South Carolina’s two top lottery officials are on the short list of candidates to head North Carolina’s new lottery.

Executive director Ernie Passailaigue and chief operating officer Tony Cooper — who have been with the lottery since its inception in 2001— are among five finalists under consideration.

Passailaigue said that while he’s happy here, heading up the “last frontier” in major state lotteries has great appeal.

“North Carolina has an opportunity to have a world-class lottery. I take our inclusion as a tremendous compliment to the South Carolina lottery and its staff.”

Efforts to reach Cooper were unsuccessful.

S.C. lottery commission members were notified Tuesday of the two men’s inclusion on the list, said vice chairman Tim Madden. North Carolina could make a final decision within the next month.

The North Carolina Legislature voted to adopt a lottery in August after months of debate.

South Carolina could stand to lose some $150 million in revenue as a result of the neighboring lottery, which should be selling scratch-off tickets this winter.

But the N.C. lottery is already immersed in controversy.

Kevin Geddings, a former aide to Gov. Jim Hodges, resigned from North Carolina’s fledgling board this week amid allegations he took money from a firm trying to secure business with the state.

Madden said Passailaigue and Cooper are big assets to the state’s lottery.

“We’d hate to see them leave. But the financial impact is not dictated by the person that heads the team; it’s a collective effort.”

Passailaigue is a Charleston native who served in the state Senate before heading up the lottery. Cooper led the lottery in Washington, D.C., before coming to the Palmetto State.

Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or jstensland@thestate.com.