Public Gaming Research Institute / Public Gaming Magazine

Tom Shaheen Interview …continued from page 12pot games in all, or at least most, of the lotterystates throughout the country. We’ll integratewhat hopefully will be a sophisticated best practicesapproach to optimize performance of bothgames. The next step is the National Game. Ofcourse, we are working on all these initiativessimultaneously. As we move forward toward anational game, we need to focus on the prioritiesand the importance of execution. It is vitalthat we execute well each step of the way.The addition of the second jackpot gamehas the potential to impact sales in a dramaticway. Obviously, we do not want to raise expectationsunrealistically. But we do want toexecute in ways that truly deliver the full benefitsof what this initiative has to offer. Weneed to take this time to study and learn asmuch as we can about the dynamics of sellingtwo big multi-state jackpot games. We will belearning a great deal in the next six monthsand fine-tuning our approach continually toimprove and implement the best practices.It’s an exciting opportunity but the end resultwill be determined by how well we execute.Everyone anticipates achieving sales increases.The true measure of success, though,will be whether we leverage the maximumpotential that this initiative has to offer. Forinstance, 7% net overall sales increase wouldseem to be an impressive result. But what ifwe could have achieved 20% or even higher?Implementation of these two games presentsus with a tremendous opportunity. But alongwith that we have a massive responsibility towork diligently to ensure that we achieve thebest possible results.National Game?T. Shaheen:The things we learn overthe next several months while implementingboth games in all the different stateswill make us that much more prepared andeffective when it comes to implementingthe National Game. We believe the greateropportunity ultimately lies with a NationalGame. The strategy is that we will havegained excellent experience executing ourtwo big jackpot games, we will have learnedhow to maintain harmony within a largecontingency and, finally, we will have gainedexperience in how to deal with each other’spolicies, procedures and rules. We will havebuilt a set of Best Practices that can be appliedto additional initiatives like a NationalGame. So the development and implementationof the National Game should actually bea more seamless process.Will the National Game be a third big multistatejackpot game, or will you re-brand one ofthe two multi-state games?T. Shaheen:That’s the beauty of the wholeplan, Paul. We don’t need to decide that rightnow. Instead, we can take this opportunity toclosely analyze what works best during theimplementation of cross-selling Powerballand MegaMillions. We can apply the BestPractices approach towards the developmentof the National Game, leveraging our experiencewith the cross-selling initiatives that wedo this year, analyzing all the elements thatproduce the best results. We’ll take advantageof the mistakes we make along the way tolearn what not to do and what areas need themost attention. To answer your question, theNational Game could be a third large jackpotgame, or it is also possible that the NationalGame could eliminate either Powerball, MegaMillionsor both. We really don’t knowright now. The National Game will likely besimilar in playstyle to Powerball and Mega-Millions , but there may added features thatincorporate secondary plays, T.V. shows, etc.The game will most likely be at a higher pricepoint, such as $2, or $5. The jackpots couldpossibly grow to nearly a half billion dollarsor more. Having different jackpot sizes, pricepoints, and features will appeal to a broaderrange of player preferences. There may besome players who look only at jackpot size,others may look at the odds of winning, andothers may want to spread their play aroundto enjoy a variety and higher frequency ofdraws and winning opportunities. Mainly thisgives us the ability to create a game that hasappeal to a broad base of players.So often we are confronting choices in whichthe wrong choice has severe downside consequences.Sometimes we even choose betweenthe lesser of two bad choices. In this case, itseems like the challenge is that everything is sogood that you need to press hard to not settle formerely good when, with the extra effort, you canproduce great.T. Shaheen:I think that is correct. This willopen doors for new opportunities for all lotteriesin the U.S. to build their business. And mostimportantly, raise more money for beneficiarieswhile creating more options for the players.You are currently president of MUSL, theMulti-State Lottery Association. Could you explainthe mission and purpose of MUSL, and howit works to achieve those?T. Shaheen:MUSL serves a management,administrative, operational function for all thegames under the Multi-State Lottery Associationumbrella. The product most people arefamiliar with and talk about is Powerball. Butthere’s also Cashola, 2 by 2, Hot Lotto, and WildCard 2. MUSL’s responsibility is to manage theadministrative, financial, and operational functionsof all of these games.MegaMillions has a less formal structure thanthat, doesn’t it? What role did MUSL perform inthe cross-selling of MegaMillions and Powerball?T. Shaheen:MUSL staff have been participatingin the meetings and handling documentationof the processes that both partiesare agreeing upon. Member representativesfrom both organizations are involved with allaspects of decision-making such as building thelicensing agreements. As you might imagine,there are many details that need to be workedout and that require involvement from membersof both organizations. Each lottery has itsown set of issues, especially legal and complianceissues, which need to be addressed. Sowhile MUSL may perform some administrativeand support functions, these multi-stateinitiatives require the active involvement ofall parties to the agreements. MUSL staff doesnot have any decision-making authority. Thatis the domain of the lottery leadership and therepresentatives appointed by the Powerballand MegaMillions Groups. The lottery directorsserve as a Board of Directors.Why couldn’t MUSL be used to do otherthings? For instance, when you develop a nationalgame, won’t there be a need for management ofa national brand and advertising campaigns andall the things that go with promoting a product nationwide?Won’t there be a need to operate differentlyon the national stage than is done presentlywith each state operating in its own independentorbit? And couldn’t MUSL be a useful tool that isalready in place to coordinate something like that?T. Shaheen:MUSL does have a marketingdivision that performs research and make proposalsto its members. For instance MUSL staffmay have an idea or may have been contactedby an outside organization about a multi-statescale promotion such as a Superbowl package.MUSL staff can contribute to the developmentof a big picture plan for this type of multi-stateinitiative. They can do research, vet the prosand cons, make presentations to the directorsand/or invite third party researchers to makepresentations to the directors. 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