Steel Vault Launches Online Marketing Campaign with Akamai Technologies

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., May 19, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SVUL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Steel Vault Corporation (OTCBB:SVUL) ("Steel Vault" or the "Company"), a premier provider of identity security products and services, announced today that its NationalCreditReport.com subsidiary, has commenced an online marketing campaign with Akamai Technologies, Inc. ("Akamai). Through its acerno cooperative, which is an online cooperative of shopping and purchase data, Akamai aggregates anonymous consumer shopping data across more than 500 Internet sites and, based on that information, delivers targeted advertising to potential customers.
William J. Caragol, Steel Vault's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Although we are still in the early stages of our online marketing efforts, we have seen steady expansion in our subscriber base as our initial marketing campaigns take hold. We believe this new marketing program with Akamai and their acerno cooperative, which delivers intelligent online advertising, will continue to drive our subscriber growth and connect us with relevant customers, thereby improving our return on investment."

NationalCreditReport.com specializes in providing consumers with identity security products, including accurate, complete and easy-to-understand credit reporting and monitoring. Credit monitoring is the only automated method currently available to protect consumers from identify theft and keep consumers up-to-date with changes and inquiries made to their credit records.

About Steel Vault Corporation

Steel Vault, formerly known as IFTH Acquisition Corp., is a premier provider of identity security products and services, including credit monitoring, credit reports, and other identity theft protection services. Since 2004, its subsidiary, National Credit Report.com, has specialized in providing a variety of credit information to consumers to help protect them from identity theft and fraud.

Statements about Steel Vault's future expectations, including the effectiveness of the Company's online marketing campaign to drive its subscriber growth and delivery quality customers, the ability of Akamai's advertising solutions to provide greater return on investment and improved ad campaign performance, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. Additional information about these and other factors that could affect the Company's business is set forth in the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's 10-K filed on December 24, 2008, under the caption "Risk Factors." The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Steel Vault Corporation

Steel Vault Corporation
Allison Tomek, 561-805-8000
atomek@steelvaultcorp.com
or
CEOcast
Dan Schustack, 212-732-4300
dschustack@ceocast.com

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Bethlehem, built on steel, betting on casinos

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - This historic town, nicknamed the "Christmas City," where steel was once king, is preparing for a seismic image shift when the $743 million Sands Casino Resort opens Friday.

Michael Horn has no doubt that the gambling hall - which will be the largest of Pennsylvania's eight casinos in size and number of slot machines - will transform his hometown, one in the midst of reinventing itself.

"It's going to add a lot of spice to Bethlehem, and maybe jump-start the economy," said Horn, 51, a musician.

But the stakes are high. For Bethlehem, it involves its sense of self, its history, its businesses, and its quality of life.

For Northampton and Lehigh Counties, the City of Allentown, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which can't build these casinos fast enough, there are shares of the revenue.

For struggling Atlantic City and the casino industry to which it is hitched, Bethlehem's casino could be devastating competition.

The seaside resort has already lost a substantial chunk of its slots business - down 16.5 percent the first four months of this year - most of it to two casinos in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Sands Bethlehem now threatens to siphon Atlantic City's most affluent customers, the ones from North Jersey and New York, who make up 45 percent of its business. I-78 will take them directly to Bethlehem.

The casino has a full-page ad in the current New Jersey Monthly magazine. A large billboard teasing its opening went up last month on the outbound Atlantic City Expressway.

"It's a New Jersey casino that happens to be in Pennsylvania," said Harvey Perkins of Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C. in Linwood, N.J., only half-joking. "When you realize that Route 78 is a direct, low-toll road from North Jersey to the Sands' front door, you add a new dimension of convenience gaming for the North Jersey customer." I-78 has a 75-cent bridge toll versus the multiple tolls on the expressway and the Garden State Parkway, which are significantly more.

Sands Bethlehem will debut Friday with 3,000 slot machines, four restaurants, and two lounges in a soft opening to allow the Las Vegas operator to work out kinks. A grand opening is scheduled for June 9.

After six months, the casino will ramp up to 5,000 machines on its cavernous, 139,000-square foot gaming floor. The next-largest slots parlor in Pennsylvania is the recently expanded Meadows Racetrack & Casino near Pittsburgh, which measures 135,897 square feet with 3,749 slot machines.

The largest casino in Atlantic City, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, has a 161,000-square-foot gaming floor with 4,100 slot machines.

"We are the equivalent of two properties in Atlantic City," said Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands.

At its 5,000-slot capacity, the casino is expected to generate $465.3 million in annual gross slots revenue. That would be more than what the Atlantic City Hilton and Trump Marina casinos combined made on slots and table games last year ($452.7 million).

"It's going to be a madhouse around here when they open," said Bethlehem resident Debra Pittenger, 46, who owns Jackpot Amusements Inc., which sells break-open tickets, punchboards, and bingo supplies to local bingo halls and private clubs.

Still, she said, the casino will give the city of about 73,000, the state's sixth-largest, a much-needed lift.

"Because it's been so long since the last industry was there, any activity is good activity," Pittenger said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20090517_Bethlehem__built_on_steel__betting_on_casinos.html