Someone finally put 2 and 2 together (see article below), which reminds me of something that happened to me several years ago. Included in my mail one day was a post-card addressed to me from someone claiming to be a psychic, and stating that she had a psychic message for me that I was about to come into a whole lot of money. The strange part was, there was no number for me to call, no return address, nothing. I spent about thirty seconds trying to figure out the angle of the scam, then threw the card away. Later that day, I received a phone call.......guess what....I had just been selected to receive some kind of grand prize super $$$$ giveaway. Now that, I thought, was an organized scam designed to prey on a certain segment of the population. Anyway, with that intro, I would like to announce:
Miss Cleo, ``Mind & Spirit'' Psychic Personality Tarot Card Reader and Television Phenomenon Signs with MDI Entertainment for Lottery Promotions
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2001--MDI Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ SC: LTRY) announced today that the world-renowned Miss Cleo, the entertaining television psychic and tarot card reader, has joined the company's broad menu of licensed properties, brands and cultural icons for Lottery promotions.
Tens of millions of television viewers have become fans of Miss Cleo from seeing her widely broadcast ``infomercials,'' TV spots, celebrity appearances and through her database of callers. Her TV spot was recently ranked number one in television exposure by Jordan Whitney's rating service. Her feisty-yet-caring persona is generating hundreds of thousands of calls, making her the guru of TV psychic personalities.
The exclusive agreement with MDI will allow lottery organizations to offer their customers special bonus prizes incorporated into Miss Cleo themed lottery games. These include in-person readings with Miss Cleo, blocks of free minutes for personalized readings and calling cards with psychic phone minutes. Non-winning lottery tickets could also be redeemed for free five-minute psychic readings.
``Generic instant lottery games based on fortune-telling and astrology have been a popular theme with players for years. The Miss Cleo licensed property adds the best known celebrity icon to the category, giving games a character and personality sure to click with lottery consumers. The license is so unique because of the flexibility that lotteries will have to shape their own promotions,'' said Steve Saferin, President and CEO of MDI.
The company is developing ``Dreams Come True'' vacation experiences in South Florida that will include giving players the opportunity to meet Miss Cleo and receive a personal reading. Miami, Key West and other South Florida destinations and attractions, including cruises, are available as bonus Grand Prizes in the promotions. MDI is the dominant player in the business of creating, marketing and implementing entertainment-based promotions on behalf of the North American lottery industry. MDI revolutionized the lottery industry with its introduction of second-chance merchandise prizes.
MDI's wide array of services includes game and ticket design, merchandise prize fulfillment, management of second- and third-chance draws, a fully-staffed customer service line, coordination of winner travel and accommodations, advertising and marketing support, consumer research and Internet marketing and advertising.
MDI has entered into a strategic business agreement with Scientific Games Corp. (AMEX: SGM - news). Scientific Games is one of the world's largest suppliers of lottery games. And MDI also has joined forces with eLOT, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELOT - news) which provides Internet-based services to Lotteries through IMARCSgroup.com. Both partners have acquired interests in MDI.
MDI's current lottery promotions include scratch games featuring other properties such as: Harley-Davidson®, Wheel of Fortune®, Jeopardy!®, Elvis Presley®, Betty Boop(TM), Twilight Zone(TM), Louisville Slugger®, TNN®, CMT®, Hummer®, Ray Charles®, Pink Panther(TM), The Outer Limits(TM), Heroes of Space(TM), Michael Buffer's Let's Get Ready To Rumble®, Dick Clark's American Bandstand®, Times Square 2002(TM), SPAM and auto race drivers Dale Earnhardt®, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.® and Bill Elliott, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a ``safe harbor'' for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by MDI) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the future anticipated direction of the lottery industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned capital expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales and potential contracts. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of MDI. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to development and expansion activities, dependence on existing management, financing activities, domestic and global economic conditions, changes in federal or state tax laws and market competition factors. |
