Paul's Wall August 6

Lottery Expo is shaping up to be a very special event. I have been struggling to find someone who could combine an understanding of the way our industry really works with a broader perspective on how our strengths and weaknesses fit into big picture of macro-economic/political/social/cultural trends-lines. Our theme is "The best way to predict the future is to create it". But what does that mean - how do we "create" the future? The critical first step is to get a crystal clear picture of our mission. Even that is not so easy when you have as wide a variety of stakeholder interests as government lotteries have. The IBM Professor of Regulation and Competitive Practice of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Dr. Daniel Diermeier, will keynote the Weds afternoon session at Lottery Expo and help us forge that clarity of purpose that translates into performance and results. Visit www.PublicGaming.org for info on Lottery Expo.

But First: The World Lottery Summit (WLS 2012) is coming up September 9 to 12 in Montreal. This bi-annual is hosted this year by both the National Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) and the World Lotteries Association (WLA) and is by far our industry's biggest and most important event. With great speaker, provocative panel discussions, parallel educational tracks, the biggest and best industry trade show ever, all combine to make WLS 2012 a must-attend event. Please join us there for "a world of opportunities à la Montréal"!

Another reason to come to Montreal is to attend the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame ceremony. The 2012 Inductees will be announced on August 27. The venue is being announced now:

The Lottery Industry Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the World Lottery Summit in

Montreal, Canada at 5:00 pm. on Tuesday, September 11th. The specific room number will be announced soon. Please let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification. See you there !!!

I would like to extend a personal and heart-felt thank you to Gordon Medenica for his service to this industry over the last five years. Gordon just resigned as director from the New York Lottery, and it is my hope that our industry will continue to benefit by his wise and resolute leadership. Another adjective to apply would be informed. The lottery industry does not readily lend itself to an easy transfer of proven leadership and management abilities from other government agencies or unrelated businesses over to lottery. As important as those skills are, the need to accelerate the rate of innovation and change also depends on a deep understanding of the countless nuances that are quite unique to the lottery industry.

Thank you all for your support. I welcome your feedback, comments, or criticisms. Please feel free to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Mark your Calendars (Oct. 22-25) for Lottery Expo 2012 in Miami. And September 9 to 12 for World Lottery Summit in Montreal. Click on www.PublicGaming.org for more info about Lottery Expo and on . And visit http://www.world-lotteries.org/wls2012/ for more info about the World Lottery Summit.