La Fleur’s Magazine’s new series—Quote of the Week—features interviews with lottery directors about what’s ahead for their organizations in fiscal 2022. We will feature a different director each week. This week we are spotlighting David Barden, CEO, New Mexico Lottery Authority.
What’s ahead for your lottery in FY22?
“As our 25th anniversary year winds down, we have a couple exciting games that we hope will be fun and rewarding for New Mexico players. We’ve been working with Alchemy3 to launch the first instant game for HGTV’s My Lottery Dream Home. The game and an associated second-chance promotion and event will bring something special for current and new players while playing off of the popular TV show. And a few months later, despite our mandated 30% return that limits prizes for players, we are launching a limited edition $20 game. It has been several years since we’ve been able to afford a $20 game, so this one-time offering should be a big deal for players and retailers.”
What book are you currently reading?
The Choice: Embrace the Possible (by Dr. Edith Eger)
“Although this page-turner of a book is about the author’s remarkable survival in a Nazi concentration camp where her mother was gassed and incinerated on the day they arrived at the camp, it is much more than that. Eger describes the mindset she utilized to sustain herself through horrific adversity and how she ultimately overcame its lingering effects. Eger additionally describes how we all have ‘prisons’ and adversity which we can overcome through the choice of our thoughts and actions. Now in her 90’s, Eger continues to see patients in her practice as a psychologist in order to help others. I found this book nothing short of inspirational and would highly recommend it.”
Where do you plan to vacation in the next six months?
“I have no specific travel plans at this time, but since I live in ‘The Land of Enchantment,’ I am looking forward to some day trips. There are numerous natural attractions like Taos Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Shiprock. But since I am a big SCIFI fan maybe a visit to Roswell to see a spaceship or perhaps a visitor from another world. And of course, seeing industry colleagues outside of Teams and Zoom meetings would be great.”