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Eastern Time (GMT-5:00) | Home -> Forums -> Lottery News -> Scientific Games appeals N.J. Lottery's award to GTECH Scientific Games appeals N.J. Lottery's award to GTECH Scientific Games: Scientific Games appeals N.J. Lottery's award to GTECHOverbid by nearly $32 million in its unsuccessful attempt to get the state's lottery contract, Scientific Games filed a protest Tuesday claiming officials skewed the bid proposals to keep its current operator. Earlier this month, the state announced its plans to give GTech Corp., the current lottery operator, a new five-year contract, even though it wasn't the low bidder. The state justified the decision by saying GTech offered a more secure and reliable system and outscored Scientific Games on a ranking system devised by members of an evaluation committee. But in its protest report, Scientific Games contends the state's evaluation report was geared to make the challenger look tainted and the incumbent flawless. "It made countless inaccurate statements about Scientific Games and its bid. It identified risks that do not exist and greatly overstated others," the protest said. "It found no fault with or risk in GTech's proposal. It also drastically, and impermissibly, skewed the risk analysis in GTech's favor." A spokesman for Scientific Games declined comment. Bob Vincent, a spokesman for GTech, said he hadn't seen the protest and would not address specifics. "We obviously thought the evaluation was handled fairly and evenly, and that can be determined or verified in whatever process goes forward," Vincent said. Among Scientific Games' other complaints: The state illegally asked for a best and final offer when GTech originally came in $67 million more -- without prior notice. The lottery has a conflict of interest with GTech because MWW, a politically connected public relations firm, has a public relations contract with the lottery and is a lobbyist for GTech. The state did not consider any risk from a potential buyout of GTech by Goldman Sachs and Lottomatica, an Italian company that in the past hasn't been able to get a license from the state Casino Control Commission. Tom Vincz, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department, also declined comment on specifics until the protest is over. The head of the Division of Purchases and Public Property will make a ruling on the protest, which can be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. There is no deadline for a decision, Vincz said. The contract covers operating and maintaining the software and hardware associated with the state's network of 6,200 lottery machines. GTech bid $106.7 million and Scientific Games offered $75 million. Cherry Hill Courier Post We'd love to see your comments here! Register for a FREE membership — it takes just a few moments — and you'll be able to post comments here and on any of our forums. If you're already a member, you can Log In to post a comment. 10 comments. Last comment 6 years ago by . Sparta, NJ United States Member #18644 July 9, 2005 1977 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 23, 2005, 9:05 am - IP Logged | |
I am unaware of retailer viewpoints, but from a player viewpoint, the system works. Leave it alone. Every time they change things, it tends to go downhill. 
|||::> *'`*:-.,_,.-:*''*:--->>> Chewie <<<---.*''*:-.,_,.-:*''* <:::||| I only trust myself - and that's a questionable choice | | |
United States
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June 5, 2002
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| | Posted: November 23, 2005, 12:22 pm - IP Logged | |
I am unaware of retailer viewpoints, but from a player viewpoint, the system works. Leave it alone. Every time they change things, it tends to go downhill. NY uses Gtech. I have no problem with Gtech, it's the NY Lottery itself I'm critical of. | | |
MA United States Member #11667 February 14, 2005 72 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 24, 2005, 4:20 am - IP Logged | |
I play both companies a bit (Gtech in MA, SG in NH) and I think Scientific Games makes a far superior lottery terminal. Gtech is still stuck in the past, with dot-matrix printers that don't print well when they get hot. They're still readable, but the bar codes can't scan. I've seen a Gtech machine in Michigan catch fire from the printer head getting too hot after printing 50 tickets, a Gtech machine in MA start smoking after 80, and another Gtech machine in MA get a printer jam, charging me for a ticket that didn't print. (I know I didn't have to pay for it, but I did anyway, since the store owner is a friend of mine, and it actually wound up winning me $10. Though I must have spent 5 hours on the phone with the lottery to try and get my $5). I've never seen a Scientific Games machine fail. At the NH state liquor outlet (on the MA border) both of their machines were running non-stop for 10 hours when the powerball got big a few weeks ago, but even after 10 hours the laser printers were printing crisp, clear bar codes (in a non-proprieary format, unlike gtech), and the machines were cool to the touch.
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United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
11296 Posts
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| | Posted: November 25, 2005, 4:02 pm - IP Logged | |
I play both companies a bit (Gtech in MA, SG in NH) and I think Scientific Games makes a far superior lottery terminal. Gtech is still stuck in the past, with dot-matrix printers that don't print well when they get hot. They're still readable, but the bar codes can't scan. I've seen a Gtech machine in Michigan catch fire from the printer head getting too hot after printing 50 tickets, a Gtech machine in MA start smoking after 80, and another Gtech machine in MA get a printer jam, charging me for a ticket that didn't print. (I know I didn't have to pay for it, but I did anyway, since the store owner is a friend of mine, and it actually wound up winning me $10. Though I must have spent 5 hours on the phone with the lottery to try and get my $5). I've never seen a Scientific Games machine fail. At the NH state liquor outlet (on the MA border) both of their machines were running non-stop for 10 hours when the powerball got big a few weeks ago, but even after 10 hours the laser printers were printing crisp, clear bar codes (in a non-proprieary format, unlike gtech), and the machines were cool to the touch.
