Merit Industries, Inc.

Sweet Victories in February's Sweet Heart Tournament

Bensalem, PA - Merit Industries, Inc.'s annual Sweet Heart TournaMAXX™ competition broke hearts and delivered sweet victories for featured Megatouch® games Q-Shot and Meteor Shower.

Kelly Bernsen (102,140) and Christopher Boehme (101,860) of Houston, TX took the first- and second-place spots in the Q-Shot Tournament at Roeder's Pub on touch screens operated by Vending Resources. Third place went to Theresa Dehar, who plays at Amore Pizza in West Hazelton, PA. Her score of 101,180 was recorded on a machine from Aaaamusements Rrr Usss. Q-Shot's single-game high score went to Robert Olding (127,400), who plays at the Phoenix Lounge in Sidney, OH on a machine operated by J & S Electronics.

“I've been playing in the tournaments for a couple of years now and I think they're great!” said second-place winner Christopher Boehme. “They really add a feeling of friendly competition to playing the games. They also get you to try games you haven't before. It's always fun to find a new favorite game.”

The Meteor Shower winners rained down at Pappy's in Illinois. Two of the top three place winners and the single-game high score came from Pappy's, which is operated by Hartley Amusements of Arcola, IL. Dan Rhodes placed both first with a score of 280,610 and third with a score of 272,580, while also pulling down the single-game high score title with 291,750. Second place went to Bret Sulsbury, who played at CIIE in Bloomington, IL with a score of 275,370. CIIE's game is also from Hartley Amusements.

Rick Hesse of Hartley Amusements said it was terrific to have all of the Meteor Shower winners through his company. “We had some great competitors who pushed each other to keep trying harder to win. It was good for business.”

Bob Mills, Merit's Vice President of Marketing & Network Business said, “We would like to say thank you to all who participated, helping to make this event another great success. Mars Electronics, makers of the worlds finest bill acceptors, has been with us from the first year's event. Also, Tatung Company of America - makers of Merit's monitors, ECS - suppliers of Merit's PC Boards, and SM Touch Systems - manufacturers of Merit's touch screens, should all be recognized for their outstanding work and in helping to make the Sweet Heart Tournament another great event for everyone involved.”

For more than 27 years, Merit has afforded long-term return on investment of operators by providing continually high-earning equipment along with updates and upgrades for its products. With an installed base of over 200,000 touch-screen games garnering nearly 4.6 billion plays per year, Merit Industries is the worldwide leader in touch-screen entertainment devices. Merit Industries' products appear globally in a wide array of venues and appeal to an almost limitless demographic. Merit continues to expand its position in the industry with ever-increasing entertainment, content and new games. The company maintains a Web site with all the latest information at www.meritind.com.