The acting director of the Illinois Lottery has resigned and will take over as head of the Connecticut Lottery.
On Thursday, officials in Connecticut announced that Gregory Smith had been named president and CEO of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation and will take over that lottery on July 20.
The announcement comes less than two years after Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner tapped Smith to serve as acting director of the Illinois Lottery.
Smith, who previously served as the head of Vermont’s lottery, helmed the Illinois Lottery as the agency made the transition from its first private management company, Northstar Lottery Group, to Camelot Illinois, which assumed all day-to-day operations of the agency on July 1.
Smith is the second acting lottery director to serve under Rauner. His predecessor, B.R. Lane, held the position for just over a year before she resigned in June 2016 because of personal health issues.
Rauner spokeswoman Nicole Wilson confirmed Smith had accepted a new job but said he is still with the Illinois Lottery and that the governor’s office would announce the appointment of a new director “in the coming weeks.”
mwalberg@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @mattwalberg1