A lottery terminal catch fire? It must have spit out an annuity-only ticket  | | |
Northern California United States Member #20270 August 9, 2005 145 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 29, 2005, 10:32 am - IP Logged | |
I play both companies a bit (Gtech in MA, SG in NH) and I think Scientific Games makes a far superior lottery terminal. Gtech is still stuck in the past, with dot-matrix printers that don't print well when they get hot. They're still readable, but the bar codes can't scan. I've seen a Gtech machine in Michigan catch fire from the printer head getting too hot after printing 50 tickets, a Gtech machine in MA start smoking after 80, and another Gtech machine in MA get a printer jam, charging me for a ticket that didn't print. (I know I didn't have to pay for it, but I did anyway, since the store owner is a friend of mine, and it actually wound up winning me $10. Though I must have spent 5 hours on the phone with the lottery to try and get my $5). I've never seen a Scientific Games machine fail. At the NH state liquor outlet (on the MA border) both of their machines were running non-stop for 10 hours when the powerball got big a few weeks ago, but even after 10 hours the laser printers were printing crisp, clear bar codes (in a non-proprieary format, unlike gtech), and the machines were cool to the touch.
Hey - where do I sign up on the SGI payroll? I mean come on, what a load of crap. I Try tallking to a lottery retailer in Connecticut. They'll tell you how happy they are with their lottery terminal AND the service they get for it. | | |
United States
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June 5, 2002
11296 Posts
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| | Posted: November 30, 2005, 12:47 pm - IP Logged | |
I play both companies a bit (Gtech in MA, SG in NH) and I think Scientific Games makes a far superior lottery terminal. Gtech is still stuck in the past, with dot-matrix printers that don't print well when they get hot. They're still readable, but the bar codes can't scan. I've seen a Gtech machine in Michigan catch fire from the printer head getting too hot after printing 50 tickets, a Gtech machine in MA start smoking after 80, and another Gtech machine in MA get a printer jam, charging me for a ticket that didn't print. (I know I didn't have to pay for it, but I did anyway, since the store owner is a friend of mine, and it actually wound up winning me $10. Though I must have spent 5 hours on the phone with the lottery to try and get my $5). I've never seen a Scientific Games machine fail. At the NH state liquor outlet (on the MA border) both of their machines were running non-stop for 10 hours when the powerball got big a few weeks ago, but even after 10 hours the laser printers were printing crisp, clear bar codes (in a non-proprieary format, unlike gtech), and the machines were cool to the touch.
Hey - where do I sign up on the SGI payroll? I mean come on, what a load of crap. I Try tallking to a lottery retailer in Connecticut. They'll tell you how happy they are with their lottery terminal AND the service they get for it. My favorite Connecticut store is not far from the state line. They sold CT's first Powerball jackpot winner in 1997. They used to have two machines, but now just one. | | |
MA United States Member #11667 February 14, 2005 72 Posts Offline | | Posted: December 25, 2005, 2:04 am - IP Logged | |
Another bad GTECH experience this weekend. I went in to buy $100 worth of cash winfall tix, and the paper was near the end of the roll. Several paper jams later, the machine had printed $50 worth of tix and had registered a total of $110. Give me a break.
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Stroudsburg, PA United States Member #1860 July 11, 2003 2642 Posts Offline | | Posted: December 25, 2005, 2:51 am - IP Logged | |
I play both companies a bit (Gtech in MA, SG in NH) and I think Scientific Games makes a far superior lottery terminal. Gtech is still stuck in the past, with dot-matrix printers that don't print well when they get hot. They're still readable, but the bar codes can't scan. I've seen a Gtech machine in Michigan catch fire from the printer head getting too hot after printing 50 tickets, a Gtech machine in MA start smoking after 80, and another Gtech machine in MA get a printer jam, charging me for a ticket that didn't print. (I know I didn't have to pay for it, but I did anyway, since the store owner is a friend of mine, and it actually wound up winning me $10. Though I must have spent 5 hours on the phone with the lottery to try and get my $5). I've never seen a Scientific Games machine fail. At the NH state liquor outlet (on the MA border) both of their machines were running non-stop for 10 hours when the powerball got big a few weeks ago, but even after 10 hours the laser printers were printing crisp, clear bar codes (in a non-proprieary format, unlike gtech), and the machines were cool to the touch.
Well in GTech's defense, I will say that the MA Lottery is still stuck in the past too. Keep in mind that it still has those "Void If Removed" sections on scratch-off tickets, which would imply manual validation. How long has MA had those terminals?
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United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
11296 Posts
Offline
| | Posted: December 25, 2005, 1:51 pm - IP Logged | |
Another bad GTECH experience this weekend. I went in to buy $100 worth of cash winfall tix, and the paper was near the end of the roll. Several paper jams later, the machine had printed $50 worth of tix and had registered a total of $110. Give me a break.
At least you played Ca$h WinFall instead of Megabucks. I played $6 CW and won nothing. | | |
North Jersey United States Member #5812 July 18, 2004 14191 Posts Online | | Posted: December 25, 2005, 2:12 pm - IP Logged | |
it's not a matter of whether or not they change, it's about fair practice of the bidding system. They (State) need to look into this matter and see why they gave away 32 million and why? I think their is something starting to smell on this one...! | | |
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