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Neither Snow Nor Cold Temps Could Stop Our Retailer Blitz

Categories: Behind the Scenes,Lotto

Neil and Danielle pose in their matching outfits with players in Blair.

Throughout February 8, we set out from our cozy office to execute what we call a retailer blitz in both David City and Blair. The Powerball jackpot had rolled to $255 million and we wanted to spread the word with free tickets to players. You may be wondering why we chose David City and Blair for this event. You may be thinking it makes more sense to stick around higher population areas. Well,we are the Nebraska Lottery and it is our job to provide entertainment for the residents of Nebraska. To accomplish this, we try to go to as many cities, towns and villages in the state as we can. While in each location, our goal is to spend time at every single lottery retailer in town. A lot of preparation is done beforehand to ensure we maximize our time at each location, including contacting retailers in advance to let them know what we will be doing.

A retailer blitz is an all-day affair and what a day it was when we set out in the dark morning hours. The wind ripped through the seams of this writer’s coat as the snow pelted my face. Before I walked out the door, I briefly considered picking up my scarf but I now was cursing myself for not having the wherewithal to take it. There was no time to dwell on that. It was dark and the weather didn’t look like it was going to be very cooperative for travel. Temperatures were hovering in the teens and the windblown snow made it seem even colder.

I arrived at the parking garage shortly after 6 a.m. and clambered into my seat in the van. Already seated were our promotions manager, Joy, and my fellow public information officer, Neil.  We wasted no time in leaving and soon realized our trip was going to be a small adventure.

Snow pelts the windshield on the drive to David City.

The roads were angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli. Wind blew snow over the pavement and past the windshield, causing us to briefly lose sight of the semi-truck ahead of us, but we pressed on because the Powerball jackpot was rolling and our players needed to know.

We arrived at our destination shortly after 7 a.m. and the Powerball costume was pulled from the back of the van and put on. It was time to go to work.

Throughout the morning, we greeted customers as they got their morning coffee on the way to work. It is always fun to give someone something they weren’t expecting without cost, it seems to get conversations going. We met some very kind gentlemen at RB’s who said they would share with each other if one of them were to win the jackpot prize.

Joy hangs out with some players at RB's in David City.

At 9:30, the David City leg of the day was finished and our trio of happy lottery stewards made the journey back to Lincoln. The next group was already making their way to Blair and Neil headed that way after dropping Joy and I off. I stayed in our office to hold down the fort.

Again, the plan was to hit every retailer in town. I wasn’t there but it looks like everyone had a lot of fun. Can you blame them?

Players hold their Powerball tickets in Blair.


February 16, 2017

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