Station Casinos Inks Agreement With IGT to Accelerate New Machine Purchases

RENO, Nevada -- (Press Release) -- Station Casinos, Inc. (NYSE: STN) has signed an agreement with International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) to define an accelerated schedule to purchase and take delivery of 5,000 new EZ Play(TM) gaming machines to complete their transition to 100% ticket-in ticket-out machines at all Station Casino locations within two years.

The new agreement defines a delivery schedule for 2,700 machines in IGT's FY 04 and 2,300 machines in FY 05, which considerably accelerates previous installation timeframes. Stations has already taken delivery of about 3,500 machines including the machines for Thunder Valley in Auburn California.

"Our goal is to offer ticket payouts on 100% of our machines as quickly as possible to help further improve customer service," said Steve Cavallaro, Chief Operating Officer for Station Casinos. "Customer service is a top priority at our casinos, and our customers have not only adapted to tickets, but now demand the added convenience."

Texas Station was one of the first casinos in the country to offer EZ Play(TM) machines and all Station casinos currently feature some machines equipped with ticket payouts.

Station Casinos was quick to realize the added value that tickets offered customers and was on the forefront of offering this new technology to its customers," said Ward Chilton, Senior VP of North America Sales for IGT. " This order will help IGT achieve its new FY04 replacement target of 60,000 to 65,000 machines and will get us off to a good start for FY 05.

The agreement represents a commitment for at least 75% of Station's intended machine purchases through 2005. IGT's EZ Play(TM) machines include standard reel spinning slots, video slots, poker machines and multi game machines that accept coins or currency, offer multi denomination wagering functionality and are equipped with ticket printers which dispense vouchers to players when they cash out.

The new machines will operate at the Station casinos in Nevada and in the Thunder Valley Casino, utilizing the IGT IVS(TM) Ticketing System combined with the Acres Wizard(TM) Slot Accounting System. Players can insert the dispensed tickets into other compatible machines, hold them for future play or convert them to cash via various options without the hassle of handling coins or waiting for hopper fills. IGT finalized its acquisition of Acres Gaming Incorporated October 27, 2003.