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LOTTERY
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| Vol. 30 No. 5 -- Monday January 31 , 2005 |
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Paget Alves Appointed to GTECH’s Board of Directors WEST GREENWICH, Rhode Island, USA (January 25, 2005) - GTECH Holdings Corporation (NYSE: GTK) announced today that Paget L. Alves has been appointed to serve as a director on the Company’s Board of Directors. In connection with the appointment, the Company also announced that the size of its Board of Directors has been increased from eight members to nine members. Mr. Alves will be nominated for election to GTECH’s Board of Directors at the Company’s 2005 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. "Paget brings more than 20 years of telecommunications industry leadership, and operational, financial, strategic, and public company expertise to GTECH’s Board of Directors," said Robert M. Dewey, Jr., GTECH Board Chairman. "His vast experience and independent perspective will clearly benefit GTECH as we continue to build the Company for the future."
Over the past several years, Mr. Alves has served in senior leadership capacities for a variety of telecommunications/technology companies including Sprint, PointOne Telecommunications, Centennial Communications, Murata Business Systems, and IBM. Mr. Alves currently serves as President of Strategic Markets, a business unit of the Sprint Business Solutions division, with responsibility for Sprint’s 100 largest business customers, systems integrators, international customers, access and wholesale carriers, and cable ventures. Mr. Alves holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Cornell Law School. GTECH, a leading global
information technology company with over $1billion in revenues and more than
5,400 people in over 50 countries, provides software, networks, and
professional services that power high-performance, transaction processing
solutions. SOURCE: GTECH Corporation. Missouri Lottery Celebrates 19 Years JEFFERSON CITY, Jefferson City, USA (January 21, 2005) -- More than $2.3 billion in proceeds has been contributed to the state of Missouri, including public education, by the Missouri Lottery since sales began on Jan. 20, 1986. In addition to the proceeds to the state, Lottery retailers have earned more than $454 million* and players have won more than $4.4 billion* in prizes.
Since the Lottery started on Jan. 20, 1986, sales have increased from $206 million to more than $791 million, and the Lottery’s contributions to the state have risen from $80 million in fiscal year 1986 to more than $230 million in fiscal year 2004. Since fiscal year 1994, Lottery proceeds have gone solely to Missouri’s public education. Proceeds since 1994 have totaled more than $1.6 billion. During the past fiscal year, the Lottery provided public education programs in Missouri with more than $230.3 million, which is about 3.7 percent of the annual funding needed for Missouri’s public education programs. Approximately 28.5 cents of every dollar spent on the Lottery benefits Missouri’s public elementary, secondary and higher education programs. More than 60.5 cents goes back to players as prizes, 5 cents is used for administrative costs and 6 cents goes to retailers in the form of commissions, incentives and bonuses. In all, more than 95 cents of every dollar stays in Missouri. NOTE: * Figures are end of fiscal year 2004 amounts. The fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. SOURCE: Missouri Lottery (www.molottery.com) media release -- Phone: (573) 751-4050, Fax: (573) 751-5188. NEW YORK (January 25, 2005) -- Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS) announced that the Maine Bureau of Alcohol and Lottery Operations has extended the company’s lottery contract four additional years through June 2011. The four-year extension was the maximum possible under the existing contract and is worth an estimated $40 million over its term. Scientific Games provides instant lottery tickets and related services as well as online lottery services to the Maine Lottery. Under the new agreement, Scientific Games will also provide the Lottery with 300 new EXTREMA® online lottery terminals and 300 instant and online self-service ticket checkers. A portion of the EXTREMA terminals will go toward expanding the Maine Lottery’s distribution system.
