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APRIL-JUNE 2020
BOOST SALES, COMMISSIONS IN 2020SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
keep coming back — and they bring their
friends with them. They share their experiences with others, which can boost or hurt your busi-ness’ image, attract or lose customers and impact sales and cashing commissions. Did you know that many keys to your success as a Lottery retailer are factors you can control? We want to help you identify opportu-nities — small and large —
A NEWSLETTER FOR MARYLAND LOTTERY RETAILERS
to increase sales of Lottery products and elevate your revenues in the final quar-ter of Fiscal Year 2020. Successful retailers agree that the way you and your staff interact with customers can make the difference between growing your business or seeing sales decline. In this issue, we expand on the following tips and techniques to keep players coming back for more. Check out page 3 for details.
INSIDE THIS ISSUESCRATCH-OFF LAUNCHES ......................................................... 4 Q & A with Mitchell Levy ......................................................... 6
RETAILER SPOTLIGHT
PAGE 7
• ASK for the sale.• OFFER in-store discounts and promotions.• BETTER manage your inventory.• ADD / IMPROVE a stay-and-play area.• APPEARANCES COUNT: Keep it clean & current.• KEEP equipment fully stocked.• ALWAYS be courteous.
1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330 Baltimore, MD 21230
mdlottery.com retailercorner.mdlottery.com
mdgaming.com
WAVE or Flair Terminal, PlayCentral HD (PHD), PlayCentral EX (PEX)
888-427-7568 (service issues)
Instant Ticket Lottery Machine (ITLM) (Veterans Services Organizations only)
800-886-9978
Tel-Sell Orders 866-832-1477
Retailer Customer Service 410-230-8800
ACCOUNTING, 1099s, NSF [email protected]
24/7 Problem Gambling Helpline
1-800-GAMBLER TEXT 1-800-522-4700
VOLUNTARY EXCLUSION PROGRAM The Lottery is strongly committed to
promoting responsible play and encourages retailers to display our Voluntary Exclusion
Program brochure. Questions? Visit mdlottery.com, click on “About Us” and then
“Responsible Play” or contact Jasmine Countess at 410-230-8798 or email
MARYLAND LOTTERY AND GAMING
Gordon Medenica, directorJohn Martin, managing director,
chief revenue officerAl Ringgold, director of sales
Retailer Report Contributors:Debbie McDaniel-Shaughney, editor
Mary Clark, graphic designer
RETAILER REPORT
PAGE 2 | RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020
WE’RE ENTERING the home
stretch of Fiscal Year 2020 with our bases loaded and a new teammate — FAST PLAY — up to bat. Will we hit a home run?
We think so, based on this product’s performance in other states and your proven skills selling Lottery products. In fact, our first FAST PLAY winner arrived to claim a $117,626 prize just two days after FAST PLAY launched! We expect sales to strengthen this quarter as more players add FAST PLAY tickets to their regular Lottery purchases. Be sure to have your managers and clerks promote
FAST PLAY to help boost customer awareness. With your help, we’re having a suc-cessful year, particularly when you compare year-to-year sales minus last year’s billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot roll. Still, we can build on lottery-industry best prac-tices to increase sales. Work with your district manager to optimize your product mix. Consider selling $20 and $30 scratch-offs if you don’t already do so. Focus your time and energy on managing your inventory, training your staff through the Lottery e-learning program and providing players with excellent customer experiences. Thanks for all that you do as our Lottery retail partners.
A MESSAGE FROM MARYLAND LOTTERY DIRECTOR GORDON MEDENICA
JAEGERS WINS TOP SALES HONOR
CONGRATULATIONS TO Jake Jaegers, district sales manager for Territory 17, on
winning District Sales Manager of the Quarter honors for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2020. The New York native works with Montgomery County Lottery retailers. See his full story online on Retailer Corner. Runners-up for the award were district sales managers Wade Harris, Region 3; Mike Nico-laides, Region 4; and J.R. Wells, Region 2. Congratulations to all!
Connect with us:
Award winner Jake Jaegers, left, with Regional Manager John O’Connor.
March 16 - April 12
(four weeks)
FINISH FISCAL YEAR 2020 ON A HIGH NOTE
RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020 | PAGE 3
TIPS & TECHNIQUES FOR BOOSTING REVENUES!
Following these best practices can help your sales increase.
ASK FOR THE SALE“Would you like to play the Lottery today?” “Would you like to try one of our new scratch-offs?” Many customers make sponta-neous purchases. When you cash winning tickets, ask, “Would you like to buy another game?” More sales bring more cashing com-missions and maybe a bonus for selling a top-prize winning scratch-off or a draw game winner. Con-sider sponsoring an em-ployee contest to reward those with the top Lottery sales each month.
