Casino Enterprise Management

It’s a well-known tale in the gaming industry—one you may have heard. Leading gaming supplier Shuffle Master was started in a Minnesota basement by its founder, John Breeding. At the time, no one would have expected a 700-employee, globally known gaming company to emerge. With a growing product range and a top-of-the line executive team, Shuffle Master is determined to create fun, profitable games and products for the industry worldwide. 

History
As mentioned, it all started with a man by the name of John Breeding, a truck driver who ventured into the industry. He happened to read a Wall Street Journal article about the problem that some Atlantic City casinos were having with card counters, and came up with the idea of creating a machine that would “act as the dealer’s assistant and always have a freshly shuffled deck ready.”

Breeding worked driving trucks for Schaper Manufacturing, a company that later closed but became a major player in the success of Shuffle Master. Schaper’s president, Bill Garrity, loved Breeding’s idea and invested in the company. To show his appreciation for his biggest supporter, Breeding named several machines after Garrity. The letters B and G in Shuffle Master’s first models of shufflers—BG-1, the single-deck shuffler, BG-2, the Pai Gow machine, and BG-3, the double-deck machine—stand for Bill Garrity.

In 1992, the company went public and had a total of 56 single-deck machines leased in Nevada. Before he retired in 1997, Breeding had created a multi-deck shuffler, as well as perhaps one of the company’s most well-known games, Let it Ride—a five-card poker variant.

Another key milestone for the company was the acquisition of Three Card Poker in 1999. Not only did this bring initial success to the company, but it transitions into e-tables and the online platform. “We can get so much mileage from the brand,” said David Lopez, Shuffle Master’s COO. “The underlying base game of Three Card Poker is so fun and so classic that it’s easy to build upon it and roll out more ways to play.”

A Respectable Leadership Team
A great company is only as successful as their executive team is strong. And in Shuffle Master’s case, there’s no questioning this team’s strength and dedication. Atop it all now sits Gavin Isaacs, the company’s CEO, who was appointed on April 1, 2011. He came to Shuffle Master with more than 12 years of industry experience and a passion for leading a driven team.

 “I've worked with a number of CEOs over the last 30-plus years,” said Shuffle Master CFO Lin Fox. “I think the most important leadership virtue any CEO can have is a clear vision for the future, together with the ability to motivate and execute. Gavin is the whole package. His command of technology and extensive knowledge of the gaming industry make him the ideal CEO for Shuffle Master. He understands the incredible opportunity we have to leverage Shuffle Master’s extensive IP and successfully lead the company through its next critical phase. Shuffle Master is fortunate to have his hand on the tiller.”

But Isaacs said he’s just doing his job in the way he knows how. He uses his strong customer focus to approach business, and implements the company mission statement: “Through product innovation, superior quality and service, Shuffle Master will continue to make gaming more fun for players and more profitable for operators.”

“I’m being me,” he said. “People oriented and customer focused. I make sure that we all communicate, work as one team, and that’s what I’m going to do—I’m going to be me. Every CEO has his or her own strength, and that’s mine.”

Isaacs is backed up by a more-than-capable team of executives who include: David Lopez, COO; Lin Fox, CFO; Katie Lever, general counsel; Lou Castle, CSO; and Roger Snow, EVP. Isaacs shared nothing but praise for his team. “I have been lucky to have worked with some great people in the past,” he said. “This team is up there with the best I have worked with. They are focused, committed to winning, experts in their respective areas, and strong leaders who effectively motivate and inspire their teams.  Importantly, with our differences and unique perspectives, we complement each other, and have fun doing it!"




Growing Product Range
Some companies approach business with a “stick to what works” method, while Shuffle Master takes it one step beyond. They’re not giving up on their main focus—the pit—but the company is evolving and moving into new mediums. They have five distinct product categories: utility products, which include automatic card shufflers and roulette chip sorters; proprietary table games, which include live games, side bets and progressives; electronic table systems, which include various e-table game platforms; electronic gaming machines, which include video slot machines; and newly introduced Shuffle Interactive, which features online versions of Shuffle Master’s table games, social gaming and mobile applications.

Utility products, the area where Shuffle Master began, includes the first shuffler, the previously mentioned BG series. The latest product in this area is the MD3 shuffler, a shuffler that takes a picture of every card as it’s dealt via optical card recognition.

Shuffle Master owns 11 of the top 14 proprietary table games brands, and has an installed base of nearly 6,500 tables worldwide, not to mention a library of more than 30 different specialty game titles.

As mentioned, one of the most well-known Shuffle Master table games is Let it Ride. The game is based on five-card stud poker, and gives players the ability to control two of their three bets, and includes an opportunity for big winnings when making the $1 bonus bet or the Three Card Bonus bet.

Introducing more side bets, bad beat bonuses, progressives and twists on the original Three Card Poker is another one of Shuffle Master’s newest focuses. Six Card Poker™, a game that was introduced at G2E this October, is a player-against-dealer game that’s sure to bring excitement to any table. “This is a simple game but it has a couple of features that players will find intriguing,” said Roger Snow, the inventor of Six Card Poker and executive vice president of the company. “First, you get to see half the dealer’s hand, which is unprecedented for a poker-style game.

And second, it has a two-way bad beat bonus that pays monster odds when it hits, and also has a compelling near-miss element to it. I think this game is the real deal.”

According to Isaacs, the company is investing heavily in the electronic table games area. “We believe it’s another great opportunity for us and where we can differentiate ourselves from our competitors because we know how to successfully mimic the feel of a live table and we have a robust suite of brands we can offer,” he said.

