FAIRFIELD, Maine — The Maine State Lottery may soon give a name to its scratch tickets for the first time, but the name isn't sitting well with everyone.
A few weeks ago, the Maine State Lottery sent a pamphlet out to its 1,300 retailers, saying it plans to name the tickets "Kwikies."
"I thought that's going to be real uncomfortable for my girls behind the register to have guys come in and say 'Hey, give me a Kwikie,'" said David Welch, owner of Village Market in Fairfield.
In slang terms, a quickie is a short sexual encounter.
"[My cashiers] are very upset about it," said Welch. "A couple of customers hanging around were really upset."
Gerry Reid, director of the Maine Bureau Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, said it's not the state's intent to be provocative.
"I fully understand that when someone saw this word in isolation, they thought, 'Oh, these guys are getting a bit racy,'" said Reid. "We're actually doing everything we can possibly do to not lead you to that place in your mind."
Reid said that the bureau has been active for the past three to four months in trying to land on a name to encompass all of its scratch tickets. They went through 50 or 60 names before landing on Kwikies.
"The benefit of buying this ticket is that it's quick, easy and fun," said Reid. "That's what an instant ticket is."
Welch wasn't alone in being critical of the name. Bob Duran, owner of C&K Variety in Hermon, said he wouldn't ask his customers if they wanted a Kwikie.
"It's not the best name, no," said Duran.
Tom Borden, a cashier at Fox Brook Variety in Dover-Foxcroft, said he tried asking customers if they would like a Kwikie.
"I tried that on a couple of women. It didn't go over very well," Borden said. "They said, 'Why don't you just call them scratch tickets?' I'm not sure [the Lottery] thought that through."
Reid said the lottery thought quite hard about the name.
"Our instant game business is roughly two-thirds of the lottery business," said Reid. "It has no name. It's just instant tickets. It's not like the draw games like Powerball. That's a brand. It has an identity. It's an image. People know what to ask for. What we're struggling to do is come up with an identity [for the instant scratch tickets]. We do almost no marketing for it. Our job is to make money for the state."
The way the lottery is looking to make money is coming at the expense of his cashiers, said Welch.
"Selling tickets is great, but it's the girls behind the counters who have to sell these things," he said. "I don't need them to be emotionally upset. It's not worth it for what we make off a ticket."
One of Welch's cashiers agreed.
"I think it's highly inappropriate," said Kaylee Constable. "[Customers have] come in and joked around with me and say, 'Can I get a Kwikie?' I'm only 19 years old and I have 40- and 50-year-old men saying sexual remarks to me."
Reid said the term "quickie" is used by a number of business in many different spellings, specifically convenience stores and oil change locations. The cartoon "The Simpsons" has a convenience store in its fictional universe called Kwik-E-Mart.
Television commercials have already been produced, but haven't yet been released, said Reid.
The name hasn't been officially implemented and cashiers won't be required to ask customers if they want a Kwikie, said Reid. The name change may come in a month or more after public opinion is weighed. After it's all said and done, he said, the lottery may not use the name at all.
"It's not our decision to offend anybody. If we see that's where it's going, we won't do it," said Reid.
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Thanks to truesee for the tip.
How about renaming them "Instant Gratification" or "Lobster Tails".
Must be worst for the male clerks. You might see some of them running out the door.
How bout "Stop that clerk, he has my ticket"
would you tip the clerk if she gave you a good Kwikie?
Only if I had asked for one....
Come on Maine REALLY
I think "scratch me" would have been a better idea.
It would depend on the ultimate payoff.
Considering they have at least 6 different scratch tickets, wouldn't they need sub-titles as well? A nice sales slogen like"The all new 'Quickie-Lick me' where you can lick your way to a $1 million"
What next ?
They can name tickets after lifestyle choices..... The gay, The Bi, The trans.... The Pot, The Meth, The Doc.
It's insulting to the female employees and should be dropped unless the Lottery Muckety-Mucks also make their female relatives and wives available to be asked for quickies (and you know that would never happen).
Let's go to the Kwik e Mart is very different from let's get a Kwikie. Even if you shorten it, "Let's go to the Kwik-e" is hard to take in a lascivious way.
Many men could ask for a Kwikie with no problem. But there are a few uncouth men out there who can make anything sound dirty with no help from the lottery. It's these guys who would put the inflection and facial expressions on it to make the cashiers uncomfortable with it.
I'm generally against all things Politically Correct, but this is gonna give obnoxious people an excuse to be even more obnoxious and make clerks uncomfortable in their workplace.
if I had to ask some old obese clerk for a Kwikie when all I wanted was a scratch ticket, I think I would barf.
In the bingo halls around here they sell "quickies." (For those who don't know this is a game where they call the numbers fast.) I have yet to see any of these mostly nice old ladies faint or get their granny panties in a bunch.
I can understand the reasoning for this controversy, however. It would be awkward for both the clerk and/or the customer to ask for or offer a kwikie. Perhaps the Maine Lottery should hold a contest to see who can come up with a creative name for their instant lottery tickets.
Just don't let the guys who came up with "Quickie" come up with the replacement name.