Do you have a revenue-boosting idea or technique? Share it with your district sales manager to bring back to Lottery headquarters. You may see your idea in an upcoming issue!
purchases of specific Lot-tery games. Hold regular in-store drawings for Lot-tery players with prizes like a free tank of gas, sand-wiches or electronics.
games on a monitor. Retailers tell us their sales increase with stay-and- play areas.
ticket paper in terminals and vending machines? Be proactive with ticket paper orders so you don’t run out.
OFFER DISCOUNTS, PROMOTIONSExperiment with matching discounts to Lottery pur- chases. Consider coffee or snack discounts with
BETTER MANAGE YOUR INVENTORYPlayers love new games! Clear space for new instant tickets each month. Review your sales to see which price points your players favor. Your district sales manager can help you analyze how to best manage and display your inventory.
APPEARANCES COUNTAre store point-of-sale materials up to date? Are play centers or scratch-off dispensers worn or broken? Ask your district sales manager for re-placements. Keep Lottery areas clean. Place a trash can near stay-and-play areas and ticket checkers. Wipe down seats and tables as needed.
ALWAYS BE COURTEOUSTreat your customers with respect and be polite. Is a player upset? Tell clerks to call a manager to meet with the customer in a quiet area of the store. Listen actively and respectfully.
ADD / IMPROVE A STAY-AND-PLAY AREAGive players a comfortable, clean place to sit down and watch Keno or Racetrax
KEEP EQUIPMENT FULLY STOCKEDCheck vending machines and in-counter bins regularly. Does your staff know how to replace
PAGE 4 | RETAILER REPORT | OCT. - DEC. 2017PAGE 4 | RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020
LAUNCH: May 18 $1 – Lucky 7s / #484 $2 – Lucky 7s Doubler / #485 $5 – Lucky 7s Tripler / #486 $10 – Lucky 7s Multiplier / #487$20 – Lucky 7s 777/ #488
LAUNCH: April 20 $2 – $ummer Fun / #476* $10,000 top prize (7) $3 – Super Tic Tac Toe / #471 $30,000 top prize (8) $5 – Ca$h Payout / #477 $50,000 top prize (8)$10 – Win $50 or $100 / #478 $100 top prize (110,000)
LAUNCH: June 22 $3 – UNO™ 2nd Edition / #483 $5 – $25,000 Loose Change Multiplier / #475 $5 – Deluxe Crossword 5th Edition / #480 $10 – Bingo X10 / #490
* Second-chance promotion; see page 5.
SCRATCH-OFF UPDATE
PUT ANOTHER CANDLE on Pick 4’s birthday cake because this daily Maryland Lottery game turns 37 in April! Sales keep climbing, setting new records year after year. In Fiscal Year 2019, Pick 4 sales
reached a new high of $312.2 million. And, a new weekly sales record was set on Dec. 8, 2019. Happy birthday, Pick 4, and many more!
RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020 | PAGE 5
• MARKETING IDEA: The nearly 400 Lottery retailers that do not sell scratch-offs can now suggest scratch-off fans try FAST PLAY. Promote FAST PLAY to all customers who ask about scratch-offs.
• RETAILER BONUS: Sell a top-prize winner of $100,000 or more to earn a $1,000 bonus. Sell a top-prize winning ticket of $20,000-$99,000 to earn a bonus of 1 percent of the prize.
• NEW GAMES: We are building an inventory of FAST PLAY games so we can launch new games quar-terly or as needed if games sell out. We’ll roll out these games in May or June, un-less one is needed earlier to fill a sold-out price point.
FAST FACTS
HIGH STAKES FUN: WIN IN VEGAS!
007 and related James Bond Indicia © 1962-2020 Danjaq, LLC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. 007 and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
THE SECRET IS OUT and it’s sure to boost sales of your JAMES BOND 007™ scratch-offs!
Four lucky Maryland players will win five-day, four-night trips for two to Las Vegas to compete with lottery winners from around the country in the JAMES BOND Lottery Challenge. Although the trip takes place in 2021, drawings to select our four winners take place in 2020 on April 21,
May 19, June 16 and July 14. Tell players about the second-chance promotion to boost your sales of the JAMES BOND 007™ scratch-off. The four second-chance winners will each have the opportunity to win cash prizes up to $1 million in Las Vegas during the event and will also get to participate in a Bonus Event for the chance to win up to $100,000. mdlottery.com/jamesbondlotterychallenge.
