Well, that didn’t last long. Just four months after taking over for fellow Pittsburgh-based shop MARC USA on the Pennsylvania Lottery business, word on the street is that Brunner has already lost the account to…MARC USA, which originally won PA’s assignment in 2003. From what spies are telling us, there were legal issues to blame for Brunner not being able to handle the PA Lottery account. We’re checking in with the Lottery folks to get some sort of official word on the matter. As always, we’ll try to keep you posted. Update: Sources familiar with the matter confirm that the news is true. We are expecting some sort of statement shortly.
Update 2: Here’s a statement from Brunner CEO Michael Brunner to help clarify things:
“The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue notified us on Thursday, April 12, that the state believed it had to terminate its contract with us due to errors committed by the Commonwealth during the procurement process. Since we have been working cooperatively with the Commonwealth through the transition, this news took us completely by surprise and was extremely disappointing.
We appreciate that the Commonwealth has repeatedly stressed that this change in direction was not due to any fault or performance issues on the part of Brunner. We have also been assured that we followed all instructions and requirements as outlined in the RFP.
The client also maintains that MARC USA’s lawsuit and protests challenging the process are without merit. However, during subsequent review of procurement, the Commonwealth uncovered procedural issues resulting from human error, and therefore, will default back to the incumbent agency for one year.
We are working closely with the Commonwealth to assure that this matter is resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, and we have been assured that we will be appropriately compensated for the work that we have completed since being awarded the business.
Michael J. Brunner
CEO”
Update 3: And…here’s a statement from MARC USA to cement things:
“MARC USA is thrilled to continue our work with the Pennsylvania Lottery to benefit older Pennsylvanians. We look forward to helping the Lottery to achieve the kind of record-breaking results it has enjoyed since our partnership began in 2002.”