| GTECH Corporation Chosen by Loterie Nationale in
Belgium for New IMAGINE™ Terminals, Following Competitive Procurement
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, USA (June
19, 2007) -- GTECH Corporation, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Lottomatica
S.p.A., has been selected to provide 600 IMAGINE™
terminals to Loterie Nationale of
Belgium, a state-owned company that administers and operates national
lottery games in Belgium. Loterie Nationale’s decision is the result
of a competitive procurement process.
“Loterie Nationale
has a strong reputation and track record of technological innovation, and we
are pleased they have chosen GTECH for our industry-leading
solutions,” said W. Bruce
Turner, GTECH and Lottomatica S.p.A. CEO. “Our new lottery
terminal, IMAGINE, combines the latest in digital camera technology with our
innovative ImageCam Ware, providing a reliable, flexible, and efficient way to
process lottery play slips and perform ticket validations, using only one
device. The ImageCam’s state-of-the-art camera and GTECH’s
patent-pending ImageCam Ware technology are a true breakthrough for the lottery
industry.” Loterie Nationale currently has
approximately 6,200 GTECH Altura® terminals throughout Belgium, connected
to a GTECH-developed central system. The 600 IMAGINE terminals will be placed
in new and existing locations, complementing the existing terminal base of
Alturas. Under the product sale agreement, GTECH will also provide ongoing
terminal maintenance, field service, and depot repair. GTECH has been Loterie Nationale’s online and
instant-ticket services provider since 1992. Last year, Loterie Nationale of
Belgium generated sales of approximately $1.6 billion. Loterie Nationale raises
funds for public interests and charities.
About
GTECH
GTECH is a leading gaming technology and services company,
providing innovative technology, creative content, and superior service
delivery. Lottomatica is one of the world’s largest commercial
lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry. GTECH and
Lottomatica together create a fully integrated lottery operator and gaming
technology solutions provider - a combined company with worldwide scale,
considerable financial strength, and industry-leading customer solutions.
Lottomatica is majority owned by De Agostini, which belongs to a century-old
publishing, media, and financial services group. Lottomatica is publicly traded
on the Italian Stock Exchange (LTO), and in 2006, had more than 1.7 billion
euro in revenues and 6,000 employees in over 50 countries when combined with
GTECH. CONTACT: Robert K. Vincent, Public Affairs,
GTECH Corporation, 401-392-7452 SOURCE: GTECH
Corporation.
It’s A Scorcher! Lottery’s Second
‘Millionaire Raffle’ Heats Up the Summer
Four Winners to Become Instant Millionaires on
July 31 CHICAGO, Illinois, USA (June 14,
2007) -- Illinois Lottery players
have a chance to win big this summer with the second installment of the
“Millionaire Raffle.” This limited-time game will create four
new millionaires this summer, while five more players will walk away with
$100,000. Tickets go on sale June 18.
Illinois Lottery’s
first raffle, the “St. Patrick’s Day Millionaire Raffle,”
sold out after just 25 days on the market. Because of the game’s great
odds, sales took off when the $20 tickets went on sale February 5. Only
500,000 tickets were available at Lottery retailers across the state.
“The response to the first ‘Millionaire
Raffle’ was so overwhelmingly positive we wanted to give our players
another opportunity to play,” said Illinois Lottery Promotions Manager
Paul Arnell. “’Millionaire Raffle’ is sure to be one of the
hottest tickets of the summer. Demand will far outweigh supply so players
should be sure to pick up a ticket before they’re gone.”
Similar to the first raffle, only 500,000
“Millionaire Raffle” tickets will be available for sale. Due
to the limited quantity, no other Lottery game offers a better chance to win a
million dollars. In total, the raffle will create 509 winners: four win $1
million, five win $100,000 and 500 will win $1,000. The odds of winning $1
million are one in 125,000 and one in 982 players will win a prize.
Tickets cost $20 and are sold in sequential order at all
Lottery retailers. A computerized drawing on July 31 will randomly select the
509 winners. Winning raffle numbers will be available on
http://www.illinoislottery.com
immediately after the drawing. About the Illinois
Lottery Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery is a
state agency with annual sales of $1.99 billion. Since its inception, the
Lottery has contributed more than $13.5 billion to the state Common School Fund
to assist K-12 public schools. Players must be at least 18 years old. For more
information on the Illinois Lottery please visit our Web site at
http://www.illinoislottery.com.
