Company calls lawsuit baseless

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 | 11 a.m.

A company accused in a Washoe County District Court lawsuit of misappropriating a proprietary gaming machine operating platform says the suit is without merit.

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Shuffle Master Inc., which has the bulk of its operation and 72 employees in Las Vegas, was sued this week by Innovative Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas, which develops computer-based systems to display graphics and advertisements on machines.

Shuffle Master, whose signature product is a card-shuffling machine, also develops computerized gaming systems including a video game based on the Three Stooges.

Innovative Gaming officials said Shuffle Master released a system similar to theirs after signing nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements when the two companies were considering business ventures in 1999.

"(Monday's) press release is the first time Innovative Gaming Corp. of America has raised any concerns regarding our proprietary operating system," said Joseph Lahti, chairman and chief executive officer of Shuffle Master.

"Frankly, we are surprised and very perplexed by this litigation. We will vigorously defend ourselves and expect to prevail," he said.