Public Gaming International Magazine March/April 2021

37 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MARCH/APRIL 2021 helping players get acquainted with the new machines. To engage patrons, the Lottery ran promotional activities, including giveaways of small items with the Quick Draw logo. All the activities were planned and carried out in adherence to COVID best practices. “Sometimes we held events outside the venues, which also helped to pique people’s interest,” explained Hodor. “We would share details of upcoming promotions through the Lottery’s VIP club and social media channels, and we got quite a following for the promotions.” To promote winner awareness, the Lottery used a special picture frame with photographs of winners, and the marketing team pro- moted those on social media channels as well. “It’s a production,” Hodor noted with a laugh. “It’s a little more than a promotion. But we want to make sure we’re maximizing the opportunity. We really amped it up in terms of sharing our expertise and providing activi- ties and training to create an atmosphere of fun and excitement.” Going forward, as pandemic restrictions are lifted, the new GameTouch Draw machines will continue to o‰er advantages. “The restaurant and bar owners’ mindset is a little bit di‰erent today than it used to be,” observed Perlow. “They recognize that self-service gives them another opportunity to provide fun to players and income for their business. We’re sharing the success stories with potential retailers, and we now have a solid template we can leverage for expansion not only in the current environment but what we perceive the environment will look like eight, 10, 12 months from now.” There’s a lot of fun and excitement to be had, and Northstar New Jersey is willing to share its process for onboarding retailers with interested lotteries. Contact: Adam.Perlow@NSNJ.com Bigger Sales at Big-Box Stores and More Want to know how self-service is driving growth with large chain retailers? Read more on the Lottery Blog at IGT.com. You can hear much more about the new world of retail when Paul Riley, IGT Vice President Retail Innovations & Part- nerships, and Adam Perlow, Vice President and Chief Op- erating O„cer, Northstar New Jersey, join other panelists for a discussion on the subject during the PGRI Live conference, April 12-13. n The family of IGT GameTouch™ self-service vending terminals provides the option for cashless transaction functionality with support for NFC- based payment systems such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. IGT also provides sophisticated, protective tools across all distribution channels, such as optional age-verification technology to help ensure responsible growth for customers and responsible entertainment for players.