The Dispatch wrote Bars ready to roll out Keno in Columbus and across Ohio
Monday, July 14, 2008
BY JAMES NASH
Before the sun rises three weeks from today, a new day in Ohio gambling history will dawn. Nearly 1,000 bars, bowling alleys, social clubs and other locations will begin selling tickets for Keno, a fast-playing numbers game that will make state-sponsored gambling a social activity in Ohio for the first time.
Keno has been somewhat controversial since Gov. Ted Strickland announced it in January as a way to raise $73 million a year for the state and stave off cuts to school funding. It will be the largest expansion of the state lottery since Ohio joined the multistate Mega Millions game in 2001.
In addition to the nearly 1,000 businesses — all but 160 of them bars — that will have Keno for its Aug. 4 launch, the lottery expects to have 1,000 more businesses on board by the end of the year. Franklin County will have 55 Keno vendors when the game starts.
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