Making millionaires

How many businesses can claim to have created 45 millionaires over the past two consecutive years? Not many. Yet that’s precisely what the Missouri Lottery has achieved.

“When I took this position, I didn’t realize how many people had actually won the state lottery,” Executive Director Lester Elder admits. “Those people’s lives are changed forever.”

And, the winners aren’t the only ones who benefit from the funds of the Missouri Lottery, with all of their proceeds going straight to Missouri Public Education.

“We’re about four percent of the state’s education budget,” Lester reveals. “So it’s really rewarding to see the sales that we have. And when they increase, the extra money goes toward our cause. There are so many benefits that our citizens gain from it.”

While Lester’s background – spanning more than three decades working in law enforcement and six years in the Marine Corps Reserves – may not read as the most conventional path toward the Missouri Lottery, delve deeper and it becomes clear the experience was both invaluable and incredibly relevant.

“I was a state highway patrolman in Missouri for 30 years,” he explains. “And five years of that time I was the Director at the state’s Gaming Enforcement division. So I oversaw about 120 officers who regulated the 13 casinos and all their employees.

“We did the background licensing, the regulatory enforcement and the charitable games of Bingo. When I retired, I was working at revenue, managing criminal investigators. Then I got a call to see if I’d be interested in applying for the Executive Director position for Missouri Lottery.”

Leadership prowess

Indeed, his career trajectory has molded Lester into the type of leader that would be capable of providing value to any kind of organization.

“I’m 58 years old and have been employed since I was 15,” he says with a smile. “I’ve been in leadership roles since 1995. My philosophy is transparency, communication and letting your employees know that you care about them.

“You get power from a position, but you still have to earn the employees’ respect and trust. Then, you can lead employees anywhere you want to go, and they’ll appreciate being a part of the organization. They want to be part of the excitement of the growth and the mission.”

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“Brightstar has supported the Missouri Lottery for more than 30 years and we are honored by our recent agreement to implement innovative solutions to increase the Lottery’s flexibility to manage operations and engage players in new ways, while helping it achieve its goals of maximizing funds to education. We look forward to continuing to work with Executive Director Elder and his talented team.” – Scott Gunn, Brightstar Chief Operating Officer, North America Lottery

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Fostering a positive, empowering organizational culture to attract and retain top talent has been an ongoing focus for Missouri Lottery. And with a turnover rate of four to seven percent (as opposed to the state average rate in Missouri of between 24 percent and 28 percent), it’s clear its approach is successful.

“We take pride in having a very positive atmosphere to work in,” he enthuses. “Our leaders care about our employees, and that’s a key factor in keeping employees. I’ve always said if employees are happy, they’re going to work harder. Pay is just a temporary motivator. You must have a culture where they feel welcome, able to contribute, able to benefit and have upward mobility.”

Building valued relationships

When Lester stepped into the role, a major component of his strategy was working on repairing the relationship with the state legislature after a period of reduced funding, which saw the advertising budget slashed from US$16 million to US$400,000.

“As you can imagine, you can’t do much advertising with that amount,” he says. “So I was excited for the opportunity [to turn things around].

“When I started in November of 2022, there were some negative feelings toward the lottery from the state legislature. I met with each state representative on the budget committee and each senator on the appropriations committee and opened up communication. Through that, we were able to get back US$5 million from the first legislative session budget, which was not an easy task.”

Now, working with the current budget of US$5.4 million has already made a monumental difference to the capabilities and advertising options available, with plans to increase next year’s amount as well. Building trust and strong, long-term relationships with essential stakeholders and suppliers, like Brightstar Lottery, is vital to the whole ecosystem’s success.

“Those partnerships are very, very important,” Lester says. “We meet regularly with our vendors that we employ for Scratchers games, our Pull-Tabs machines and our Draw Games. We have constant communication with them – that’s key for relationship building. You have to be comfortable about discussing what isn’t working, as well as the things that are working.”

Pushing forward

With more than 4,700 retailers that sell Missouri Lottery tickets, the reach of the organization is immense.

“I think what helps make us successful is that we have a very diverse portfolio,” Lester explains. “We have multiple Scratchers games, multiple Draw Games. We have Keno, and we have Pull-Tabs machines.”

But to reach even more customers, Lester is pushing strategic initiatives to modernize the technology and gaming systems, introducing new games and payment options with the goal to appeal to younger players while retaining the existing customer base.

“We are trying to move and adapt to new technology and integration,” he explains. “A lot of people are resistant to change, but if you don’t move forward, you’re going to get left behind. We’re on Instagram, we’re on Facebook, we’re on X – we’re trying to let people know that we’re fun entertainment.

“Nobody needs a lottery ticket, it’s not a staple item like milk or eggs – but it’s something fun.”