Take-A-Ticket, Inc. is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Since its founding in 1985, the Oregon-based company has grown from a simple concept into a trusted manufacturing partner for more than 35 U.S. lotteries and countless retailers.
The company originated from what was almost a missed sale. The first week the Oregon Lottery was in business, Cal Tigner stopped at a convenience store for a soda. While the cash register drawer was open, he noticed lottery tickets inside and purchased two. As the clerk handed them to him, he realized, “If I hadn’t seen them, I wouldn’t have bought them.” That evening, he created a cardboard prototype for a lottery ticket dispensing machine. The next evening, he made the first plastic dispenser.
Now operating from a 45,000-square-foot plant in Albany, Oregon, Cal Sr.’s grandsons Seth (president) and Zach Tigner (R&D/engineering) lead a 27-person team. The company offers a wide array of dispensers and merchandising displays—such as lighted Menu Boards—along with custom fabrication tailored for lottery-specific needs.
They recently brought on 22-year-old Noah Tigner, the company’s fourth-generation employee, who has helped update the website, work on computer-aided manufacturing designs, and run the new inkjet printer.
“We have made significant investments that have helped us provide high-quality and consistent products from start to finish,” says Tigner. “But the most meaningful investment has been welcoming Noah into the family business.”
Bespoke Solutions
Take-A-Ticket is committed to delivering flexible, customizable offerings. The design process considers durability, visual appeal, and user experience from both the retailer’s and the lottery’s perspectives.
For instance, they worked with the Florida Lottery and Publix to create a 24-game dispenser that fits in the footprint of a standard 16-game unit. “They wanted more facings, but it couldn’t take up any extra space. Zach figured out a way to fit 24 games into the same amount of space,” Seth says. The design has proven so popular that the Georgia Lottery has ordered a couple of hundred units (shipping directly to Publix), and other states are now inquiring about purchasing the units.
Take-A-Ticket delivers these solutions at scale, supporting both large rollouts and one-off projects with consistent turnaround times. For four decades, its blend of operational reliability and continuous design innovation has helped lotteries modernize the retail experience.