Kansas Lottery sales decline in 2009News Story
Kansas Lottery sales were down 2.6 percent during the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state agency reported Wednesday. Sales for the year finished at $230.5 million, down from $236.6 million during the 2008 fiscal year. The lottery's biggest drops were in its Super Kansas Cash and Keno products, which fell 15 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Tough economic conditions have been a factor in decreased sales, as well as the lack of big jackpots in Powerball and Super Kansas Cash, said ...
Jul 17, 2009, 9:06 am - Lottery News forum

Arkansas Lottery Commission votes to join PowerballNews Story
The Arkansas Lottery Commission voted Wednesday to join the multi-state Powerball games, tickets for which may go on sale in the state as soon as this year, the state's lottery director said. The commission accepted an invitation from the Multi-State Lottery Association and the Powerball Group to join Powerball, which is played in 30 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. State Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue said previously he expected Arkansas to start selling Powerba ...
Jul 2, 2009, 5:46 am - Lottery News forum

Arkansas Gov. and new lottery director meetNews Story
Prelude of coming battle over Keno The head of the Arkansas state lottery and Gov. Mike Beebe met for the first time Monday but didn't talk much about their differences on keno. Executive Director Ernie Passailaigue's meeting with the governor came five days after Beebe told reporters he would oppose keno being instituted in Arkansas as a state lottery game. Passailaigue has said he envisioned keno being played in bars and restaurants by people watching monitors for winning numbers that ...
Jun 30, 2009, 8:39 am - Lottery News forum

Arkansas lottery director turns down $11,000 housing allowanceNews Story
The incoming head of Arkansas' lottery, set to be one of the highest-paid lottery directors in the country, didn't take all the cash offered him. Ernie Passailaigue's $324,000-a-year salary was just part of the deal when he was hired June 5. The Arkansas Lottery Commission chairman, Ray Thornton of Little Rock, also directed the state to pay $980 a month for a year $11,760 total for housing support for Passailaigue. But Passailaigue turned it down. He said that during negotiations for the ...
Jun 25, 2009, 2:18 am - Lottery News forum

Conn. AG urges changes before allowing KenoNews Story
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal advised Connecticut legislators Monday to amend the state's memoranda of understanding with two federally recognized Indian tribes before attempting to legalize Keno in the state. He said the proposal to bring Keno to Connecticut, suggested last week by Gov. M. Jodi Rell as a way to raise about $60 million a year in new revenue, could risk the $400 million the casinos provide the state annually in slot machine revenues. Under that memoranda between the t ...
Jun 2, 2009, 6:48 am - Lottery News forum

Ohio Lottery director under scrutiny for equipment debacleNews Story
A year ago, Ohio Lottery Director Michael A. Dolan persuaded skeptical lawmakers to buy $11.6 million worth of equipment to launch the state's new Keno game on a promise that the setup would still work after a year a premise that Dolan later admitted was false. Now, as Dolan prepares to ask the same legislative panel to approve a $41 million contract with a company to run Keno and other lottery games for the next two years, the director's own dubious promises could return to haunt him. On ...
Jun 1, 2009, 9:51 am - Lottery News forum

Ohio Lottery's new Keno game off to slow startNews Story
The bingo-like lottery game that began this summer in Ohio to help plug the gaping hole in the state budget is off to a slow start. Keno has been hindered by a weak economy and challenges getting it established at 2,000 bars and restaurants, said Mike Dolan, executive director of the Ohio Lottery. The game is a central part of Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to insulate the state budget from the economic downturn that has dried up tax revenue. Keno started Aug. 4 and sales were roughly $32 m ...
Nov 26, 2008, 7:50 am - Lottery News forum