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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // September/October 2016
PUBLIC GAMING
INTERVIEWS
Tracey
COHEN
Interim Executive Director
DC Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board
The Unique Governance Model of the Lottery in the Nation’s Capital
PGRI Introduction:
Tracey Cohen is
forging her own indelible mark on the
industry. She is one of only a handful
of women at the helm of a state lot-
tery in the US. Thrust into leadership
in the wake of the sudden and un-
expected passing of her predeces-
sor, Buddy Roogow, Tracey is now a
force of her own. With over 20 years
in sales and marketing experience,
she is charting new waters for the
DC Lottery, the lone city-run lottery
in the nation and recently ranked by
an independent consultant as one
of the top ten lotteries in the coun-
try. Among her many accolades is a
2016 PGRI’s Lottery Industry Lifetime
Achievement Award. Let’s meet Trac-
ey Cohen, in her own words.
Paul Jason:
Tracey, tell us how you
came to the lottery industry.
Tracey Cohen:
Buddy would say that
he changed my life when I started working
for him at the Maryland Lottery. And, he
was right—to an extent. I approached the
opportunity well equipped with a master’s
degree in public and international affairs
from the University of Pittsburgh and a
solid background as an account executive
with an advertising and public relations
firm and then, director of marketing and
public relations for the Restaurant Asso-
ciation of Maryland. The ten years I spent
at the Maryland Lottery were exciting
and rewarding. The introduction of new
games, development of successful promo-
tional strategies, aggressive product line
management, and the brokering of stra-
tegic partnerships with professional sports
teams were all programmatic elements
that highlighted my tenure there.
So how was the transition from a state lottery
with state resources to the unique situation
that makes up the DC Lottery?
T. Cohen:
In 2010, I came to the DC
Lottery as the Chief Operating Officer.
That position offered me a real ‘lay of the
land’ perspective to assess the many work-
ing parts that ensure a successful lottery.
Since assuming the interim executive di-
rector’s post in 2015, I am proud of the
progress we’ve made and excited about the
future ahead.
We are unique as the only municipality-
operated lottery—which means our report
systems are a little different from state-run
agencies, our resources are not on a state-
funded level, nor do our territories span
across counties.
What we do have is the distinction of
being the lottery for the nation’s capital,
where the District’s population of over
670,000 swells to more than one million
people thanks to commuters teeming
into the city. We’ve been laser-focused
on capturing that audience. Our flagship
store located within the iconic Union
Station train station was our busiest lo-
cation during the historic billion-dollar
Powerball jackpot. Union Station sees
over 90,000 visitors daily. We’ve taken
advantage of this prime opportunity to
host exclusive on-site promotions, and
staged productions showcasing new
product launches. The Official DC Lot-
tery Store at Union Station continues
to outperform annual projections with
steady year over year gains in sales. This
‘winning destination’ is overall, our fifth
highest performing retailer.
Another effort to harness the buying
power of the influx of commuters and
travelers into the city has been our mobile
retail vehicle, the Lucky Lottery Mobile
(LLM). Bringing ‘fun on the run’ to busi-
ness corridors during the day, neighbor-
hood festivals, and special events all over
the District, the LLM is a mobile lottery
sales truck that brings the excitement of
the lottery right to the people.
We’re also leveraging partnerships with