Wawa is betting on the lottery.
Gov. Ed Rendell officially announced Monday that Wawa convenience stores throughout Pennsylvania would feature self-service lottery kiosks.
Rendell says the touch-screen machines could boost ticket sales by up to $37 million each year. He touted the terminals on Monday at a Wawa in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia.
"After courting Wawa for nearly two decades, a self-service sales model developed by the Pennsylvania Lottery finally attracted the partnership of the Pennsylvania-based company that never partnered with a lottery until this year," Rendell said. "The Lottery’s industry-leading technology and innovation combined with a sales model designed to fit Wawa’s needs created a terrific new partnership between two Pennsylvania institutions."
Wawa approved the kiosks after a successful pilot program in 20 stores. All 210 Wawas in Pa. should have the terminals by spring.
"Wawa has always embraced change and innovation as a way of continually simplifying our customers’ lives," said Wawa President and CEO Howard Stoeckel. "I’m excited to introduce our latest innovation, self-serve Play Central Terminals from the Pennsylvania Lottery."
The state already has more than 1,000 lottery machines, which debuted in 2004. But lottery spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell says Wawa's terminals were developed to meet the company's specific accounting needs.
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Brassell says the lottery hopes to woo other large chains with similar tailoring.
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