"We are very pleased at the prospect of working with the Maine Lottery for the next six years. The Maine Lottery was one of our very first online lottery customers and has been an instant lottery ticket customer since1985," said Lorne Weil, chairman and CEO of Scientific Games Corporation. "Long term relationships like the one we have with the Maine Lottery give us the opportunity to continually help the Lottery maximize its performance." Pam Coutts, the Deputy Director of the Maine Lottery added, "Our experience with Scientific Games has been a very productive one. The company pays close attention to our requirements and those of our customers which helps us to deliver the games and service they want." The Maine Lottery reported lottery sales of $184.0 million for fiscal year 2004 and transferred $41.7 million to the General Fund. The General Fund contributes to 250 state agencies providing a wide range of services for Maine’s citizens. About Scientific Games Scientific Games Corporation is the leading integrated
supplier of instant tickets, systems and services to lotteries, and the leading
supplier of wagering systems and services to pari-mutuel operators. SOURCE: Scientific Games Corporation. Lottery’s First Year a Win for Education NASHVILLE, Tennessee, USA (January 20, 2005) -- After 365 days of ticket sales, the Tennessee Education Lottery today celebrates its first-year anniversary with higher-than projected revenues and an optimistic outlook for its next year. "This first year is something all Tennesseans can be excited about," said Rebecca Paul, CEO and President of the Tennessee Lottery. "Not only have we raised over $246 million in new dollars for education, but every student who qualified has received a scholarship or grant."
Joined by Sen. Steve Cohen and Rep. Chris Newton, co-sponsors of the legislation that created the Lottery, and Brian Noland, associate executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Paul made several announcements today at the Lottery’s Nashville headquarters. A few details from the first 365 days include:
"We’re just warming up," said Paul. "The Tennessee Lottery is headed into 2005 with a variety of plans to continue the momentum generated in Year One." New developments include a fourth computerized game to launch by late spring, a "Quick Pick" option for the popular Cash 3 online game, a series of television commercials featuring Tennessee’s legendary Issac Hayes, and a second million-dollar drawing. The three finalists for that drawing, which will be broadcast live from Gatlinburg on Feb. 5, were also announced today. A Year in Review
Other Fun Facts:
SOURCE: Tennessee Lottery. Kentucky Lottery Sales Ahead of Projections LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, USA (January 24, 2005) -- During its regular monthly meeting Friday, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation (KLC) Board of Directors was given an update on the sales for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2005 (July 1st through December 31st 2004). Sales during this period came in at $348.5 million. This amount is $30.1 million (or 8%) less than the prior fiscal year, yet is $20.8 million (or 6.4%) more than had been forecast.
Prizes paid during the first six months of FY ’05 were $218.1 million (or 62.6%) of sales. This compares to $225.2 million (or 59.5%) of sales during the same period during the prior fiscal year. Prize expenses are running approximately $3.5 million (or 1%) ahead of budgeted levels. This is a result of the KLC’s improved sales and extraordinarily high online prizes payments during the first quarter of the fiscal year and in the month of December. December 2004 sales were $61.7 million, which was $14 million (or 18.5%) less than the same month of the prior fiscal year, yet $1.9 million (or 3.2%) more than budgeted. "Our December sales were up 8% from the prior month, which is pretty remarkable considering we had a snow and ice storm hit which hurt sales during the last two weeks of the month," said KLC President and CEO Arch Gleason. He added December 2003 sales were fueled by a Powerball jackpot in excess of $200 million, and the KLC had yet to face competition from Tennessee. "As we’ve stated over the past several months, we’re most certainly feeling the impact from the Tennessee Lottery as they now complete their first year of sales," Gleason said. "However, as our sales levels continue to perform ahead of where we’d projected, we believe this impact will not prove to be as bad as we’d initially feared." OTHER BOARD ACTION The board also approved:
NEXT KENTUCKY LOTTERY BOARD MEETING SET The next meeting of the KLC board of directors has been scheduled for March 25th. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, and will be held at KLC headquarters at 1011 West Main Street, Louisville. Committee meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET SOURCE: Kentucky Lottery media release.
DES MOINES, Iowa (January 21, 2005) - - It's a sweet-smelling treat for your Valentine that truly is calorie free (and contains no fat, cholesterol, salt, sugar, or MSG). Tickets in the Iowa Lottery's "Sweet Rewards" instant-scratch game that go on sale Monday smell like chocolate. "The tickets may smell good enough to eat, but remember that they're made out of paper, and if you eat them you'll never know if you won a prize!" Iowa Lottery CEO Ed Stanek said with a laugh.
