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// Public Gaming International // March/April 2015
Major Peter J. O’Connell
Lottery Industry Lifetime
Achievement Award
Awarded to Recognize a Lifetime of Dedication which has Contributed
to the Great Success of Government Lotteries
Created in 1993 to honor Major Peter J. O’Connell, first director of the Rhode Island Lottery, recipients of this award have distinguished themselves over
a long period of time and have made important contributions to the success of their peers and the lottery industry, as well as to the lotteries that they serve.
We are pleased and honored to announce the recipients of this award for 2015. The ceremony honoring Ms. Gibbs, Ms. Rose, and Ms Young Wilson is
being held at the PGRI Smart-Tech Conference in NYC.
Marty Gibbs
Executive Vice
President and Chief
Operating Officer,
Kentucky Lottery Corp.
Marty Gibbs joined the KLC
in June 1993. Her first job in the lottery in-
dustry came in Colorado, where she worked as
director of operations at the start of the lottery
there. She then went to the Hoosier Lottery
in Indiana for four years as director of finance
and administration.
In 1993, she accepted a job as Sr. VP Finance
& Administration of the Kentucky Lottery. Just
six weeks into her term, the governor demanded
the resignations of all board members and the
majority of management members due to a state
auditor’s report which found conflicts of inter-
est, questionable procurements and financial
practices and abuse of expense accounts. Marty
directly appealed to the governor—she had not
been part of the problem, and wanted to be part
of the solution. He in turn appointed her acting
president, a position she held until the hiring
of Arch Gleason as president & CEO August
31, 1993, that year. Marty’s work in what was
truly the darkest days of the Kentucky Lottery
helped the organization not only survive but
thrive, and she is widely credited with helping
President Gleason and the KLC Board steer the
ship through a crisis of public trust.
Shortly after his hiring, President Gleason pro-
moted Marty to the position of Executive Vice
President & COO. A few of her duties include
overseeing all of the internal operations, finance
and administration, security, information tech-
nology, sales and marketing and human resourc-
es. Marty has a Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration from the University of Northern
Colorado with an emphasis in Accounting. She is
also a certified public accountant.
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Wanda Young Wilson
Chief Operating Officer,
General Counsel and
Corporate Secretary
Tennessee Education
Lottery Corp.
Wanda Young Wilson is an accomplished attor-
ney with extensive marketing and business de-
velopment experience. She began her career in
the lottery business in 1993 with the inception
of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, where she
served as the Senior Vice President and General
Counsel for ten years.
In 2003, Wanda’s experience in public gaming
and expertise in developing internal systems and
controls took her to Tennessee, where she ac-
cepted the position of Executive Vice President
and General Counsel to the Tennessee Educa-
tion Lottery Corporation. On January 20, 2004
the hard working team at the Tennessee Lottery
began selling tickets 21 days ahead of schedule.
As a consequence, the Tennessee Lottery has re-
ceived high acclaim as being one of most success-
ful lottery launches in the history of the United
States. In addition to her role as General Coun-
sel in 2014 Wanda was named the lottery’s Chief
Operating Officer.
Wanda has received several professional awards
for her contributions to the public gaming indus-
try, including being named one of the 50 most
powerful African Americans in Tennessee and
receiving the Individual Star Diversity Award of
Excellence from Corporate Counsel Women of
Color. Wanda currently serves on the Board of
Directors of Purpose Preparatory Charter School
in Nashville and is a mentor with Big Broth-
ers/Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. She is a life
member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a
member of the Music City Chapter of The Links,
has served on the Board of Directors of the At-
lanta Chapter of the Association of Corporate
Counsel, and is a founding member of the Geor-
gia Association of Black Women Attorneys.
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Peg Rose
Deputy Director,
Rhode Island Lottery
Peg Rose started with the
Rhode Island Lottery in
1988 when she was hired by then Lottery
Director, Major Peter J. O’Connell. Over the
years, Peg was promoted into various positions
including Executive Assistant, Administration
Manager, and in 2005 became the Lottery’s
first female Deputy Director. Prior to joining
the Lottery, Peg served as Special Assistant to
the President and CEO of ITT Grinnell Cor-
poration working in both Providence and New
York City from 1974 to 1987.
Since joining the Lottery, Peg has been in-
volved with every RFP and contract, written
all of the Lottery’s Rules, Regulations, and
Policies and Procedures, and has headed up
the Rhode Island Lottery’s Play Responsibly
Program. In that role, she is responsible for
the oversight of the Lottery-sponsored Prob-
lem Gambling Helpline, works closely with
the management of the two Lottery-operated
Gaming Facilities, Lottery Retailers, and serves
as the Lottery’s representative on the Rhode
Island Council on Problem Gambling, the Na-
tional Council on Problem Gambling, and the
New England Consortium.
Director Gerry Aubin said, “As Deputy Di-
rector, Peg is an integral part of the Lottery’s
senior management team and is known for her
institutional knowledge and is the go-to per-
son on all facets of Lottery operations. Peg has
a wealth of institutional Lottery knowledge
and has the ability to recall and locate informa-
tion on issues that occurred well over 25 years
ago. The concern is that someday she will retire
and take all that knowledge with her.”
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