Talk Business pushes first interview with new Arkansas lottery director

The first indepth interview with Arkansas’ new lottery director comes courtesy of Roby Brock, a content partner with The City Wire, at TalkBusiness.net.

Former South Carolina lottery director Ernie Passailaigue (pronounced pass a laig) was hired Friday by the Arkansas Lottery Commission at a somewhat controversial annual salary of $324,000. Passailaigue is now in charge of getting advertising contracts out, assigning vendors for gaming equipment, pulling together a management team and staff and establishing a retail network for lottery ticket sales.

Highlights of Brock’s interview with Passailaigue include:
• “When I get here and get off the plane, I’d like to find out where here is,” says the 61-year old grandfather of seven in his thick South Carolina drawl. “Not being flippant about it, but I’ll be starting at ground zero.” He’ll have no office, but be expected to get a half billion dollar a year sales operation off the ground before year’s end.

• One of his first orders of business will be getting gaming contracts and an advertising contract out for bid. There will be two major gaming contracts — the “instant ticket” (a.k.a. “scratch off ticket”) gaming contract, and the “online” gaming contract.

• The lucrative advertising contract will likely be completely outsourced in the beginning since Arkansas will be more focused on the start-up aspects of the lottery, the new director says. Once the lottery matures, some advertising functions could be pulled in-house to save money.

• A vast majority of retailers that will sell lottery tickets in Arkansas will be convenience stores that sell gas. Passailaigue argues that this lottery profile works well because it gets customers away from the pump and inside the store. When they get in the store, they buy lottery tickets and additional items, which have higher profit margins.

• The technology exists and Passailaigue expects to let contracts for vendors that will include an ATM-style lottery machine at certain outlets where a player can go to a self-standing terminal and buy tickets.  If they win, they can cash them in at the machine.  Drivers license identification technology can be used to guard against underage play.

• The Arkansas Lottery could eventually employ up to 95 people, but Passailaigue has a solid idea of how his first few hires may unfold. “You’ve got to hire your management team first. There’s some positions that will require not only lottery experience, but ‘lottery launch’ experience.” He says candidates for hire need not apply if they’re not willing to devote every waking hour to the lottery for the next 6 months to a year. Passailaigue begins July 1st and explains that he’ll be working through July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and “probably Christmas.”

• Arkansas’ state procurement rules and regulations are the only potential barrier he sees that could trip up his timetable for selling the first ticket. So, will tickets be sold by the end of 2009? “If they’re not, I’ll be the former director of the Arkansas Lottery,” Passailaigue laughs.

Link here for Brock’s complete story from the interview.