Miller Lite to Wager $25,000 for Charity on #2 Blue Deuce, Challenges Bud to Place Same Wager on Its Car

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Palms Casino Resort today unveiled a new head-to-head betting line that establishes the #2 Miller Lite NASCAR Sprint Cup team as a clear favorite over the rival Bud car for the 2008 season.

Wasting no time in underscoring its confidence in Kurt Busch and the entire Miller Lite Racing team, Miller Brewing Company announced immediately it is wagering $25,000 on the Blue Deuce to again finish ahead of the Bud car this year, with the winnings pegged for the Kurt Busch Foundation. The Palms' official line has the Miller Lite car favored to finish 81/2 spots ahead of the Bud car in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup season standings.

"Even though it is a big spread, we have a ton of confidence that the Miller Lite Dodge will come out on top," said Tom Long, Miller's president and CEO. "The sport has seen few sponsor-team partnerships as enduring and successful as the one Miller has enjoyed with Penske Racing. For 17 years, racing fans have known they can count on Miller to represent the best performance on the track and the best beer off the track. Together with Roger, Kurt, Pat and the rest of the team, we look forward to more success this season."

In addition to making a wager on its car for charity, Long today sent a certified letter to his counterpart at Anheuser-Busch, August Busch IV, encouraging him to place a wager on his company's new team and driver, donating any winnings to charity.

This is the third consecutive year Miller Lite has engaged Budweiser in a friendly challenge in the days leading up to the start of the NASCAR season. Past challenges have included as a prize swapping paint schemes on their cars and the naming rights to each brewer's hometown baseball stadium. Both years, Bud has declined Miller's offer. In year one of the challenge, 2006, Bud would have emerged the winner, but Miller Lite would have been victorious in 2007.

"Both companies have a great racing tradition, and we historically love to compete," said Long. "This is just a fun way to add more interest to the sport and to our beers. In the spirit of friendly competitiveness, I hope they'll accept. We know the fans would enjoy it and I'm sure their designated charity would be excited, as well."

The Palms Casino Resort announced that not only was it issuing an official season-long betting line for the Miller Lite and Bud cars, but also a line for each individual race. Miller is wagering $2,500 on the #2 car to finish ahead of the #9 at the Feb. 17 season-opening race in Daytona Beach. At the Palms Casino Resort, the Blue Deuce is favored to finish 61/2 spots ahead of the #9 Bud car in the Daytona race.

Miller plans to wager on the Miller Lite Dodge in select individual races during the season, with winnings again going to the Kurt Busch Foundation. Should it lose the season-long wager, Miller will still make a $5,000 donation

to the charity. For more information about this year's Miller Lite NASCAR challenge, please visit http://www.MillerLiteRacing.com.

About Miller

As one of America's oldest brewers, Miller Brewing Company continues the commitment of founder Frederick J. Miller to brew "confoundedly good beers" with "uncompromising quality." Through more than 150 years of innovation and brewing excellence, Miller has built a broad portfolio of award-winning beers that capture approximately 18 percent of U.S. beer sales. An unprecedented four-time gold award winner at the World Beer Cup, Miller Lite is the great tasting, less filling beer that established the American light beer category in 1975. Miller's latest innovation is Miller Chill, a chelada-style beer brewed with lime and salt to provide a unique twist on refreshment. The company also brews Miller Genuine Draft, Miller High Life, Foster's, Milwaukee's Best Light, Olde English 800, Mickey's Malt Liquor, Icehouse and Sharp's, a non-alcohol brew. Miller imports Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell and Tyskie and offers the Sparks line of caffeinated alcohol beverages, as well as regional craft brews from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company. Miller is a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller plc, one of the world's leading brewers with a global footprint spread across six continents. For more information, visit http://www.MillerBrewing.com.