On April 11, 2007, The Massachusetts State Lottery launched a new keno game, which will give keno players the chance to place $1 wagers on stock car races that are complete with engine sounds and exploding cars. The stock car race, entitled the Daily Race Game, will be tested by the state lottery in 5 different areas with plans to expand to 200 in the next 8 weeks and up to 1,300 businesses.
The Daily Race Game is the first expansion of Keno since 1993. It will only be permitted in bars and restaurants that have Lottery licenses to serve alcohol. The Race Car Keno Game is expected to produce around $36 - $40 million annually, which is less than a third of what the lottery commission was hoping for the horse racing game back in 2005.
State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, the head of the Lottery office, commented that the Daily Race Game would not produce more profits compared to the Horse Racing Game because people are already comfortable in betting on the game, but he is hoping that the Daily Race Game will perform better than expected. Cahill said that they are pushing really hard because they do not want a down year.
Profits through the end of March or the first 9 months of the Lottery's fiscal year was around $3.38 Billion, which is down about 2.3% compared to the same period last year. The Keno Game, which produces about 18% of the total profits, improved to about $3.3 million or about 0.6%.
Officials from the Lottery Office said that Massachusetts will be the 3rd state to offer the Keno Racing Game. The 2 other states are Rhode Island and Kentucky.
Both the Keno Race Car Game and the normal Keno game are similar because the player needs to pick out numbers. Cahill added that the Keno Race Car Game will be a more socially attractive game, especially for first time gamblers who just want to have some fun with their friends.
A player in the game can utilize about 7 types of bets in the Keno Race Car Game. One of the good odds is choosing the car that will come in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place and gives a payout of about $2. The normal keno game is played on the video screens in pubs and restaurants every 4 minutes from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. at 1,725 business establishments in the state. The Keno Race Car Game is played every 10 minutes at the same time.
Officials said that the Keno Race Car Game will have its own video screen, but they are hoping to utilize larger flat screen televisions. The pubs and restaurants will be allowed to buy their own video screens. Lottery officials commented that the installation cost for the Keno Race Car Game is around $743 per business establishment.
Sunday, April 15 , 2007
Louis Blechdom
