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Tri-State Lotto Commission
TRI-STATE LOTTO COMMISSION Present: Thomas Scala, Vermont Lottery The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Chair Scala. ACCEPTANCE OF THE AUGUST 1, 2008 MINUTES FY08 AUDIT REPORT BY JEFF WALLA, BARRY, DUNN, MCNEIL AND PARKER FINANCE COMMITTEE – Mary Cassani Total Expenses for July 2008 are down from last July $635,453. This represents a decrease in cost of sales of $648,572 and a decrease in operating expenses of $13,119. Comparing what we have budgeted for July, our sales are behind forecast in all three states a total of $133,170. Due to decreased sales, cost of sales is also under budget by $92,941. All three states have under spent their operating budgets this year by a total of $308,121. Of this $290,864 is for advertising. All contingency funds are in the positive at the end of July. Expired, unclaimed prizes are approximately $1.2 million. The Finance Committee met yesterday to discuss two issues. In September 2003, the commission voted to transfer $900,000 from the Designated Prize Reserves to fund Contingency Funds for Pick 3, Pick 4 and guaranteed Megabucks jackpots. At this time, the Pick 4 Contingency Fund has over $1.4 million. The committee would like to request commission approval to transfer the $250,000 used for Pick 4 back into the Designated Prize Reserves. The second issue discussed concerned the status of the legal contract being negotiated to deal with prize assignments. The commission had approved negotiations with a law firm following a bid process that stalled. The law firm was given a copy of the contract in February and had also requested a waiver for other cases they may have against the State of Vermont. This firm was advised to speak to the Attorney Generals’ Office about this and finally, after repeated calls, returned the signed contract in June. In the meantime, our previous lawyer, Barbara Prentice, who had been working on the assignments, has shown interest in working for us again. She is no longer working for a law firm and has taken a job with Banking and Insurance for the State of Vermont, hence the reason we began looking for another lawyer. Since we have had concerns that arose during the negotiations with timeliness and reliability, we asked Barbara Prentice to send a proposal. The rate she is offering is less than the original law firm. However, since she is not associated with a law firm any more she is not covered by insurance and would have to get coverage. The coverage is about $1,000. Barbara is the only lawyer Tri-State has ever engaged with other than the Attorney Generals’ office. She is reliable, at a lower rate and will spend less time on her work. We feel it is in our best interest to hire her and to pay for the insurance, reimburse her with proof of coverage and payment. The Finance Committee would like to negotiate with Barbara Prentice for legal services to include covering the insurance cost. MOTION MOTION MARKETING COMMITTEE – Maura McCann We are getting ready to launch Weekly Grand. New Hampshire shared their point-of-sale material. The palm card brochure, which will be produced from the online terminals, is just about ready. DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – Hadley Melendy Hadley reported on the success of Double Draw Dollars on Pick 3/Pick 4 sales. Sales also indicate a residual effect from the promotion. Weekly Grand is scheduled for a February 1, 2009 launch. Various state promotions are scheduled. The New Hampshire Lottery requested permission to use a portion of their funds in the offering of a Weekly Grand ticket for Megabucks, Powerball and Hot Lotto ticket purchases. MOTION VERMONT A Cash for Gas promotion is scheduled for September. Every “nth” Powerball or Megabucks ticket of $5 or more will have a $100 instant win. Maine – With the purchase of a Weekly Grand ticket, players will receive a raffle number. The winning number will be drawn using the Random Number Generator (RNG). With every “nth” $5 Powerball or Megabucks ticket, there will be a $100 instant win. There will also be a Homestead promotion. This promotion is sponsored by MUSL. The winner will attend NASCAR races in Florida. A Powerball promotion is scheduled in November and a Holiday promo in December. In September, Focus Groups will be utilized in developing Megabucks game enhancements. The Commission was given the schedule to review. The last game to be reviewed for a possible change is Daily Numbers. A date of early November 2009 has been set as a target date for changes/enhancements to the games. DRAW COMMITTEE – Maura McCann MOTION OPERATIONS COMMITTEE – Rich Sperlazzi SCIENTIFIC GAMES – Doug Parker Doug expressed SG’s appreciation for the opportunity to give a game presentation yesterday. ACCEPTANCE OF THE COMMITTEE REPORTS MOTION OTHER BUSINESS Director Yandow presented a request for payment of a winning Pick 4 ticket from an agent in Vermont. Tickets were purchased and misplaced by the agent and may have been thrown away. MOTION Motion was seconded and voted in the affirmative. The next commission meeting is scheduled for October 3, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. at the New Hampshire Lottery Commission in Concord, NH. A motion to adjourn was made at 10:15 a.m.
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