Rebecca Hargrove established the Tennessee lottery and remains the president and CEO.
The $500,000 pay package of the state lottery’s CEO is holding up approval of the agency’s annual budget. Rebecca Hargrove is one of the highest-paid lottery executives in the country.
Hargrove is an industry superstar. But Tennessee’s lottery – which raises money for college scholarships and pre-K – doesn’t even break the top 10 compared to other states.
In a budget hearing, Senator Stacey Campfield suggested Hargrove’s salary is out of line with performance.
CAMPFIELD: “Don’t you think that’s a little exorbitant? Because the money we’re paying out, we are losing in scholarship funds.”
HARGROVE: “It’s a decision made by the board of directors when they recruited me to come here.”
Hargrove has launched three lotteries, including Tennessee’s. When she came from Georgia, she says she was making even more money than she does now.
The Tennessee lottery’s board chairman argues Hargrove is worth every penny because of her knack for inventing fresh scratch-off games.
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