under the safe harbor created by the federal securities laws to which it is subject, and assumes no obligation to update or supplement such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in the level of consumer or commercial acceptance of the Company's existing products and new products as introduced; competitive advances; acceleration and/or deceleration of various product development and roll out schedules; product performance issues; higher than expected manufacturing, service, selling, administrative, product development and/or roll out costs; changes in the Company's business systems or in technologies affecting the Company's products or operations; reliance on strategic relationships with distributors and technology vendors; current and/or future litigation or claims; acquisitions or divestitures by the Company or its competitors of various product lines or businesses; changes to the Company's intellectual property portfolio, such as loss of licenses, claims of infringement or invalidity of patents; regulatory and jurisdictional issues (e.g., technical requirements and changes, delays in obtaining necessary approvals, or changes in a jurisdiction's regulatory scheme, etc.) involving the Company and its products specifically or the gaming industry in general; general and casino industry economic conditions; and the financial health of the Company's casino and distributor customers, suppliers and distributors, both nationally and internationally. Additional information on these and other risk factors that could potentially affect the Company's financial results may be found in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K.