04/26/2010

Shuffle Master Appoints Phillip C. Peckman as Interim CEO

Shuffle Master, Inc. announced that effective today, Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. Parrott, based upon his medical condition, shall no longer serve as the Company’s CEO or as a member of its Board of Directors. Effective today, Shuffle Master’s Board of Directors has appointed Chairman of the Board Phillip C. Peckman as interim CEO and Director Garry W. Saunders as interim non-executive Chairman of the Board, replacing Mr. Peckman. The Board’s Governance Committee will promptly initiate a search for a new CEO. On April 21, 2010, Shuffle Master announced that Mr. Parrott would be taking a temporary medical leave of absence.

Mr. Peckman will remain as a Director of the Company but will no longer be “independent” under the applicable SEC and NASDAQ rules. Effective today, Mr. Peckman has resigned from all Board committees. Director Louis Castle will replace Mr. Peckman as the Audit Committee Chair. Director Daniel Wade will replace Mr. Castle as the Compensation Chair. Director John Bailey will remain Governance Committee Chair. Thus, the Company will continue to have only “independent” directors on its Audit, Compensation, and Governance Committees.

By appointing Mr. Peckman as interim CEO, the Company’s Board of Directors is ending the interim Management Committee announced last week. Mr. Peckman will work closely and directly with Shuffle Master’s senior executive team, consisting of Messrs. Linster Fox, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; David Lopez, Executive Vice President; Jerry Smith, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; and Roger Snow, Executive Vice President, all of whom will report directly to him.

Mr. Peckman has extensive senior executive experience in multiple industries. Mr. Peckman has practiced law and was the Managing Partner of the Las Vegas office of McGladrey and Pullen, a national accounting firm. He joined the Las Vegas-based Greenspun family in 1990 as the Chief Operating Officer of the Greenspun Corporation, a real estate, media and gaming company. Mr. Peckman left the Greenspun Corporation as the CEO in November 2006. He has served as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Shuffle Master since 2008 and Chairman of the Audit Committee since 2007. Mr. Peckman graduated from Creighton University, University of Iowa and Drake University Law School. He is a former CPA.

On behalf of Shuffle Master’s Board of Directors, management and staff, Mr. Peckman stated, “We honor and thank Mr. Parrott for his distinguished service as CEO of Shuffle Master and continue to wish Mr. Parrott the best. I will continue Tim’s successful launch of the 12 Point Pledge and the implementation of his other positive cultural changes to the Company.” Mr. Peckman continued, “The announcement about Tim Parrott last week was appropriate and fully accurate at the time made given our belief that he would be returning to his CEO duties within 4 to 6 weeks. Now, learning of the change in Tim’s medical condition, the Board was compelled to establish the interim CEO role and has begun the process of finding a permanent CEO.”

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations about future events, 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; advances by competitors; acceleration and/or deceleration of various product development, promotion and distribution schedules; product performance issues; higher than expected manufacturing, service, selling, administrative, product development, promotion and/or distribution 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 and manufacturing vendors; current and/or future litigation or claims; tax matters, including changes in tax legislation or assessments by taxing authorities; acquisitions or divestitures by the Company or its competitors of various product lines or businesses and, in particular, integration of businesses that the Company may acquire; changes to the Company’s intellectual property portfolio, such as the issuance of new patents, new intellectual property licenses, 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 or approach, etc.) involving the Company and its products specifically or the gaming industry in general; general and casino industry economic conditions; the financial health of the Company’s casino and distributor customers, suppliers and distributors, both nationally and internationally; the Company’s ability to meet its debt service obligations, including the Notes, and to refinance its indebtedness, which will depend on its future performance and other conditions or events and will be subject to many factors that are beyond the Company’s control; and various risk related to the Company’s customers’ operations in countries outside the United States, including currency fluctuation risks, which could increase the volatility of the Company’s results from such operations. 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 current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K.

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