CONTACT: Mia Sissac (312) 255-3073 (office), (312)
636-6303 (cell) or Madonna Duncan (312) 255-3143 (office), (773) 960-5829
(cell). SOURCE: Illinois Lottery
Scientific Games
Donates to John Wayne Birthplace Museum
Donation in honor of what would have been
“The Duke’s” 100th Birthday ALPHARETTA, Georgia, USA (June 15, 2007) -- Amid hundreds of
John Wayne fans congregated in Winterset, Iowa to honor the life of one of
America’s most beloved actors and patriots,
Scientific Games (NASDAQ: SGMS) and
MDI Entertainment recently presented a check
donation to the John Wayne Birthplace Museum and Learning Center on the 100th
Anniversary of the Duke’s birth. In conjunction
with Wayne Enterprises, Scientific Games contributed ten percent of the
licensing fee from Iowa’s fast-selling John Wayne instant ticket. MDI
Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games, now offers John
Wayne’s image to lotteries.
“It’s truly an
honor to work with the Iowa Lottery in supporting the John Wayne Birthplace
Museum and Learning Center,” said Steve Saferin, MDI president.
“The legacy of John Wayne is timeless, along with everything he
represented. His image is nostalgic and fits very well into that category of
instant tickets. We are pleased to now offer John Wayne to
lotteries.” The
Iowa Lottery was the fourth state lottery to offer a John Wayne instant
ticket. The $2 instant ticket has a top prize of $10,000 and features three
distinct images of John Wayne. “'The
Duke’ is not only one of Iowa’s most acclaimed and accomplished
actors, he is one of the country’s most beloved figures whose popularity
spans many generations,” said Iowa Lottery CEO
Dr. Ed Stanek. “We have been
proud to honor John Wayne through our work.” During the John Wayne Birthday Centennial Celebration, the
streets of Wayne’s birthplace were filled with fans from across the United
States, as well as several foreign countries, all there to remember a true
American. Memorial Day weekend events began with a parade through Winterset, a
groundbreaking ceremony, check presentation, statue unveiling, and continued
with family-friendly events. The Iowa Lottery was a part of the weekend
celebration, giving away tickets in “The Duke” game as well as
t-shirts, hats and blankets featuring images of John Wayne. As a special
highlight to the weekend, members of the Wayne family and former co-stars
participated in the celebration.
The John Wayne Birthplace
Museum and Learning Center is scheduled for completion in 2009. The
Birthplace Society has designed the facility to be 8,500 square feet of
interactive, family fun, where children and adults alike can be involved in
programs teaching the values of citizenship, respect, caring, responsibility,
and trustworthiness. About Scientific
Games Scientific Games Corporation is the
leading integrated supplier of instant tickets, systems and services to
lotteries worldwide, a leading supplier of fixed odds betting terminals and
systems, Amusement and Skill with Prize betting terminals, interactive sports
betting terminals and systems, and wagering systems and services to pari-mutuel
operators. It is also a licensed pari-mutuel gaming operator in Connecticut,
Maine and the Netherlands and is a leading supplier of prepaid phone cards to
telephone companies. Scientific Games' customers are in the United States and
more than 60 other countries. For more information about Scientific Games,
please visit our web site atwww.scientificgames.com. SOURCE: MDI Entertainment.
CONTACT: Jeff Schweig,
678-297-5212.
Instant Scratchies First For South
Australia
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SOUTH AUSTRALIA (June 14,
2007) -- SA Lotteries today launched South
Australia’s first ever $10 Instant Scratchies ticket, Cash Celebration, to
commemorate 40 years of lotteries in South Australia. Exclusively South Australian, Cash Celebration comprises a
limited series of 420,000 tickets and offers a record Instant Scratchies prize
pool of $3 million. With a top prize of $300,000, the
ticket is sure to be popular among local players. The
limited edition 40th anniversary holographic tickets are on sale from today at
more than 530 SA Lotteries agencies across South Australia.
Like other SA Lotteries’ games, the profit from
Instant Scratchies Cash Celebration will be added to the $1.8 billion that has
been contributed to South Australia’s public hospitals since SA Lotteries
was established in 1967. Enquiries: Rebekah Payne,
Public Relations Manager, Mobile: 0412 842 373, Telephone: 8208 4378.
SOURCE: SA Lotteries.
Meet Mr. &
Mrs. Lotto – Find Out What’s Their Line
The National Lottery celebrates creating 10,000
Lotto jackpot winners WATFORD, United Kingdom
(June 18, 2007) -- The National Lottery
is this week celebrating the creation of the 10,000th Lotto jackpot winner by
unveiling, for the first time ever, the definitive list of the UK’s top 40
luckiest professions – while, in another lottery first, modern technology
can now reveal what the typical Lotto jackpot winner looks like.
