master former type public traded as nasdaq shfl industry gaming fate acquired by bally technologies founded minneapolis 1983 founder john breeding defunct 2013 2013 headquarters paradise nevada products deck mate website www.shfl.com shfl entertainment inc. previously named shuffle master was a manufacturer of shuffling machines table games slot machines and other casino products based in paradise nevada . founded in 1983 it was acquired by bally technologies in 2013 . the company designed deck mate one of the primary card shuffling devices used in casinos . the company s table game products included let it ride three card poker blackjack switch and casino war . history edit shuffle master was formed by john breeding a former truck driver in 1983 . 1 inspired by a newspaper article about card counting in blackjack he borrowed 30 000 to develop a mechanical shuffler that would allow every hand to be dealt from a fresh deck nullifying the advantage of card counting without losing valuable playing time . 1 the device finally came to market in early 1992 and the company made its initial public offering later that year . 1 casinos were increasingly using multiple decks for blackjack limiting the sales potential of breeding s single deck shuffler . 1 to fuel demand for the shufflers he developed a new single deck game let it ride . 1 by 1995 let it ride was generating more revenue for shuffle master than its namesake device . 1 in 1998 the company s headquarters moved from minneapolis to the las vegas area . 2 the firm expanded into the slot machine business in the late 1990s developing games based on licensed properties like the honeymooners press your luck and let s make a deal and partnering with larger companies like igt and bally to manufacture and distribute them . 3 the slots business failed to turn a profit and shuffle master sold it to igt in 2004 for 1.6 million . 4 in february 2004 shuffle master bought most of the assets of bet technology a developer of table games including casino war and fortune pai gow . 5 in 2006 the company returned to the slot machine field buying australian manufacturer stargames limited for 108 million . 6 7 among stargames s products was rapid roulette a roulette variant in which a dealer spins a physical roulette wheel but wagers are placed and paid out on touchscreen terminals increasing the pace of play . 6 gavin isaacs a former bally technologies executive was named ceo in march 2011 . 8 in march 2012 shuffle master agreed to buy ongame network a provider of services to online poker sites from bwin.party services for 26 to 39 million 9 but it pulled out of the deal months later due to declining market conditions in europe and uncertainty about the legalization of online poker in the us . 10 in october 2012 the company changed its name to shfl entertainment to reflect the diversity of its product offerings . 11 in 2012 shfl obtained the license to distribute geoff hall s blackjack variant free bet blackjack worldwide excluding the uk and nevada . 12 at the global gaming expo conference in october 2012 shfl debuted mulligan poker a game developed by michael shackleford and currently only offered online by casinos using igt software . the game was set to be released in physical casinos in kansas early in 2013 . 13 in july 2013 bally technologies agreed to acquire shfl for about 1.3 billion . 14 the acquisition was completed on november 25 2013 . 15 market position edit shfl had a virtual monopoly in the card shuffler business . 16 forbes named the firm as one of the 200 best small companies in america for at least five years in a row . 17 references edit a b c d e f shuffle master inc. places winning bet . chicago tribune . bloomberg business news . 8 october 1995 . retrieved 23 march 2012 . brief shuffle master net rises . las vegas sun . 14 december 1998 . retrieved 24 march 2012 . kafka peter november 1 1999 . 12 to watch stacked deck in order to grow shuffle master has been hitching a ride with much larger players in the casino game racket . maybe it s time to get off . forbes . via factiva . retrieved 2012 07 01 . subscription required shaw craig 11 october 2004 . shuffle master parlays slot sale into a pair of core acquisitions . investors.com . investor s business daily . retrieved 23 march 2012 . shuffle master continues to grow . las vegas sun . 26 february 2004 . retrieved 23 march 2012 . a b stutz howard 26 december 2005 . mergers and acquisitions new spin for shuffle master . las vegas review journal . retrieved 23 march 2012 . shuffle master inc. announces completion of stargames limited acquisition ; completion signals broad expansion of company s entertainment products line press release . shuffle master . 1 february 2006 . retrieved 23 march 2012 . green steve 17 march 2011 . bally technologies executive named shuffle master ceo . las vegas sun . retrieved 22 march 2012 . shuffle master 1q profit rises 59 percent . msnbc . associated press . 5 march 2012 . retrieved 22 march 2012 . stutz howard 27 june 2012 . shuffle master drops planned purchase of european online gaming company . las vegas review journal . retrieved 27 june 2012 . stutz howard october 1 2012 . shuffle master changing name to incorporate multiple products . las vegas review journal . retrieved 1 october 2012 . thepogg 25 november 2012 . thepogg interviews geoff hall creator of blackjack switch . thepogg 1 november 2012 . thepogg interviews michael shackleford the wizard of odds . richard n. velotta july 16 2013 . bally says 1.3 billion acquisition of shfl entertainment good for growth . vegas inc. retrieved 2014 11 23 . howard stutz november 25 2013 . bally completes 1.3 billion shfl entertainment purchase . las vegas review journal . retrieved 2014 11 23 . stutz howard 5 february 2008 . judge deals setback to shuffle master in patent case . casino city times . retrieved 22 march 2012 . simpson jeff 15 october 2003 . shuffle master dealing success . las vegas review journal . retrieved 22 march 2012 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title shfl entertainment & oldid 727143307 categories gambling companies of the united statescompanies based in paradise nevadacompanies formerly listed on nasdaq2013 disestablishments in nevadadefunct gambling companiesdefunct companies based in nevadahidden categories pages containing links to subscription only content navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 26 june 2016 at 23 49 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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