Shuffle Master’s introduction of e-tables started in 2003 with Table Master, and was expanded in 2006 with the acquisition of Star Games. This added Rapid and Vegas Star to the product lineup, and since then Shuffle Master has expanded upon the Rapid platform. They introduced the revolutionary i-Table—a hybrid e-table that combines electronic wagering on an iPad-like touchscreen with a live dealer and live apparatus like a wheel or cards. “The i-Table and the e-table segment as a whole is significant to us as we believe they represent the future,” Lopez said. “We believe i-Table Roulette will serve as the catalyst for greater i-Table acceptance across the board.”

This was another highlight of G2E for the company, where the new i-Table Roulette was introduced. “That is just a fabulous and extremely versatile product,” Isaacs said. “Once we get that to its full capacity, by adding ticket printers and bill validators for extraordinary efficiency,  we think that it could be on every casino floor everywhere in the world and that it will be a ‘must have.’”

Shuffle Interactive, the newest addition to Shuffle Master’s portfolio, is certainly something to be excited about. This platform brings all of the best proprietary table games, progressive and bonus bets to the web. It’s built in a way that allows for the partnering with any online casino, and can deliver content on nearly any device.

“We think social media and i-gaming will present great opportunities to build brand exposure and introduce people to our games in a non-intimidating format,” Lopez said. “There’s a lot of potential here and we’ve been focused on creating authentic virtual game experiences with our apps.”

IP Initiative
With more than 2,400 registered patents, trademarks and copyrights around the world, IP is a strongly emphasized component of the company. “Not only do we patent and protect our shuffler business, but our proprietary table games are patented and trademarked, and in new markets we enter, we take protection if we can,” Isaacs said. “Protecting our IP is a very important ongoing business initiative that we’ve now extended to the online space and it’s an area we continue to focus on.”

Focusing on Fun
If one thing’s certain, it’s that Shuffle Master is committed to their customers, and committed to making games—and the workplace—fun. “If you want to compete with us, not only do you have to have great products, you better make sure your people are as focused and committed, and are having as much fun as we are,” Isaacs said. “What separates this company from other companies that I’ve worked with, it’s that we can all sit down, we can be open and honest with each other, we can discuss issues, we can make decisions, and actually go out and execute them straight away.”

Isaacs pointed out that due to the moderate size of the company, they have a nimble and action-oriented culture. He also pointed out that the company believes very much in security, speed and performance. Regarding the security of products, Lopez adds: “Our commitment to protecting the integrity of the table, via state-of-the art innovations like optical card-reading technology and chipless touchscreen interfaces, is unmatched.” 

Mission Statement: "Through product innovation, superior quality and service, Shuffle Master will continue to make gaming more fun for players and more profitable for operators."

Creating Solutions
Shuffle Master has been coming up with answers since the beginning, when Breeding saw a problem and created a solution. Perseverance is a trait visible in the company’s culture, Lopez said. “Since those early days, the company has continued to problem-solve and to innovate in ways John says he didn’t think were imaginable. Shuffle Master has evolved from providing one solution to one problem to providing many innovative solutions across the globe. Over the years, the company has expanded into new verticals and into new markets, and built an impressively deep IP portfolio.”

One of the biggest challenges the company has faced is the tough economic times. “It affects your customers; it affects you,” Isaacs said. “We’re really focused on making our games more fun and making products that provide greater security and efficiency, which helps the operators out, who are our customers at the end of the day.”

Isaacs continued: “Obviously the last three years have been challenging not just for the industry, but the economy as a whole.  We’ve learned a lot in this time and I think those who have survived are better for it.  We’ve become smarter, more efficient and more cost-conscious.  We’ve also become tighter in our customer relationships to ‘get through it together.’” 

The company has also invested in creating jobs, and according to Isaacs has added 45 jobs in Nevada within the last 10 months.

International Presence
Fifty percent of the company’s revenue comes internationally, naturally making it a large focus for the company. Shuffle Master’s headquarters are in Las Vegas, and they have offices in Australia and Austria, as well as sales offices in South Africa and Macau.

“2011 has truly been the ‘year of the slot machines’ for our business, nearly doubling from 15 percent of total revenue in FY 10 to roughly 30 percent in FY 11 (nine months ended),” Isaacs said. “This success has been the result of a well-planned and thoughtful investment in R&D and a talented, committed team who was able to effectively execute.  Our investment in this business is evident given the great success we’ve had growing our ship share in Australia/NSW.  We launched a cutting-edge new cabinet in July of 2010, complete with exciting new titles like the popular Cats, Hats & Bats, and it’s been on fire ever since. Given the success of our new Equinox cabinet, we’re expanding into other parts of the world, namely Latin America and Asia.”

The company also has a strong presence in Singapore, with more than 500 seats of the Rapid e-Table split between the two properties—Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands—as well as shufflers, specialty table games and progressives.

Goals
Shuffle Master has very specific plans for the next three years, Isaacs said, and they’re very committed to that plan. “We’re going to continue to invest and grow in the e-table business, and continue to strengthen the slot business,” Isaacs said.  “We want to continue to be the leader in the fields in which we operate. We think we are uniquely positioned in our current core business, and are excited about our new initiatives—new shufflers, e-tables, etc. We wouldn’t do anything if we didn’t have faith in it.”

Above all, Shuffle Master is committed to making sure that the enjoyment factor of gaming is never lost. They work hard to make commitments, and even harder to achieve them. But we wouldn’t expect anything less.
   

Click here to see our video with Gavin Isaacs from this year’s G2E.

Click here to listen to a CEM Audio Edge show with Shuffle Master’s Emerging Media Manager Dan Taylor.


Jenessa McAllister is an Associate Editor for Casino Enterprise Management. She can be reached at (701) 293-7775 or editor1[at]aceme.org.