This is the first time the
top 40 professions have been released since the first Lotto draw took place on
19 November 1994 – and with such a huge sample of jackpot winners to
survey, it provides an accurate insight into the UK’s luckiest
lottery-winning careers. The top 40 has been categorised according to the way
both publicity and non-publicity winners described their occupation when they
won. Construction work is in first position, with
administration, management, driving, catering, manufacturing, customer
services, banking and finance, third-sector jobs like social or care work, and
IT all achieving a top 10 ranking. At the opposite end of the scale, funeral
director was the lowest-ranking profession in the chart in 40th position,
alongside bookmaking at 39, working with animals at 38, advertising and PR at
37, and mining at 36. A National Lottery spokesperson
said: “There are now 10,000 lucky people across the UK who have won a
share of the Lotto jackpot, so don’t be surprised if your next-door
neighbours look just like our average winners – it’s ordinary people
who genuinely do win. “When it comes to the
luckiest professions, the range of different jobs really proves that people
from all walks of life have won the Lotto jackpot. Just because funeral
directors are at number 40 on the list doesn’t mean they’re unlucky
– they’re clearly still winning!” The composite photographs of the average male and female
Lotto jackpot winners were created using similar techniques to the photofit
pictures of suspects issued by the police. The physical characteristics of Mr.
and Mrs. Lotto are based on a mixture of facial features taken from a
representative sample of publicity winners, who have won jackpot amounts
ranging from £500,000 to £15 million.
Around one fifth of the
10,000 UK adults who have now banked a share of the Lotto jackpot are
individual winners of £1 million or more – while, with one in four
National Lottery jackpots won by a syndicate, the remainder is made up of the
people playing in groups and sharing their winnings. The average Lotto
jackpot-winning ticket is worth a massive £2,136,956 but once that is
shared among the members of syndicate group, the average Lotto jackpot winner
actually receives £702,417. The top 10 lucky
lottery-winning professions are: 1. Construction work
(builders, labourers, etc) 2. Administration
3. Management 4. Driving
(lorries, taxis, etc) 5. Catering industry
(cooks/chefs, publicans, etc) 6. Manufacturing
(machine operators, factory workers, etc) 7. Customer
services (shop assistants, retail workers, etc) 8.
Financial sector (banking, insurance, stock market, accountancy, etc)
9. Care / social work, charity 10. IT / computing / electronics For
further information, please contact Camelot Press Office: 020 7632 5711
SOURCE: Camelot Press Office.
Wincor Nixdorf at
the European Lotteries Congress 2007 in Budapest Successful Trade Fair
Presentation KONSTANZ, Germany
(June 19, 2007) – Wincor Nixdorf
trained its sights on the future of the lottery world at the
European Lotteries Congress 2007 in Budapest.
Computer animations showed how playing will be more secure and convenient
– and the Wincor Nixdorf Bar proved to be a great attraction for visitors
throughout the event.
What will the future of
lottery playing look like? That is the question that guides product de-velopers
and programmers at Wincor Nixdorf Lottery Solutions. One development is
evident: lottery and retail are converging. Other trends are also foreseeable.
They relate to security and convenience in playing games at lottery outlets. In
order to give a vivid demonstration of these trends, Wincor Nixdorf invited
visitors to the European Lotteries Congress 2007 to take a look into the
future. On a 40-inch touchscreen with an integrated PC unit – developed by
Wincor Nixdorf – animated art figures, also called avatars, showed
different ways of playing games. This computer animation method is a simple
means of playing through new ideas and approaches – an ideal basis for
discussions. Apart from future trends in the sector,
the focus of the Lottery Solutions team in Budapest was on dialog with
customers and business partners. The “perfect mix” was served up by
barkeeper Mike, who spoilt the guests with cocktails of every variety at the
always busy Win-cor Nixdorf bar. “For a
change, we did not want to presented the finished products at Budapest, but
share ideas and views about future trends in the industry with our
customers,” said Markus Sauter, Head of Marketing at the Business Unit
Lottery Solutions. “Innovation, expertise, a willing-ness to discuss
and fun – that was our signal in Budapest and it made its mark,”
added Sau-ter. Fun and an unforgettable experience
for many were ensured by the “Segway”, a smart trans-portation
device that responds solely when the person on it shifts his or her weight.
