Charles Strutt
Working for Money (and a little fun)
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1988 - present. Executive Director Responsible for general management of an association that administers multi-state lottery games with sales approaching $3 billion per year. MUSL's tasks are to: · Facilitate multi-state lottery games and projects for as few as four state lotteries and as many as 31 lotteries. · Develop standards and conduct compliance audits of complex lottery gaming computer systems and state lottery Internal Control Systems to ensure the highest levels of security and integrity. · Manage multi-billion dollar portfolios to guarantee payment of lottery prizes by finding acceptably safe and sometimes innovative investments and developing a network of approved brokers throughout the nation to maximum returns from sources previously unused by state agencies. · Control the funds transfers to and from 31 lottery agencies for collection of prize pool money and payment prizes. · Develop standards and conduct random drawings in strict compliance with state law and procedures. · Develop and coordinate game concepts and promotions either internally or through a multi-state member think tank. · Coordinate public relations for the national media to ensure that the games stay in the public's mind including arranging for appearances by me or the state lottery directors on Larry King Live radio show, NBC Tomorrow, NBC Nightly News, Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and more. · Produce and uplink live drawings to more than 90 television stations and hundreds of radio stations across the United States. · Reorganize the association to meet the needs of its growth, success, and expansion and branching into multiple projects. · Coordinate the efforts of multiple state vendors to ensure that common goals are met. · Ensure that the association and its members are first to successfully use new technologies and to combine current technologies and systems in innovative ways. 1985 to 1987. On-Line Games Manager, Events Manager (at various times), for the Iowa Lottery, 2015 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa. General management the on-line lottery games (lotto) and management of television game shows and special live events. 1978 to 1985. Administrative Law Judge presiding over cases involving state personal income tax, state corporate income tax, bingo licenses, and sales tax for the Iowa Department of Revenue; civil rights review for Iowa Civil Rights cases (as needed); professional license revocation (dentists); and safety and health violations for the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (1978 to 1985). Education Iowa State University, accounting classes, 1988-1989 Drake University Law School, Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1977. Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Bachelor of Arts, 1974 with an emphasis on news editorial and English. |
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Awards and Recognition If you have been alive long enough, you start to pick up of awards of one kind or another, but some recognitions are truly appreciated. One of those is the Powers Award, given each year by the U.S. and Canadian lottery directors to a person who makes a significant contribution to the lottery industry in North America. Or a shared PGRI Lifetime Achievement Award (with Steve Wynn). Others are nice suprises like being named one of the Top 100 Marketers in the nation by Advertising Age magazine or being profiled in Forbes magazine.
Working for Fun (and very little or no
money) I wrote the prospectus and handled SEC filings for a movie to be called "Flesh Twister". Unfortunately, this was after the federal tax laws were changed to close some loopholes that permitted the wealthy to multiply their deductions by investing (and losing) money in a movie. I guess they were never really interested in the arts after all. Only the trailer actually got filmed. It was advertised at international film festivals and Gene Shalit mentioned the film project on the Today show during his review of the film festival in Cannes. My Hollywood experience actually started at a much younger age. While seeing California from the back of a station wagon with my parents and three younger brothers, we got an autograph from Larry (of the Three Stooges). He had much less hair than on the show; he was much more annoyed than funny, and he had a very attractive young blonde on this arm. Since then, I've been involved in projects or discussions with Goodson Productions, Dick Clark, Four Point Entertainment, and Disney's Buena Vista Television and enjoyed meeting Stephen Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg (two members of the DreamWorks SKG team) to work on a joint television game show / lottery show project. I also did a little legal work for a rock band called Luxury. One of their biggest hits was "The Stupidist Thing."
Just Fun (and spending money) I like biking and bikinis and like to combine the two whenever I can. This young woman belonged to a team called "Team Bikini" and here I am discussing with her the merits of padded shorts. The last full week in July, you can find me and more than 10,000 of my closest friends on the world's largest organized bicycle ride (cynics might call it the world's largest rolling buffet or the world's largest rolling beer party). RAGBRAI is an annual 450- to 500-mile ride that meanders, up hill and down, through the State of Iowa from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River. If you think Iowa is flat, come join this ride. If you know anyone who has a good used tandem carrier for Yakima double-cross bars, drop me a line. |
