Gaming briefs for September 27, 2004

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 10:39 a.m.

Jury awards in IGT's favor

International Game Technology and Action Gaming Inc. were awarded a $7.4 million jury verdict in a patent lawsuit filed against competitor Alliance Gaming Corp. and United Coin Machine Co., a former subsidiary of Alliance, IGT announced today.

The jury found that Alliance and United Coin infringed on patents related to certain multihand poker games.

"We are very pleased with the jury's validation of our patents in this case," IGT General Counsel Dave Johnson said. "IGT has always vigorously defended its intellectual property and will continue to do so against any potential violators whenever it is appropriate."

In a separate statement, Alliance said it would take a charge against first quarter earnings of about 9 cents per share.

The company also said the verdict is subject to various post-trial motions after the entry of judgment as well as an appeal process.

Alliance officials could not be reached for comment.

Stock climbs on analyst report

Shares of Wynn Resorts were up more than $2 per share in early trading this morning as the broader markets fell on a bullish analyst report.

Shares rose $2.19 or 4.6 percent to $49.98 per share.

In a research report this morning, Deutsche Bank Securities analyst Marc Falcone raised his annual price target to $65 from $46. Falcone cited as factors escalating land values on the Las Vegas Strip, Wynn's Phase II development at the Wynn Las Vegas resort and development opportunities in Macau.

"After monitoring the progress of Wynn Las Vegas, we believe investors have not discovered the full value of these assets," Falcone said in the report. "We see potential upside to results based on higher room rates and better margins. Phase II and land represent significant unrealized value."

The Macau market represents "enormous potential" that still isn't well known, he said.

"We see significant upside if Wynn announced additional development opportunities and/or enters into a subconcession agreement," Falcone said.