On February 11th, 2008, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a well-known gambling critic, but during his initial year as the governor of the state he has pushed for the expansion of the Ohio lottery-topped by his decision to introduce keno in Ohio. Some of the decisions that Strickland has made that have a huge impact on the lottery are 1st, giving permission to the lottery to conduct draws on Sunday for the very first time since its conception almost thirty-four years ago.
2nd, Gov. Strickland used his line item veto power to remove from the state budget the twenty dollars cap that the legislature tried to place on the price of any lottery ticket. 3rd, using this power again to remove the clause that the Sunday lottery draw will only be permitted by an executive order.
4th, placing a casino gaming supporter at the Lottery Commission. 5th, giving permission to the Commission to make Ten-OH, a keno game that can serve as a testing ground for the quick draw keno that will be offered in bars and restaurants in Ohio.
Gov. Strickland and his lottery head, ex-Cleveland City Councilman Mike Dolan, have faithfully followed the suggestions from a state budget analyst's memo made almost a year ago. Officials from the commission commented that they expect the quick draw keno to help produced $73 million annually.
[02-03]
Louis Blechdom
