Partner alleges problems with slot in Bally suit

Grace Leong

Monday, April 10, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.

Shuffle Master Inc. of Las Vegas sued its partner in the Monty Hall "Let's Make A Deal" slot machine, Bally Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas, alleging Bally violated a 1998 licensing agreement when the slot failed to meet Shuffle Master's specifications.

In a Clark County District Court suit filed last week, Shuffle Master alleged Bally Gaming also failed to pay Shuffle Master -- which claims to hold intellectual property rights to the use of the "Let's Make A Deal" name -- a license fee for the use of the name to develop, market, lease and sublicense the slot machines.

Shuffle Master alleged Bally Gaming -- which allegedly agreed to collect proceeds from machines sold and leased to casinos and other gaming end users, report net operating profits and settle any payments due within five days of collection -- allegedly failed to pay 50 percent of the profits earned to Shuffle Master.

Shuffle Master said several casinos tried to return the games because they lacked the proper slot accounting software that allows casinos to keep track of how much business the machines received.

"The first 'Let's Make A Deal' slot machines were installed a year ago. It had all prerequisites to be a good success. Unfortunately, the execution of the game was not done well. The machines didn't work the way they were specified to work and we suffered a lot of economic damage," said Mark Yoseloff, Shuffle Master executive vice president.

Yoseloff said most casinos use one of two types of slot accounting software or protocols that allow the casinos' central computer to gather accounting information from the slot machines and player club cards. These are the SDS protocol, which is manufactured by Bally; and the SAS protocol, which is made by competitor International Game Technology.

"The two protocols were supposed to be programmed into the slot machines, but Bally failed to do that. Only one protocol was available. That's the SDS protocol. As a result, casinos that used the SAS protocols weren't able to keep track of how much business the machines were making," he said.

"If casinos can't account for how much business the machines are making, they won't put it on the floor," Yoseloff said. "And in Las Vegas, more than half of all casinos here use the SAS protocol."

"As a result of these and other breaches, the 'Let's Make A Deal' machines actually produced are not desirable by certain casinos and game buyers, have been rejected by certain casinos and game buyers, have resulted in numerous performance problems and down-time, and have resulted in dissatisfaction and lost play by customers," the suit said.

The suit said Bally Gaming allegedly failed to install the machines with an "Australian Style 12-Button Panel," and to mount the machine on a "GameMagic Upright Cabinet with TopBox" within an alleged agreed budget of $4,500-$5,000 a machine.

Marcus Prater, Bally's spokesman, declined comment. Bally is a unit of Alliance Gaming Corp.