PROVIDENCE, R.I. – (August 31, 2009) – GTECH Printing Corporation (GPC) announced that the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) is enjoying incredible success with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $5 Instant Ticket scratch-off game. In the current economic climate, lotteries are being very selective about which licensed property brands they include in their portfolio. For NCEL, the decision to include WSOP has been extremely profitable. NCEL launched the WSOP $5 instant ticket scratch-off game in mid July. Six weeks later, the WSOP game became the second-highest selling licensed property game ever released by the NCEL.

The NCEL is going all in on the WSOP brand, supporting it with television, radio, point-of-sale advertisements, and second chance drawings. “The World Series of Poker instant scratch-off ticket has been incredibly popular with our North Carolina players,” said Tom Shaheen, NCEL Executive Director. “In just a few weeks since the game launched, we have sold about 60 percent of the tickets and we have received over 97,000 entries for the first second-chance drawing.”

The WSOP instant scratch-off ticket features a Texas Hold’em play style that is a first for the NCEL and seems to be becoming a favorite among North Carolina players. “There is no limit to the success of this ticket, which is a result of a collaborative effort between the NCEL and GPC. The new poker play style, coupled with the extraordinary marketing efforts by the Lottery, has all contributed to the high ticket sales,” said Ross Dalton, GTECH Senior Vice President of Printed Products and Licensed Content.

ESPN just announced that it has renewed the WSOP contract for seven years, which comes at no surprise considering that 82 million U.S. viewers tune in annually to watch the tournament. The WSOP instant ticket scratch-off game is expected to generate over $12 million in sales for the NCEL.

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GTECH is a leading gaming technology and services company. With 7,500 people in over 50 countries when combined with Lottomatica Group, GTECH provides innovative technology, creative content, and superior service delivery to effectively manage and grow today’s evolving gaming markets. GTECH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lottomatica Group, one of the world’s largest commercial lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry. For more information about the Company, please visit GTECH’s website at www.gtech.com.