Sweet Rewards is a $1 scratch game with a Valentine's Day theme. Its pink-and-red tickets feature graphics of a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Prizes in the game range from $1 to $200. The Iowa Lottery worked with the company that prints its instant-scratch games to produce the sweet-smelling tickets. As part of the process that applies latex to the front of scratch tickets, scented ink was substituted for regular ink. Tiny capsules of chocolate scent were applied to the edges of the latex area on the front of the Sweet Rewards tickets. The chocolate smell will be released when players scratch their tickets. "Adding good scents to our tickets is one more way we can maximize the entertainment value of the lottery tickets people play in Iowa," Stanek said. The Iowa Lottery released its first scented tickets in November 2000. Those tickets in the "Easy as Pie" game featured a pumpkin pie smell and went on sale a few weeks before Thanksgiving. The Lottery has since been searching for just the right game to give players another sweet-smelling treat. Joe Hrdlicka, the lottery's vice president of marketing, said there are dozens of other scents, from popcorn to peanut butter, that can be used on tickets. "We've had a lot of fun working on the theme for a game that would feature chocolate-scented tickets," Hrdlicka said. "We have plenty of good smells to choose from to keep us busy in the future!" Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $1.77 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $890 million has been raised for state programs. SOURCE: Iowa Lottery media release. West Virginia Lottery Hosts New Web Site WEST VIRGINIA (January 19, 2005) -- "Since the West Virginia Lottery went into cyberspace in 1996, our web page has been praised as being user-friendly and informative by players, vendors, retailers, and researchers, alike. But there is no site past, nor few present, that can compare with this one," said Lottery Director John C. Musgrave.
While the Lottery has introduced a number of progressive changes since 1996, the recent undertaking represents an extensive over haul. "From top to bottom, we have utilized some of the highest levels of technology available, making the site more informative and entertaining for our customers. It’s something of which this state can truly be proud." Along with technology, Musgrave noted that player use has changed, as well. "In our first year, the site had around 8,000 hits a month. That monthly average is now around a million; when we have a large jackpot, the figure moves to about two million a month." Easy, quick and informative, the www.wvlottery.com site is streamlined and easier to navigate. Users find less scrolling necessary for the information they seek. Musgrave outlined some of the features that can be accessed.
SOURCE: West Virginia Lottery media release. New Lottery Director Brings Proven Sales Expertise to Job INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (January 24, 2005) -- On January 13, Governor Mitch Daniels named Esther Q. Schneider director of the Hoosier Lottery. Schneider says improving the Hoosier Lottery image and business practices are her first priorities. "I’m taking a thorough look at our budget to find areas where we can be more efficient. Streamlining processes, addressing personnel issues, this and more will play a role in improving the Lottery’s bottom line," Schneider said.
"The Lottery’s image has suffered recently and players need to be reassured that our games are completely secure and fair. I’m determined to make sure that happens. Restoring the organization’s integrity will be a top priority for all Hoosier Lottery staff members." Schneider brings more than 20 years of proven sales, advertising and public relations experience to the Lottery position. In 1986, she began her career as media buyer for the Imperial Palace Hotel/Casino and five subsidiaries. From there, she joined the executive staff of the Sands Hotel and Casino. In 1991, Schneider left the gaming industry and went into radio broadcast sales. Schneider started her own PR and media buying company, Q Media Consulting, to handle medical/pharmaceutical and development/land use issues. Several years later, she joined the staff of Cox Communications in Nevada, where she received awards for sales. In 1999, she merged Q Media’s clients with those of a $70 million ad agency, DRGM Advertising and Public Relations. SOURCE: Hoosier Lottery media release. Lottery Introduces First Raffle-Style Promotion Jefferson City, MO (January 26, 2005) -- Pick 3 players are getting an added bonus! From Feb. 1-28, more than $230,000 will be awarded to Pick 3 players through the "Pick 3 Bonus Bucks Raffle" promotion, the Missouri Lottery’s first raffle-style promotion. Players can win three ways: by matching their favorite numbers, through a weekly raffle and instantly. During the promotion, for every $1 or greater Pick 3 single-ticket purchase made for either the Midday or Evening drawing, a raffle ticket will be generated by the Numbers Games terminal. Then once a week, a drawing will be held to select the winning raffle numbers. Only the raffle numbers produced that week prior to the drawing will be included in the weekly drawing.
