'Kwikie' lottery tickets have Maine retailers upset

'Kwikie' scratch lottery tickets have some retailers in Maine requesting a rebranding

BANGOR, Maine – Would you like a Kwikie? Just the question has some store owners in Maine upset over the proposed name for a scratch-off lottery ticket.

A few weeks ago, the Maine State Lottery sent a pamphlet out to its 1,300 retailers, saying it plans to name the tickets "Kwikies."

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Acording to an article in the Bangor Daily News, Gerry Reid, director of the Maine Bureau Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, said it's not the state's intent to be provocative.

"I fully understand that when someone saw this word in isolation, they thought, ‘Oh, these guys are getting a bit racy,'" said Reid. "We're actually doing everything we can possibly do to not lead you to that place in your mind."

Reid said that the bureau has been active for the past three to four months in trying to land on a name to encompass all of its scratch tickets. They went through 50 or 60 names before landing on Kwikies.

"The benefit of buying this ticket is that it's quick, easy and fun," said Reid. "That's what an instant ticket is."

A cashier at a Bangor, Maine store told the newspaper, "'I think it's highly inappropriate," said Kaylee Constable. "[Customers have] come in and joked around with me and say, 'Can I get a Kwikie?' ''m only 19 years old and I have 40- and 50-year-old men saying sexual remarks to me."

The name hasn't been officially implemented. The name change may come in a month or more after public opinion is weighed.