rus is right, I went to that press conference. not only does the Ohio Constitution pretty clearly state that it must be run by a state agency, but the US Department of Justice has said the same thing. I blogged about this back in June. Basically, all they can legally do is what Illinois has done, which is outsource some marketing and sales activities, but all decision-making must be retained by the state, including what new games to offer and how much tickets should cost. The vendor even has to preserve any collective bargaining agreements that are in place. Can't see how that's going to command much money on the market.
What gets me about all of this is that this is the THIRD time the Governor has hired an outside consultant just to help him with gambling. What is the use of the 5,000 or so patronage positions he's allowed to fill as Governor, and the highly-paid staff he's surrounded himself with, if they can't manage a project like this on their own? Are his appointees at the Lottery so inept they can't figure out an appropriate price to pay for what they do every day? Or, rather, is this just another way for him to funnel contracts to his private sector buddies?
Meanwhile, ODOT just got 14 bids from potential consultants to advise the state on leasing the Turnpike. Here's who applied: Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley, KPMG Corporate Finance, UBS Investment Bank, BMO Capital Markets, Greenhill & Co., Macquarie Capital, Public Financial Management, RBC Capital Markets, Lazard Freres & Co., William Blair Co., law firm Ice Miller, and Seel Jackson Consulting. The Kasich administration is becoming a jobs stimulus act for investment bankers.