Governor Chris Gregoire is seriously contemplating legislation that would permit 4-minute keno games as a way to help solve a $2.6 billion budget shortfall. The 4-minute keno games could earn an estimated $30 million a year. That is not a lot of money compared with the budget shortfall but legislators are looking for any additional cash that they can find.
Similar keno bill have been proposed and have been dismissed in the past. Things could be a lot different this time around, given the seriousness of the state's budget shortfall but the Indian tribes in the state will likely complicate any effort. Washington already has a keno game that is played once a day. Gov. Gregoire is considering permitting a new game every 4 minutes.
Marty Brown, Gov. Gregoire's legislative director, said on November 27th, 2009 that the Gov. is seriously considering the option. Brown said that the game could be in her proposed budget next month. Budget planners in the Senate and House said that they were open to Gov. Gregoire's idea.
House Ways and Means Chairwoman Kelli Linville (Democrat-Bellingham) said that she has not been a big gaming advocate in the past but she was convinced a little because of the state's budget situation, which has only worsened. Linville said that with the budget situation that the state is facing right now, no amount of money is too small.
The Washington Legislature will convene in January 201 to try figure out how to solve the $2.6 billion shortfall in the two-year budget, which runs through June 2011. Democrats who control both the Senate and House have said that aside from the budget cuts, they may try to close tax loopholes or raise taxes to balance the state budget.
Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice (Democrat-Renton) said that she may sponsor the keno proposal. The chairman of the Washington Indian Gaming Association, Ron Allen, said that he is against the plan. Allen said that permitting the expanded 4-minute keno game would only take away cash from the gaming facilities operated by the Indian tribes.
Allen said that such proposal would also increase gaming in the state, stating that is something residents in Washington have said they do not support. In 2004, more than sixty percent of voters in Washington dismissed Initiative 892, which would have permitted thousands of electronic slot machines in bars, bowling alleys, restaurants and other locations across Washington.
Governor Gregoire's office said that it does not consider the 4-minute keno proposal an expansion of gaming because the state already has a keno game. Washington's daily keno game has cash prizes ranging from $1 to $100,000.
Gamers choose between one to ten numbers, either on their own or by allowing a computer to choose for them. The keno game being considered by Governor Gregoire would permit tickets to be bought at all lottery retail locations. Wide screens showing the drawing every four minutes would be installed in bars, restaurants and taverns all over the state.
No information on the potential cash prizes on the new game was available. Prentice said that keno is different from video poker since keno has a delay between each game and players will be able to relax in between.
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John M. Thorpe
