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You guys also forget that casinos do not own the shuffling machines and lease them. Those shuffling machines are outrageously expensive and cost the casino as well. I believe the standard automatic shuffler has a market value of 16k PER shuffler. Obviously its leased but its still an additional cost. (The same applies to other games though with auto shufflers)
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The shuffle machines can now be bought and sold, without being leased.
http://www.shufflemaster.com/02_eu_p.../deck_mate.asp
"Shuffle Master, Inc. is a licensed gaming supply company that provides products to casino customers. Due to the fact Shuffle Master is in a highly regulated industry, we generally do not sell our equipment to unlicensed individuals or organizations however, we have recently begun offering our Deck Mate® poker shuffler for private purchase and use for $15,795. Not available for purchase in Colorado, New Jersey, Washington or Texas. "
However, Shufflemaster has recently introduced the "iShuffle" (different versions being the i-deal and the i-shoe), which can track the order of the cards, and automatically "reset" the decks when the game is done. You'll see these slowly being introduced in the coming years, likely in pit games where game integrity means more to the house than poker. The iShuffle is the only shuffle machine offered by Shufflemaster currently only available by lease. Not sure if this version will ever be introduced to poker.
quoted from the Shufflemaster website-
http://www.shufflemaster.com/01_comp...asp?newsID=134
•i-Deal™: As Shuffle Master’s third generation single deck specialty shuffler, the i-Deal is the fastest of our single deck shufflers and features several key enhancements including standard card recognition technology that reads the rank and suit of each card being dealt and a deck-sorting function.
•i-Shoe™ intelligent shoe: A smart alternative to a traditional shoe, the i-Shoe increases baccarat and blackjack game security by reading the rank and suit of each card being dealt. Unique in its ability to learn to recognize any brand of unmarked playing card, the i-Shoe interfaces with an attractive display to post the outcome of each round.