FLIP-FLOPS, STEAMED CRABS, hotdogs and a grill — our $2 $ummer Fun scratch-off launches April 20 and features these elements of the season and more.
Tell players about this great game and its second-chance promotion that can put cash prizes of $2,500 in their pockets. Enter non-winning $ummer Fun scratch-offs into My Lottery Rewards to try to win one of the 20 total prizes. Drawings are May 28, June 30, Aug. 4 and Sept. 10. Details: mdlottery.com/summerfun.
SUMMER LUCKY WITH $UMMER FUN
Check out current promotions at mdlottery.com/rewards
EMAIL OR CALL IN your reservation today for one of the 18 Regional Retailer Advisory Board meetings taking place across the state April 7-23. Attendance is mandatory for Expanded Cashing Authority Program retailers. For dates and sites, visit Retailer Corner at mdlottery.com, talk to your district sales manager or check your business email for your invitation.
STILL TIME TO RSVP!
Regional Retailer Advisory Board Meetings
PAGE 6 | RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020
WITHRETIRED RETAILER
Mitchell Levy
Q) How did you get your start with the Lottery?
A) My father had a liquor store in Lanham and was one of the first Lottery retailers. My Saturday job was punching Lottery (num-bers into the register) and I was always told, “Do not move off that stool, keep punching!” Those early days were very busy.
Q) What games did you initially sell, just scratch-offs?
A) I always went all in from the start. I saw the value in no risk and very little cash outlay for a guaranteed return of 5 to 6 percent on any-thing sold. I looked at it as a great return on investment. We would show as many scratch-offs as our space would allow (always over 25 choices and 50 where I could) and all other terminal games including Keno and Racetrax.
Q) Did you have in-counter sales and one terminal or a larger operation?
A) We tried to make it as large as pos-sible and as comfortable for the players as possible. We had mul-tiple very large TVs at my own cost, tables and seating, too. I would try to build the business up so that we could get a second terminal and then it would really take off.
Q) Do you recall your stores ever selling a big winning ticket or scratch-off?
A) Yes! That was always exciting, we had a few $30,000 and $40,000 scratch-offs and a Racetrax win of around $30,000 once. We were a Super Agent (XCAP) at my Silver Spring location so we had many bigger winners there. The more big winners, the more excited players would be and want to play at the “lucky store.” We posted our bigger winning tickets for everyone to see.
Q) What made your Lottery customers keep coming back?
A) GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! Our customers knew we LOVED the
Lottery and understood ALL of the games, how they were played, how they paid, jackpot amounts, odds and hottest scratch-offs.
Q) What did you do to grow your Lottery sales?
A) I expanded my scratch-off offerings, trained my staff to live and breathe the Lottery, created comfortable seating areas (lottery lounge), gave my regular customers free snacks and drinks, and brought in lunch on busy Fridays. I treated Lottery cus-tomers like gold so they would not want to play anywhere else.
Q) What should retailers do to succeed as a Lottery retailer?
A) Give it the time and attention that it takes to build a good business. It is a business within your business. Treat it that way; it is not ancillary.
Q) Anything you would like to add?A) Like most things in life, you will get
out what you put into it. Every time I expanded my Lottery play area and gave it more attention, my sales increased without fail. It works!
Mitchell Levy is founder and principal of The Compliance Organization (www.thecomplianceorganization.com), and a 20-year member of Financial Service Centers of America (FiSCA). This successful businessman became a Lottery retailer in 2000, signing up his first Kash King location in Oxon Hill. During the
next two decades, he expanded his Lottery operations to additional stores in Clinton, District Heights, Marlow Heights, Rockville, Seat Pleasant, Silver Spring, Temple Hills and Waldorf. In 2017, Levy sold the stores “to a great group that is still operating them.” He offered to share his thoughts about Lottery operations.
RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020 | PAGE 7
This Washington County retailer actively promotes Lottery games and is an Expanded Cashing Authority Program (XCAP) participant. A convenience store with gas pumps, the business is celebrating 20 years as a Lottery retailer. It displays 54 scratch-off facings and seating for eight in a Keno parlor. Rising sales for each of the first three quarters of Fiscal Year 2020 show this retailer is on track for a banner year. RETAILER: Danny DiHora DISTRICT SALES MANAGER: Bill Wineland
WILLIAMSPORT SUNOCO, WILLIAMSPORT REGION 1
RETAILER SPOTLIGHT
Darshini Patel is a great Lottery partner. She is always open to suggestions on increasing Lottery sales as well as one of the top sellers in District Sales Manager Sarah Proctor’s territory. The store offers 60 scratch-off facings and sold a $2 million winning scratch-off in 2017 and a $207 million win-ning Mega Millions ticket in 2014. RETAILER: Darshini Patel DISTRICT SALES MANAGER: Sarah Proctor
LADYS LIQUORS, LA PLATAREGION 3
1
2
3
4
Retailer Danny Dihora
Retailers Tushar and Hetal Soni
Retailer Darshini Patel (right) with Sarah Proctor
Retailer Zelalem Gidafie
This husband-and-wife team is a top-selling Expanded Cashing Authority Program (XCAP) participant offering all games. They have a clean and inviting stay-and-play area and know a lot of their customers by name. The store’s 88 scratch-off facings give players a lot of choices. Their sales are on an upswing, with an increase in both the second quarter and a strong start to the third quarter. RETAILERS: Tushar and Hetal Soni DISTRICT SALES MANAGER: Todd Cearfoss
EZ QUICK FOOD MARKET, PASADENAREGION 2
Sales doubled under this store’s new management. This retailer listens to his players and addresses their concerns, which builds strong relationships. Crazy John’s is a positive influence in its neighborhood and its diverse product mix includes Lottery tickets, food, novelties and souvenirs. RETAILER: Zelalem Gidafie DISTRICT SALES MANAGER: Stanley Harris / Michael Nicolaides
CRAZY JOHN’S, BALTIMOREREGION 4
$100,000
$2 MILLION
Decanter Fine Wines, Columbia $50,015
7-Eleven #11678, Oxon Hil $2,000,000 Mega Bucks
Tantallon Exxon, Fort Washington $20,000
Market 21, Baltimore $30,012Cigalotto, Randallstown* $21,459.50
$50,000
RETAILER PRIZE
RETAILER GAME
LUCKY RETAILERS SELL WINNING TICKETS
PAGE 8 | RETAILER REPORT | APRIL-JUNE 2020 * Expanded Cashing Authority Program Retailer
Congratulations to our January roster of lucky retailers. This is a condensed list; check Retailer Corner at mdlottery.com for complete lists of lucky
retailers that sell winning tickets of $10,000 and up and winning scratch-offs of $20,000 and up.
Weis Markets #228, Towson $50,0047-Eleven #39563, Columbia $50,000A-1 Laundromat, Riverdale* $50,000Giant #135, Silver Spring $50,000Safeway #1559, Middletown $50,000Value Dollar, Hyattsville $50,000Wawa #8507, Glen Burnie $50,000 Weis Markets #062, Woodstock $50,000Whitey’s Liquors, Linthicum $50,000
(A)
7-Eleven #23703, Parkville Gold Rush X1007-Eleven #32341, Elkton THE PRICE IS RIGHT®AC&T #320, Hagerstown Super Bonus BucksClinton Mart, Clinton Super Ca$hConvenience Express, Silver Spring* LOTERIA™ GrandeEden Quick Stop, Eden LOTERIA™ GrandeGiant #128, Lutherville-Timonium Super Ca$hGiant #323, Easton Super Ca$hIng Wireless, Baltimore 50X The CashMutt’s Liquors, Indian Head Super Ca$hPilot Travel Center #179, Hagerstown 50X The CashQuarterfield Liquors, Glen Burnie 20X The CashQuick Mart Trappe Road, Dundalk 88 FortunesScott’s II, Welcome Holiday Gold Shoppers #2342, Clinton Holiday GoldSlide In Mart, Glen Burnie Holiday GoldWinchester Liquors, Grasonville Gold Rush X20
(B)
7-Eleven #39224, Hyattsville Bingo X10Ballenger Creek Pike Exxon, Frederick* Emerald 10sBarnes Store, Frederick The Money Game Chesapeake Wine Shoppe, Waldorf Power 8sDash In #18322, Ellicott City Gold Rush X50E-Z Convenience, Towson* 50X The CashFood Lion #0656, Leonardtown $100,000 Crossword FSK News, Frederick $100,000 Instant JackpotGoose Creek Food Stores #01, Pocomoke City Winter Cash TriplerLangley Shop, Hyattsville $10 RavensLucky’s Deli & Market, Odenton* The Money Game Maple Lawn Market, Fulton Cash Club
A) Wawa #8507: (From left) Employees Aquira, Sarah, Alicia, Dawn, Mike (manager), Cathy and Adaisha.
B) Scott’s II: Scratch-off winner Nick Hill (right) with Sarah Proctor, Lottery district sales manager.
SCRATCH-OFFS
TERMINAL & JACKPOT GAMES