Playful leveraging of innovations – that was the invitation and message
expounded by Wincor Nixdorf here. CONTACT: Wincor
Nixdorf Lottery Solutions, Markus Sauter (Head of Marketing),
Max-Stromeyer-Str. 116, D-78467 Konstanz, phone +49
(0)7531 94226-31, Email: markus.sauter@wincor-nixdorf.com,
Web Site: www.wincor-nixdorf.com
Lottery Proceeds
Top $259.7 Million for FY’07 MISSOURI, USA (June 15, 2007) -- Mega Scratchers games and a
record jackpot win helped the Missouri Lottery reach more than $259.7 million
in proceeds during fiscal year 2007. The 2007 proceeds are slightly lower than
FY06 record proceeds of $260.3 million. Today’s final monthly proceeds
transfer to public education was $19,662,080, bringing the total proceeds
transferred to Missouri’s public education during FY07 to $259,737,970
million. The June transfer is based on ticket sales in May.
"This past fiscal year, proceeds were right in line
with the previous record fiscal year," said Larry Jansen, executive
director of the Missouri Lottery. "We transferred our highest monthly
proceeds ever in February - $27.7 million ? which was based on January sales.
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"While Missouri has
enjoyed another successful year, our growth appears to be flattening,"
Jansen noted. "This is a trend happening throughout the Lottery industry.
Our retailers also tell us that high gas prices are significantly impacting
their in-store sales, which of course, includes Lottery tickets."
The Powerball jackpot
surpassed $200 million three times during fiscal year 2007, including the
jackpot being won in Missouri for the Lottery’s largest prize ever ? a
$254 million jackpot prize won by a St. Louis family in January 2007. In fiscal
year 2006, however, Powerball jackpots included two record jackpots of $340
million on Oct. 19, 2005, and $365 million on Feb. 18, 2006. As a result,
Powerball sales were approximately $20 million less than in 2006.
"The growth we have sustained is largely due to the
phenomenal success of our Scratchers games, and occasional significant
jackpots," Jansen added. "Our limited advertising resources hamper our
ability to introduce new games and re-energize the rest of our product lines.
We will continue to do the best we can with the resources we have available to
us." "In addition to the near record sales and
profits, we also set a new record low, the lowest percentage of sales (3.9
percent) spent on operating costs in the agency’s 20-year history,"
Jansen added. For each dollar spent on the Lottery,
more than 95 cents goes back to the citizens of the state in one form or
another. Approximately 61.8 cents is returned to players as prizes, 28.3 cents
goes to the state’s public education programs, 6 cents pays for
retailers’ commissions, incentives and bonuses, and 3.9 cents is used for
administrative costs. SOURCE: Missouri Lottery.
Another Follow-Up
Order: KEBA Receives An Order For Another 6,400 Lottery Terminals From The Most
Successful Lottery Worldwide
LINZ, Austria (June 20,
2007) -- KEBA AG and STL are continuing their
successful cooperation. On January 22, 2007, KEBA was commissioned to deliver
an additional 6,400 KeWin multimedia lottery terminals to the most successful
lottery worldwide – LAE (Loterías y
Apuestas del Estado), the Spanish State Lottery. Now, LAE is mostly
equipped with lottery terminals by KEBA. After the
successful commissioning of the first 2,200 KeWin multimedia devices in Spain
for LAE and their extremely positive performance, additional orders for 7,790
devices were placed in October 2006 and January 2007 by the Spanish STL
(Sistemas Técnicos de Loterías del Estado, S.A.). STL is
responsible for the technical operation and maintenance of the nearly 13,000
lottery terminals of LAE (Loterías y Apuestas del Estado), the Spanish
State Lottery. After delivery of the newly-ordered
KeWin multimedia devices, LAE, which serves the world’s largest lottery
population as measured by economic transactions, will be nearly completely
supplied with lottery terminals “made in Austria.” With the
follow-up order, KEBA has proven itself once again against high-caliber
international competition. “Authoritative for
the decision of LAE and STL were not just the outstanding product qualities
such as high availability, reliability and the maintenance-friendly design of
our terminals, but especially the professional follow-through and great
engagement of our employees,” according to Gerhard Luftensteiner,
Chairman of the Board of KEBA AG.
KeWin multimedia –
the multimedia high-speed terminal Thanks to their
great capability, the highest recognition rates, reliability and
state-of-the-art technology, the KeWin multimedia terminals used successfully
in Spain and Austria offer the highest availability of all lottery terminals.
The highest performance and modularity – both in the hardware and software
properties – prepare the terminal for the future and permit configuration
of the device according to customer requirements. Betting slips as large as DIN A4 and US letter are scanned
completely, evaluated and further processed by KeWin multimedia with the
highest recognition rates. Instant tickets are processed via barcodes, a
customer advertisement is available for multimedia marketing.
