PokerPro Gains Quick Adoption in Casinos

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Riding the huge wave of poker popularity, PokerTek, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTEK) has installed its PokerPro(TM) tables at four additional casinos in the months of October and November.

After installing tables at its Hollywood, Fla., Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino earlier this year, the Seminole Tribe installed PokerPro tables at a second facility, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, Fla.

In addition to the four PokerPro tables at its Winstar Casino, the Chickasaw Tribe of Oklahoma installed PokerPro tables at two additional casinos and has ordered tables for its fourth casino. With this installation, scheduled for early December, PokerTek will have a total installed base of 21 PokerPro tables.

According to Charlie Lombardo, senior vice president of gaming operations for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, "PokerPro will increase the profitability of our poker rooms, so we are thrilled to be installing PokerPro tables in another one of our six poker rooms. We believe PokerPro has a future in all poker rooms. Once players try it, many prefer it to manual poker tables. It's also a great way to introduce new players to the game."

PokerPro provides casinos the opportunity to enter the poker business with minimum start-up costs and the opportunity to achieve increased profitability by reducing the labor intensive nature of the poker room and by speeding up play. PokerPro can also be added to existing poker rooms, giving players an option between manual tables and the faster-paced, mistake-free PokerPro tables.

PokerPro, a completely new way of playing poker, utilizes electronic cards and chips, thus combining the interactive benefits of traditional poker with the advantages of computer and graphics technology. It is gaining rapid acceptance among players because it speeds up play and delivers more hands per hour; it eliminates player and dealer mistakes (because there is no dealer); and it is less intimidating for new players. There's one other monetary benefit to the player -- no dealer tipping!

"Poker players can only make money when they are in the hand, and because of the lightning fast speed of the PokerPro table, they can be in a hand more often," said Lyle Berman, chairman of the board for PokerTek.

Berman added, "Players cannot bet or fold out of turn or bet an incorrect amount on the PokerPro table, thereby eliminating the disagreements that can slow the pace of the game."

The growth of poker over the past two years has been nothing short of phenomenal. The World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour (WPT) and other organizations have exploded the appetite for poker in the United States and abroad. The American Gaming Association reports that nearly one in five American adults played poker during the last 12 months, a more than 50 percent increase from the previous year. Consumer spending on poker has reached new levels as well. According to the American Gaming Association, in Nevada and New Jersey (the only states that track poker revenue), Americans spent $151.7 million on organized poker in 2004, a staggering 45 percent increase over 2003 figures.

PokerTek, which installed the first PokerPro tables last May, completed an IPO of its common stock on October 15. With estimates by Casino City Press of approximately 6,660 poker tables worldwide, PokerTek officials believe that there are substantial growth opportunities for the company as more and more players experience the benefits of PokerPro.