Shuffle Master to acquire some of rival Elixir Gaming’s property

Gambling equipment rivals Shuffle Master and Elixir Gaming ended their antitrust legal battles Tuesday.

Shuffle Master will acquire Elixir’s card shuffling and card deck checking equipment and the related intellectual property for between $2.4 million and $2.8 million, depending upon the inventory of products.

The companies agreed to dismiss their patent infringement lawsuits, including Shuffle Master’s $3 million bond and accrued interest that was posted in 2004.

New Shuffle Master Chief Executive Officer Tim Parrott said in a statement that Elixir’s card shufflers are being used in Asia and will give the company a stronger reach into that market.

“Further, we look forward to the opportunity to work with Elixir Gaming in the future in supplying their growing slot machine and electronic table business throughout Asia,” Parrott said.

The legal battles between Shuffle Master and Elixir stem back to when Elixir was known as Vending Data Systems.

Elixir Gaming CEO Clarence Chung said the company would focus on expanding its gaming products in Asia separate from the shuffler business.

“The sale of our table game support products to Shuffle Master places these assets with the best company to fully exploit their market value,” Chung said.

Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner said the deal will help Shuffle Master reduce its legal costs. Elixir reported revenues of $1.7 million for table game products during the first nine months of 2008, which would include the shufflers.

We note that Shuffle Master is effectively acquiring Elixir’s competitive segments for less than the bond they had posted,” Lerner told investors.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.