North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries Where the Money Goes

Issue 19 - August 3rd, 2018


We're Not Bad - We're Just Drawn That Way

I wrote last month in celebration of the past good year with hopes for a successful one to follow, which started July 1. Let's be honest, that was largely a nod to the good folks that work in sales and marketing and the revenue success of the past year. But I went to law school; such skills are not in my set of crayons, not even the big box with the sharpener. My training is as a member of the Sales Prevention Team.

I started my lottery pilgrimage as a lottery general counsel. I was often referred to as the Chief of the Sales Prevention Team - or known even more simply as "Dr. No." Yup, that was me and my name for seven years as chief lawyer for the Massachusetts Lottery. I swear the sales and marketing folks would wait until I was on vacation to proceed with initiatives that they knew I would shoot down.

We were actually a team; there was the chief auditor, the head of information technologies, and me - the chief lawyer. I think the sales and marketing folks (or as we referred to them, arts and crafts) had voodoo dolls of us and a dart board. So allow me a moment to defend the Sales Prevention Team members in your various shops. Sometimes they wield too much authority, sometimes not enough, but their fundamental goal - their nature - is to protect; to insure in the broadest sense of the word and to make sure everything works like it's supposed to work. So give them a bit of a break.

I'll give you an example of what I mean. Vendor A comes in with a licensed property for a casino in Las Vegas. (I use this example because a bunch of companies offer these, and I'm protecting certain folks that I'm fond of.) They make their presentation and the sales folks love it, because lottery players love Vegas trips. I know, shocking, lottery players like to gamble. But I ask, as a Sales Prevention Team member must, "Can an 18-year-old check into a Las Vegas casino, and specifically this casino? You know, because 18-year-olds can buy lottery tickets." "Of course," was the response. "Not a problem, they can absolutely check in."

So in the conference room, with the vendor there, I pick up a phone, call the hotel and ask, "I'm an 18-year-old guest, can I check in?" "No, you must be 21." Typical lawyer, trust but verify...

Was it pleasant? Nope, not even close; but was it way better than having players fly to Nevada from Boston and then be denied a room? So very much way better. We worked on a cash value for the dozen or so players under 21 that ended up winning. The ticket sold well, lots of folks had a great trip and a dozen or so under-21s got a check for the value of the trip. Nothing to see here folks, move along. I often said my best work was the train wrecks I stopped from even leaving the station.

So then I became a director of a lottery. My first instincts were to go back to my training and run a risk averse shop, which works great until you realize that we actually have to make money (as in last month's column). So we have a number of department heads here, all with incredible skills, but ultimately different wiring. I don't ask our very talented marketing director to do high end accounting; I don't ask the chief financial officer to come up with promotions. It's up to the director to try and meld the differences into a coherent framework so that everyone is rowing in the same direction. Sounds easy; it's really not. Everyone comes with different wiring - different DNA - and all have to be respected. I tell each member of my senior team that they have the God-given right to walk into my office and tell me how stupid I am. They not only have the right, I demand they exercise it if the need arises.

My sincere wishes for a great end to the summer - until next month...

Charlie McIntyre (recovering attorney)

PS: I would have included a photo of Jessica Rabbit, who uttered the line that forms the title of this piece, but my HR director and my lawyer wouldn't let me!

Charles McIntyre
NASPL President

background image