$49,000 Mercedes is Washington Lottery's marketing tool

Oct 3, 2011, 2:21 am (24 comments)

Washington Lottery

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Some folks may think it's just a new way for Washington's Lottery to take suckers for a ride.

That's not quite the agency mission, insists Lottery director Bill Hanson. So what is it?

Hanson said Friday the agency bought a $49,000 Mercedes Sprinter van as a marketing tool to boost Lottery ticket sales at the Puyallup Fair and other big festivals where it sets up for marketing.

He said it is an idea the agency dreamed up to boost revenues and help fill the state's yawning budget hole.

The agency recently advertised for proposals to outfit the van and decorate it with blazing Lotto logos, making it into the "Lotto-mobile."

Bids are due Oct. 13 and specs call for such items as awnings, LCD television, "jackpot" sign, refrigerator, air conditioning and wiring to support Lottery terminals that can print and dispense tickets.

The idea is to set up at events where agency employees can explain how the Lottery games work and sell a few thousand extra tickets every weekend.

The agency already makes the rounds at festivals with a pop-up tent and a trailer, but the van would be used to more than double the number of events catered to.

"A lot of lotteries have this. They call them lotto-mobiles or lucky vans," Hanson said. "Almost every weekend there are events out there. We figure with 50 new events with the 'Lotto-mobile' and we make $2,000 in sales (at each stop), we could pay this off fast."

The Governor's Office is a bit leery, but it's too late to cancel the vehicle purchase. Lottery already paid $49,000 for the rig and is poised to spend $75,000 more on tricking it out.

"We have concerns," Gregoire spokesman Cory Curtis said Friday. "We need to look into it. It can be a bit tone-deaf in these times to see the state buying up Mercedes Benzes."

Hanson also disclosed a remarkable fact — even more remarkable than the long odds of winning a big lottery prize.

"People do not know how to play the lottery. I know that sounds funny," he said. Agency surveys apparently show people don't buy scratch tickets or tickets for drawings because they aren't certain how they work.

Even so, the agency sold $491 million worth of tickets last year, up slightly from 2009 but down by 5.8 percent from fiscal year 2008, according to the 2010 annual report.

Seattle Times

Comments

LottoGuyBC's avatarLottoGuyBC

I think it would be awesome if they gave away free lotto tickets at these events.

free lotto tickets, free scratch offs, free lotto gear Banana

time*treat's avatartime*treat

No American auto-makers produce luxury vans or even regular vans that can be tricked-out aftermarket?

CLETU$

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Oct 3, 2011

No American auto-makers produce luxury vans or even regular vans that can be tricked-out aftermarket?

I was thinking the same thing.Buying a Ford van makes sense to me since Ford didn't accept a government bail out!

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Quote: Originally posted by CLETU$ on Oct 3, 2011

I was thinking the same thing.Buying a Ford van makes sense to me since Ford didn't accept a government bail out!

Fords are still made by the UAW Thugs !!!!!!

I can't wait to win Powermillions on Wednesday !!!!!!!!!!  Cheers

CLETU$

Quote: Originally posted by dpoly1 on Oct 3, 2011

Fords are still made by the UAW Thugs !!!!!!

I can't wait to win Powermillions on Wednesday !!!!!!!!!!  Cheers

I'm just saying that if you are going to buy a new van,buy American.Ford is the ONLY American brand that didn't take a government handout.

karinda's avatarkarinda

Why "buy" anything?  It was a golden opportunity to canvas all the automakers to see which ones would be interested in donating a vehicle.  It's free advertising for them. It would have been a win-win. Wink There was a scratch-off game in NJ a while ago to win a Harley.  And there was another one to win a Ford ( I don't remember the model. )   It never even crossed my mind that the state paid for the vehicles, although, they may have. It would be interesting to find out.  My guess is, they didn't pay for them or if they did, it must have been a fraction of the retail value.  Look at the advertising for Harley and for Ford???  I dunno ... maybe it's just me ... but that's my two cents on the matter.  I was trying for the Harley.  Wink  so I don't remember the model Ford it was. It wasn't a Mustang, I know, or I would have been trying to win it. LOL  Yes Nod

joshuacloak's avatarjoshuacloak

buy the best van out their, with lest break downs and best reviews online

americans will never make the best their is, if they don't have desire to be be best,  buying american "just cease" is #1 way to live in La La land,

as for lottery buying a mercedes to market them selfs, will good for them, radio stations, etc do the same kind of thing anyway.

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Oct 3, 2011

No American auto-makers produce luxury vans or even regular vans that can be tricked-out aftermarket?

We make so many cars that are built to do 125mph on the autobahn for hours on end.

Oh wait.......

Zey build zem good in Germany, ja Shultzy?

time*treat's avatartime*treat

So then, in practice, we don't all believe in those "we're #1" & "best in the world" slogans that get repeated so much? Wink

CLETU$

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Oct 3, 2011

So then, in practice, we don't all believe in those "we're #1" & "best in the world" slogans that get repeated so much? Wink

I do.The hell with the rest of the world.AMERICA IS NUMBER 1 & THE BEST IN THE WORLD!

C0w Pi3

Must say after seeing a picture of this van it's ugly as hell!! lol

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

The Boss thought it would be cool to have a fancy new toy and decided other people should pay for it.

Nothing new, happens all the time.

I think the $75,000 outfitting of it should include beer taps. They'd sell a lot more tickets that way.

Kinda like Vegas when them broads keep bringin me drinks. I tip em good too. I'd do the same for the broads in the Mercedes Van too. I'm a good tipper. Especially when I'm half in the bag. I'm Good Time Charlie, put your money away, I'm buyin', know what I'm sayin?

So they should give those beer taps serious consideration.

dr65's avatardr65

'People do not know how to play the lottery'

                       What?

They could have shown them how to play the lottery with a horse and buggy.

I guess pop up tents and trailers are too hillbilly-ish?

Sorry rdgrnr. Big Smile

Personally I don't see anything wrong with 'backward', Roll Eyes get the job done basics that some people seem to think isn't good enough.

It's just another tool to entice people. Gotta keep reminding the people of where they want to be in life especially if they don't even know it yet.

sully16's avatarsully16

For 75 thousand, they should have hired me, I know a few things about lottery.

I'll get the folks to play !Dance

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