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 Mark Michalko, Executive Director, North Carolina Education Lottery.
What’s ahead for your lottery in FY22?
“For FY 2022, we will continue to further refine our instant scratch off portfolio by offering more high price point products with a wider variety of play styles and value propositions to capitalize on increased demand for higher risk/higher reward games. We have previously offered $20, $25, and $30 tickets and we are considering adding a $50 ticket in FY 2022.
Also, we have achieved significant sales growth through our online platform over the past couple of years. As more and more players are engaging with us through this channel, we want to offer them the convenience to buy additional products. So, we will be looking to expand our draw game offerings to include our daily draw products (Pick 3 and Pick4) to augment the games we currently offer (Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky4Life, and our in-state jackpot game, Cash 5).”
What book are you currently reading?
“I’m reading Macau by Daniel Carney, a fictional work written in the style of James Clavell’s popular novels, such as Shōgun and Noble House. The setting is the early 1980s, well before the region’s transformation into the upscale Asian gambling hub that we know today. It’s fast-paced and filled with subplots about spies, smugglers, and a host of intriguing characters. Although the book is clearly fictional, certain portions are loosely based on actual people and events from Macau’s colorful and somewhat notorious past. I learned a lot about the former Portuguese colony’s history from my local staff during the six years I lived in Macau, so it’s very entertaining reading for me.”
Where do you plan to vacation in the next six months?
“One of my brothers has organized a long-awaited family reunion to take place on Marco Island, Florida this coming June. My three brothers and their families will join my wife and I and our two adult sons for a week. I’m looking forward to catching up with my brothers and also with nieces and nephews whom I haven’t seen in years, since we all live in different parts of the country.”