February 26: OLG, IFC, J.D.

Today on the Scroll: defending the familiar at the OLG; a defense of immaturity as Mike Myers goes to IFC; and CNN’s John Roberts is bringing his girlfriend to see the old J.D.

Ontario lotteries find it’s no gamble to use U.S. brands [Toronto Sun]: Scratch-and-win lottery tickets branded with Hollywood properties have proven lucrative for Ontario Lottery and Gaming, writes OLG vice-president Gregory McKenzie, explaining how $1 million spent this year on royalty fees will return $81 million in sales — and that games with pictures like Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes sell 96 per cent of their inventory, compared to 70 per cent of less-familiar tickets. David Menzies ranted in a column earlier this week about how tickets inspired by The Price is Right, Family Feud and Survivor were costing money the OLG could have steered to health care and education, and that board game spin-offs like Battleship, Clue and Monopoly are targeting child gamblers. “While we have a monopoly on instant tickets,” responds McKenzie, “we have no monopoly on the attention of consumers who are looking for fun and excitement.”

At IFC Panel, Mike Myers Says Maturity “Overrated,” Calls Spike Jonze “Eccentric” [WSJ Speakeasy]: The post-Love Guru rehabilitation of the Team Canada jersey-wearing comic begins by moderating an IFC Center discussion after the New York screening of Jonze’s post-Where the Wild Things Are documentary about Maurice Sendak, called Tell Them Anything You Want. “Myers should not quit acting to become the next Charlie Rose,” it was observed, although Jonze was equally awkward. “I don’t like to think of myself as 46,” Myers said in an exchange about Sendak feeling his needle is stuck in childhood. “And I’m certainly not mature. I think it’s overrated.”

Iconic rock figure and legendary guitarist Slash in rare on-one-one at Canadian Music Week 2010 [press release]: This is old news, uninteresting save for the prospect of commentary on news that Axl Rose banned Slash-inspired top hats and T-shirts from Guns N’ Roses concerts, which turned out not to be true. More entertaining is the discovery of who is flying in to interview the guitarist: the team of John Roberts and his CNN colleague Kyra Phillips — revealed as a couple last year when Roberts was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, and she was at his table. Last month, the former J.D. went back to his MuchMusic mullet roots by interviewing Ozzy Osbourne.

… and more all day today @mondoville and dailystream@mondoville.com.