On July 9th, 2008, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission, several local businesses will soon be offering keno. The brand new game will allow players to bet between $1 and $20 on ten digits out of the available eighty numbers. Around twenty numbers will randomly drawn every 4 minutes and shown from the main computer to the participating businesses. Players can win up to $2 million.
The game will only be offered at lottery retailers that possess a Class D liquor permit in an age controlled setting. This will include bars, bowling alleys, racing tracks and Veterans of Foreign Wars halls. The Ohio Lottery Commission commented that the game of Keno is expected to produce around $73 million by July 2009 that will be used to solve the budget deficit that the state is currently experiencing.
The state of Michigan, which is already offering the game, has around 2,100 keno retailers. Among the fifty businesses that already applied to host the game are Cedar Downs and their themed restaurant, Thirsty Pony. Proprietor Mike Sortino commented that the game of keno will be the extension of their entertainment campus.
Sortino firmly believes that the game will help them earn more and they can attract keno players who until now needed to go Michigan in order to play the game.
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John M. Thorpe