They'd probably name the new one "Hummer".
In some ways it looks like "same sex" 69. But then again l have been known to be wrong. Just call the darn thing 69.
Since you're not even likely to win your dollar back, why not call 'em "Patels"?
Maybe that's because the guys who are bent on being obnoxious don't use the suggestive tone with the old ladies. Maybe they save it for women who don't wear granny panties.
This is the most ignorant (proposed) lottery decision ever. When I first saw this, I thought is this a joke? They had to have the public decide this for them? I can only imagine what the work culture must be like in the Maine lottery. I hope this makes the rounds of the late night talk show jokes.
Dear Maine Lottery:
You may want to implement some internal anti-sexual harassment seminars. No one with half a brain would have even contemplated a move like this. It is not even a close call. You make my state lottery look good. A first grader could have provided you a list of better names.
Kwikies is a pretty stupid name for scratch tickets.
In CA, our scratch tickets are called Scratchers. Same with AZ, NM, MO, other states. Some other states call them Instants.
What's the problem?
time*treat,
Good one!
Truth be known though that would probably get more lawsuits than any flap over Kwikies.
Clerk: He asked me for a Kwikie
Player: Hello, that's the name of the game from the Maine Lottery.
_____________________________________________________
On most state lottery websites if you try and fine results fro a game that hasn't ben drawn yet or try and scan tickets the message is Results Not In.
On Maine's site it ays, "Not yet!"
I think that's funny and just a glimpse at the Maine-i-ac mindset!
How do you know its not the clerks who will be saying, "Would you like to get a quickie?"
It should say, "You can have a kquickie when we are ready to give you one"
Can you imagane the future defense for the "ladies of the evening." "I was just offering to buy him a lottery scratch off ticket."
Back in the 70s there was a popular nightclub drink called a "sloe comfortable screw"
The bartenders got a kick outta women asking for that drink,
the name came from the ingredients, OJ & vodka, southern comfort & sloe gin.
Now I guess that's okay in a nightclub but this doesn't work in lottery,
how about naming the tickets "longshots"
that's what scratchers seem to be.
Yeah, Im sure "Win a dollar for every 100 you spend" would sure move sales along.....
BTW hay, I remember that drink......
Had they waited only 14 days they could've had a chance to gauge public opinion by pretending this is an April fools day joke. Thinking things through costs nothing yet lots of organizations and individuals love to skip this crucial step.
lol,
Perhaps they just reasoned. "Who doesn't like a Kwackie?"
Or is it only men that like kwickies?
Am I right or am I right lol
What about renaming them:
High / Low Mane
Hi Mane - Lo Mane
Not Maine.....!
The thing about it is scratch tickets are family items and thus the uproar. The kids would be exposed to all the jokes that go with those tickets and don't think the kids will not notice.
They knew it was way too provocative and they thought they were being "cute." (Quote:"I fully understand that when someone saw this word in isolation, they thought, 'Oh, these guys are getting a bit racy,'" said Reid. "We're actually doing everything we can possibly do to not lead you to that place in your mind.") Oh come on. However, they did not get the disrespectful part at all and that is of greater concern.
I nominate them for the 2013 LP hall of shame.
The sheer ineptitude of it all!
Why is Maine protracting this ineptocracy.
Yep, makes me wonder how the person who came up with the idea got the job in the first place ? Or was it something that transpired that day? Another dumb idea born from the janitors room, hehehehehe
hehehehehehehe lmao
Dear Penthouse,
Recently while traveling in Maine I stopped for gas and while I was in line to pay I was looking at the lotto slips for the Maine lottery and an attractive female in the line said, "Do you like Kwikies?"
I had seen the bumber sticklers and souveneir license plates in Kentucky that said Kentucky- Fast Horses and Faster Women- and for a moment thought, "This is incredible, they've outdone Kentucky......"Well, she and I started talking and ............
The next day I went to a different gas station and one of the Kwikies I bought the previous day was a winner. When I went to cash it the female clerk looked at me and said, "Would you like another Kwikie?"
did this story happen in Bangor, Maine?
How much you charge for a kwikie mam?
For you sir.........your kwikie will be a freebee.
Good one
Yep, someone at Maine lottery clearly needs to rethink things through.
I agree most female will definitely feel uncomfortable with the name. It will be nice to change the name, something that is catchy but at the same time comfortable for both gender.
An "Expedite"?
______________________________
whiteballz,
Somewhere between Bangah and Bah Hahbah!
I noticed, the best the luxuries in life, come from our happy desire to obtain them............
I don't think Sugarbritches would understand if I told her I was goin' out for a quickie.
"Gimmie"...... one of them thar hunting license ana
LOL... you soooo crazy
People will complain about anything and everything
Just hire girls that don't mind getting paid for a Kwikie...
OMG lol lol
Hum, Gerry Reid, director of the Maine Bureau Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, and his "naming thinktank" must be a bunch of idiots. Plus, even paid a lot for commercials to be made, using the negative slang word! Guess that's what's required to be, or remain, a high-paid employed these last two decades, too many employees must be watching the cruder, non-caring reality shows!