The Mississippi Lottery Corporation recently hired Thomas N. “Tom” Shaheen as its first president, effective June 1. Shaheen will oversee lottery operations and anticipates the new lottery will start selling tickets by the end of the year. “We’ll work at a pace to get it started off as quickly as possible because the sooner we get started, the more money that is for roads and bridges,” Shaheen said. He added Mississippi will have to wait until next year to apply to join the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball.
One of 20 applicants, Shaheen was the unanimous choice of the five Mississippi Lottery Corporation board members and approved by Governor Phil Bryant, said Board Chairman Mike McGrevey. The position has an annual base salary of $225,000 plus performance incentives.
Prior to accepting the Mississippi Lottery position, Shaheen was vice president and chief policy officer at Linq3, a lottery technology company based in Arizona. He also was executive director at the North Carolina Education Lottery from 2005-2010 and served as chief executive officer at the New Mexico Lottery. He also worked for the Georgia, Texas and Florida lotteries. In addition, Shaheen was president of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball.
Shaheen said he expects about 1,500 Mississippi convenience stores, grocery stores and drug stores to apply to sell lottery tickets. They will undergo background checks, including a financial review. Shaheen added employees will be hired to work on technology and finances. Also, it will contract with vendors to produce scratch-off tickets and other requirements. “The quicker we get those vendors on board, the quicker we can get sales started,” Shaheen said.
Mississippi had been one of six states without a lottery, however lawmakers met in special session last August and approved a lottery to address highway and bridge issues.
