Quinn names savvy marketer Michael Jones Lottery head

Michael Jones, the right choice to lead the Lottery

Yes, dear readers, miracles do happen.  Even, much to our amazement, in Illinois state government. Certainly one of the biggest miracles in the recent history of this state happened late Wednesday.

That’s when Gov. Pat Quinn announced his remarkably smart decision to appoint Michael Jones the new superintendent of the Illinois Lottery.

Quinn’s decision comes almost a year to the date after the governor announced that the Northstar Lottery Group, a consortium comprised of ad agency Energy BBDO/Chicago, Gtech and Scientific Games, had been selected as the new private manager of the Lottery, which has been an arm of the Illinois Department of Revenue.

But the Lottery is being taken out from under the wing of the Revenue Department.  The Lottery now will operate as a separate entity in state government, giving new leader Jones a much freer hand in running it.

Rumors that Quinn might tap Jones to run the Lottery began to surface several months ago. But like so much in state government, it’s not possible to believe anything good can happen in that complicated bureaucracy until it actually does.

Jones has strong, previous Lottery experience

What makes Quinn’s choice of Jones as Illinois Lottery superintendent so savvy is that the new boss actually knows something about the business he will run. Under former Gov. James Thompson, Jones previously ran the Lottery from 1981 to 1985, during a time when the Lottery enjoyed a billion-dollar increase in sales.

After leaving the Illinois Lottery, Jones founded a marketing promotion firm that assisted all kinds of gaming operations in maximizing sales and profits in an ethical and responsible manner.

Jones has served as a consultant for state lotteries in 13 states and several foreign countries.  He knows personally— or has observed in action — many of the key players in the state lottery world.

Jones differs from previously “clueless operatives”

Aside from the fact he actually gets what the Lottery is all about, Jones stands apart from most of the politically-connected, but clueless operatives that have tried to run the Illinois Lottery in recent decades, because he is, at heart, a true marketer who relishes great advertising — something the Lottery has not always (okay rarely) benefitted from in recent times.

And as sure as the sun rises every morning, one can be certain that great, genuinely creative advertising is what Jones will demand — and get — from the new Northstar management group and the Lottery’s current ad agency of record Energy BBDO/Chicago.  Or else.

In fact, that relationship between Jones and Northstar will be interesting to watch as it plays out over the next several months.

Commenting on the Jones appointment, however, Northstar was on its best behavior:  “Northstar stands committed to realizing the potential of the Lottery and looks forward to closely working with Mr. Jones in making it even more beneficial for Illinois communities,” said Northstar Group CEO Connie Laverty O’Connor.

State Auditor General criticized Northstar selection

Jones headed up a consortium, including DraftFCB/Chicago, that initially was a contender for the private management contract that Quinn eventually awarded to Northstar. But Jones and his group dropped out of the pitch, claiming the demands made of the candidates for the Illinois Lottery management contract were exceedingly onerous.

Indeed the entire process that resulted in the selection of Northstar has been the focus of considerable criticism, most recently by the Auditor General of Illinois, who released a report several months ago that raised serious questions about several aspects of the process.

Contact Lewis Lazare at LewisL3@aol.com.