Lottery terminals by
KEBA – a success story For the first time in
1999, KEBA equipped 4,200 lottery points of sale in Austria with KeWin
multimedia, the high-speed lottery terminals for points of sale with medium to
high sales volume. Since then, KEBA has been the exclusive supplier for the
Austrian lotteries. In addition to the
Austrian lotteries and the Spanish lottery, KEBA also equips the Germany
company Fluxx with lotto terminals, thus
enabling the unique lotto games at supermarket checkouts across Germany.
STL CEO Alberto Lafuente Félez (left) with KEBA Chairman
Gerhard Luftensteiner (right) |
An Upper Austrian parade
company on the road to success With its 717
employees, KEBA AG, internationally successful with solutions for industry,
banking and service automation, has earned EUR 99 million – 76% of this in
foreign countries. Since 2004, KEBA has been represented by its own branch
office in Beijing, China; last year, two additional locations in Ningbo and
Guangzahou were added. For further information please
contact: Balaouras Helena, KEBA AG, A-4041 Linz, Gewerbepark Urfahr, Tel. +43
732/7090-5443, E-mail: bal@keba.com.
SOURCE: KEBA AG
Lottery’s 25 Millionth Ticket
Countdown BISMARCK, North Dakota,
USA (June 14, 2007) -- Just a little over three years after the first lottery
ticket was sold in North Dakota, the state is counting down to the twenty-five
millionth ticket. The player who purchases the 25,000,000th ticket will win
$25,000 cash from the North Dakota Lottery.
“This is a great
way for the Lottery to show our appreciation to North Dakota Lottery
players,” said Lottery Director Chuck Keller. “One day very
soon, a player buying a lottery ticket will hear Lady Luck’s voice coming
from the lottery terminal saying ‘Congratulations, you are the 25
millionth ticket winner” as the clerk hands over a ticket worth
$25,000.” How soon the Lottery gives out the
$25,000 cash prize for the 25 millionth ticket depends on how quickly the
lottery tickets are sold. All games qualify for the
promotion – Powerball, Hot Lotto, 2by2 and Wild Card 2. Tickets can be
purchased at any of the Lottery’s 400 retail locations.
“We don’t know where or when Lady Luck will find
this lucky player – but we know it will be soon,” said Keller. The
player will be issued a 25 millionth Congratulations Certificate with the lucky
25,000,000th ticket. Both will be needed in order to collect the cash.
Keller also recommends that the winning player immediately
sign both the certificate and ticket, and then contact the Lottery’s
office at 1-877-635-6886 to make arrangements to claim the $25,000 prize.
Since the Lottery was launched in March 2004, players have
won almost $22 million playing the North Dakota Lottery. To learn more about
this promotion and for complete rules visit the lottery’s website at
www.lottery.nd.gov or contact the lottery at 701-328-1574.
SOURCE: North Dakota Lottery.
Sungold®
Signs Letter of Intent to Launch Horsepower 8 World Pool Lottery in Partnership
With the Chippewa Indians, Owners of Chippewa Downs and Sky Dancer
Casino TORONTO, Ontario, Canada
(June 20, 2007) -- Sungold International Holdings Corp. ("Sungold")
(SGIH.F)(FRANKFURT: WKN 608164, Berlin) announced today that it has signed a
Letter of Intent with the Chippewa Indians' Sky Dancer Casino in Belcourt,
North Dakota, initiating a joint venture agreement to market and launch the
company's proprietary Horsepower 8 World Pool Lottery on the Internet.
The Horsepower 8 World Pool
Lottery is an Internet based lottery that will take place every weekend, and
will be based on the results of live horse races from participating North
American tracks. Horsepower 8 World Pool Lottery will offer players the
opportunity to select the first place finisher in each of eight live horse
races held at as many as eight different racetracks from anywhere in North
America. The first series of eight live races will
take place on Saturday with the second on Sunday. If there is no grand
prizewinner there will be a carryover to the next race date. It is expected
that carryover pools will build to life changing payouts on a regular basis.
The Horsepower 8 World Pool Lottery will also reward lottery players with
supplementary payouts on both days for picking five, six and seven correct.
Sky Dancer Casino is a Native American venue owned
and managed by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who also own
Chippewa Downs in Belcourt, a racetrack that presently features live
Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Paint Horse racing. Both the Casino and
Racetrack offer a full menu of simulcast wagering on a year-round basis.
SOURCE: Sungold International Holdings Corp.
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