MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Lottery celebrated its 25th birthday Thursday with a splash of color. In fact, there were many splashes of color, courtesy of celebrity performance artist David Garibaldi.
The 32 year old finalist on the "America's Got Talent" program leapt onto a stage at Target Plaza before the noon Twins game and speed-painted the new Lottery logo on a black canvass in 5 minutes. The new logo features the iconic loon, but this loon has wings spread in flight.
It is the first update of the sitting loon logo since the Lottery's inception on April 17, 1989. The Loon is designed to remind Minnesotans of the uses of revenues from the state gaming devices.
"Last year, we contributed $136 million back to the state," said Jason LaFrenz, Lottery Director of Marketing. "A lot of that went to environmental causes…in all 87 counties across the state."
Legislators struggled with authorization of the lottery in the 1980's. Many interests, particularly in greater Minnesota, objected to an expansion of state-authorized gambling. However, many Minnesotans were clamoring for the games. The legislature voted to approve creation of the lottery in 1988, with the opening day set for 1989.
Through the years since, there have been high points, such as when the jackpots of various games climbed into the tens or even hundreds of millions. There have also been been lowpoints, such as the day in January of 2004 when then lottery director George Anderson committed suicide.
However, the mood was upbeat and light on Thursday at mid-day as music blared from loudspeakers, Garibaldi danced around the stage flinging paint and Twins and Blue Jays fans arrived on the Plaza for the game inside the stadium. Lottery workers handed out free "scratch off" tickets for free prizes, including free lottery tickets from vendors around the state and T-shirts bearing the new logo.
LaFrenz summed up the feelings. "It has been a big success."
