8 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 From the Publisher The World Lottery Summit Vancouver was quite the reunion of lottery leaders from all over the world. We will include in-depth reviews of the keynote speeches in the January issue of PGRI Magazine. For now, we want to congratulate Rebecca Paul for her re-election to president of the World Lottery Association; and Lynne Roiter for her being honored with the Guy Simonis Lifetime Achievement award; and Teams WLA, NASPL, and BCLC for producing a fabulous event. While the biannual WLS event is the big kahuna of the industry, the associations produce a whole host of educational seminars throughout the year. Visit their websites to learn more about them and hopefully plan to attend the ones most relevant to you. world-lotteries.org naspl.org european-lotteries.org asiapacific-lotteries.com cibelae.net www.africanlotteries.com Sadly, Guy Simonis passed away on October 6, less than two weeks prior to the WLS Vancouver. One of his very closest friends over the past 45 years is Michelle Carinci. I asked Michelle to share some of her Guy-experiences and she graciously agreed. His is indeed a very storied past and Michelle captures not just the events and anecdotes that inform our appreciation for what makes him so special – she conveys the sense of genuine love for this man with the outsized personality whose mere presence as well as bold leadership reshaped this industry. I was introduced to Guy in 2006 by my father-in-law Duane Burke. (Duane started PGRI in 1973 and his relationship with Guy went almost as far back as Michelle’s.) Guy became a close friend and confidante. We shared a world-view and approach to business that was disinclined to “play-it-safe” and avoid controversy. Susan and I wanted to make a difference, to be a positive and proactive advocate for the government-lottery industry. Guy helped us avoid miss-steps in those early stages when you “don’t know what you don’t know”. One minor example: I was so pleased and proud when talk-show host Dr. Phil McGraw invited me to join him for a segment on lottery. That was very shortly after Susan and I took the reins of PGRI in 2006. Guy was adamant that I not do it, explaining that Dr. Phil was not interested in promoting good-will towards lottery, but about creating sensationalism, and that would come at the expense of myself and the industry. Thankfully, my time to crashand-burn was postponed for the time being. But still, Guy was all about addressing the issues in a bold, straightforward way. And as you’ll see in the articles about Guy, he was quite instrumental in much of the recent history of lotteries in general, and especially in forging a global community of operators and technology partners with a shared interest in the success of government lottery and gaming to support good causes. On the subject of tackling tricky issues in a bold, straightforward way – I want to thank Rebecca Paul and panelists for what many have commented was a most interesting discussion. The goal of building the most productive and effective RFP and creating alignment of purpose and execution between lottery operator and technology partner is rich with headroom to improve. Some of the obstacles are systemic and resistant to change (state procurement policy, for example). Others can be difficult to discuss in general, and even more so in a public forum as they involve the application of financial levers and incentives to drive action. I respectfully submit that in spite of these concerns, it is important not only to talk about these issues, but to do so in a public forum, to engage everyone in the process of thinking about how to work together for optimal impact, productivity, and outcomes. We can all be a part of the solution, part of the process of forging pathways towards even better collaboration. Key to that, though, is understanding why things happen the way they do, why people behave the way they behave, what drives private enterprise to invest in innovation, what constraints govern the decisions and actions of state lotteries, etc. Of course, there are many obstacles, some of which can’t be overcome. But as this panel discussion reveals, there are in fact things that can be done to improve the effectiveness of the collaboration between state lottery operators and their technology partners. We just need to clarify our shared interests, and focus on creating mutually agreeable pathways towards achieving those. Next up is the EL/WLA Marketing Seminar and ICE Gaming Show in London February 7-10 (see article on page 31) and then PGRI Smart-Tech Florida March 28-30. Specific venue TBD. And a special thanks to all of our editorial contributors and advertisers! I appreciate our partnership, the leadership you provide this industry, and the brain-trust you share with our readership. Paul Jason, Publisher Public Gaming International Magazine Guy Simonis and Paul Jason
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