March/April 2015 // Public Gaming International //
47
ning to equipment rollout and on-site installation.
Randee Kerns, Diamond Game Director of Business
Development and Compliance, has been a key contribu-
tor to our program’s success. We have presented together
at many veterans’ organizations’ district meetings, as well
as at individual veterans’ post meetings. Those presen-
tations helped convince many organizations to join the
program. Our teamwork has enabled us to meet dead-
lines and provide organizations with quality service.
In addition, Diamond Game Marketing Director Sara
Navidazar and her staff assisted the MLGCA in providing
materials for presentations. This has truly been a team effort.
Do you think this program is a model for other lotteries to follow?
T. Slevin:
Yes, the agency is pleased with the response
by veterans’ service organizations. The program is prov-
ing to be a successful new revenue source for the partici-
pating veterans’ groups.
Has the ITLM program helped the Lottery integrate other
lottery products (like terminal draw games, scratch-offs, Keno, etc.) into
the new channel opened up by the ITLM?
T. Slevin:
Nearly 30 American Legion posts were already li-
censed Lottery retailers and had limited offerings of Lottery games.
Approximately two dozen of those posts have added ITLMs. Once
other organizations installed the ITLMs and saw the favorable play-
er reaction, they asked about adding traditional Lottery products.
Several organizations have expressed interest in adding Keno, Race-
trax and jackpot games later in 2015.
Based on your experience with the Lottery, why do you think the ITLM
Program has achieved the success it has seen so far?
T. Slevin:
Veterans’ service organizations on Maryland’s Eastern
Shore have had slot machines for decades. The demand has been
building steadily for some type of revenue-generating machine for
organizations west of the Chesapeake Bay. So, we already had pent-
up demand at many of these posts.
The ITLM in the LT-3 kiosk cabinet is high-tech, high-earning
equipment with HD spinning video reel graphics and multiple
game themes. At the July 2014 American Legion Convention in
Ocean City, Md., I received many comments about the impres-
siveness of the machine itself. There really is a cool factor to the
equipment and they are attracting attention at every veterans’ post.
I have even heard that veterans’ groups that have not yet joined
the program are getting requests to do so by their own members.
They reportedly go down the road to play the ITLMs at other
posts with the equipment and want to know why their organiza-
tions aren’t taking advantage of these revenue-generating machines.
Organizations can operate up to five machines and each machine
generates, on average, $700 net proceeds per week.
Another key factor is the payouts. The ITLM Program has an over-
all 90.5 percent payout over the course of a deal. There are six rolls to
a deal with a total of 192,000 tickets. The high payout makes it fun
for a player and gives them incentive to play for a longer period of
time. I have heard nothing but positive comments from the players
themselves about the payouts on the Diamond Game ITLMs.
Do you see the program continuing to grow in the future and why?
T. Slevin:
The success we’ve seen to date demonstrates that the
ITLM Program in Maryland has tremendous potential. Requests
are already coming in from organizations to add machines to meet
their members’ growing demands. Organizations can have up to
five machines at a site and some groups opted to begin with only a
few machines to test the waters.
We are still meeting with members of our original target market
of 154 organizations who opted to wait and see how other groups
fared with the equipment. After seeing the success of the program
we anticipate many of them will now be interested in adding
ITLMs to their sites.
May other lotteries contact you if they have questions about the program?
T. Slevin:
Absolutely. An initial point of contact is Charles
LaBoy, assistant director for gaming at the MLGCA. Charles is
the ITLM Contract Manager and has been instrumental in getting
the program up and running. He is available at Charles.LaBoy@
maryland.gov or 410-230-5588. Or, contact me at Tom.Slevin@
maryland.gov or 410-230-8909.
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