Through each of the four raffle drawings, four winners of $2,500 and one winner of $10,000 will be drawn. During the final raffle drawing, one grand-prize winner of $50,000 will be randomly selected from among all the raffle numbers issued during the four-week promotion. "This is a completely different promotion compared to what we’ve done in the past," said Jennifer Kempker, promotions manager for the Lottery. "We hope players will enjoy this fun way to win extra cash prizes during the promotion." The winning raffle numbers will be available on the Lottery’s Web site – www.molottery.com, on the winning-numbers telephone hot line, on the drawing show, on subsequent Pick 3 tickets and on the Numbers Games terminals’ messages to retailers. Some retailers will also post the winning raffle numbers. Pick 3 players will need to hang on to their raffle tickets until the drawings to see if they have won. Each raffle ticket is good for one weekly drawing and the final $50,000 grand-prize drawing. Winners will have 180 days from the date of the raffle drawing to claim their prizes. In addition to the raffle portion, players also have the chance to win $10 instantly during the four-week promotion. More than 350 times per day across the state, a "Bonus Cash" voucher will follow a Pick 3 purchase, which is good for an instant cash prize of $10. When this happens, the tune "We’re In The Money" will play. The raffle drawing dates are: Feb. 8, Feb. 15, Feb. 22 and March 1. The grand-prize drawing for the $50,000 prize also will be held on March 1. For more information concerning the promotion, visit www.molottery.com SOURCE: Missouri Lottery, Phone: (573) 751-4050, Fax: (573) 751-5188. INTRALOT and HILTON Group Form Strategic Alliance ATHENS, Greece (January 27, 2005) -- INTRALOT and the HILTON Group, through its betting and gaming subsidiary Ladbrokes, have agreed to establish a global strategic alliance incorporating the lottery, betting, casino and gaming markets. INTRALOT already has an established cooperation with Hilton Group through its Ladbrokes subsidiary, providing fixed odds consultancy to INTRALOT for its Greek sports betting operations. INTRALOT, which is a state-of-the-art technology provider for lotteries, with acknowledged strengths in operating a wide variety of games (numerical, instant, video lottery, betting, etc) for state licensed lotteries will join forces with the HILTON Group, which has an extensive global business network in the leisure industry. The alliance will offer extensive synergies for both companies and plans to pursue further opportunities in the global gaming market. The two parties have agreed to cooperate on projects concerning State Lottery privatisations, to participate in tenders issued by state and private lotteries and to negotiate directly with potential clients. About HILTON Group HILTON Group operates hotel division with over 400 hotels worldwide (outside the USA) and Ladbrokes, the Group’s betting and gaming division, which has over 2,000 licensed betting shops in the UK, Ireland and Belgium and over 600,000 registered customers from 160 countries through the Internet and telephone betting. It also owns Vernons, one of the UK’s largest football pools operators. In 2003, Hilton revenues reached 14 billion Euros and is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a current market capitalization of over 7 billion Euros.
About INTRALOT INTRALOT, a public listed company on ASE, is a leading
supplier of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative
game designs and value added services to state-licensed gaming organizations
and financial services providers worldwide. SOURCE: INTRALOT For more info: For HILTON Group: Mr. Alex Pagett, Group Corporate Affairs Director, Tel.: +44 207 856 8000. For INTRALOT: Mr. Elias Athanasiou, Investor Relations Manager, Tel.: +30 210 615 6000
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