Gaming briefs for Jan. 27, 2004

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2004 | 8:46 a.m.

Black lawmakers may object to lottery appointees

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The state Senate on Monday voted unanimously and without debate to confirm Gov. Phil Bredesen's appointees to the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. board of directors, but the appointments may run into trouble in the House.

The Senate's approval came almost a week after lottery tickets went on sale, and six months after board members began their jobs.

"They've done, in my opinion, an excellent job in getting the lottery started and taking their mission seriously, which is to maximize benefits for students," Sen. Steve Cohen, who sponsored the resolutions, told his colleagues before the 30-0 vote.

The resolutions were scheduled for consideration today by a House subcommittee, where things aren't expected to go as smoothly.

The Legislature's Black Caucus, which includes 15 House members, last week said it might vote against the confirmations because of what they said was a lack of Tennessee minority businesses participating in lottery contracts.

Ads aimed at casual players

BOSTON -- "You have to play."

That's the message Massachusetts Lottery officials hope viewers of two new television ads will take to heart. The two 30-second spots are the first television ads for the Lottery since 1997.

One shows a hotel desk clerk holding a lottery ticket after a frustrating day dealing with a convention of mimes.

The second shows a demoralized office worker counting the cubicles in his office and, at the end of the day, putting a lottery ticket on his refrigerator.

Both ads, which are set to begin airing on today, end with the tagline: "You have to play." The ads will also appear in newspapers and on the radio.

Lottery officials say the $1.9 million advertising buy is designed to promote the Lottery's Mega Millions game and is "aimed at creating jackpot awareness among the casual lottery player." Lottery officials say many of those casual players stopped buying tickets after the Lottery stopped advertising.