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Kentucky Governor Wants Keno

KENTUCKY – As reported by the (Kentucky) Courier-Journal: "Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton has urged the state lottery to launch a Keno game to raise more money for college scholarships, and lottery officials will discuss the proposal tomorrow.

"Patton made the suggestion in a Tuesday letter that was released by his office yesterday. The letter went to Bill Covington, the board chairman at the Kentucky Lottery Corp.

"Patton noted in the letter that a recent legislative study found that lottery revenue in coming years won't be enough to fully fund the state's merit- and need-based scholarship programs, and he said the onset of the Tennessee lottery next year will make it even harder to fully fund the scholarships.

"…But Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said, `I believe it would be a mistake for the lottery board to follow the advice of an outgoing governor.'

"…Lottery spokesman Chip Polston said Covington, in response to Patton's letter, asked the lottery staff to present the board with Keno gaming options at its meeting tomorrow. He said 12 of 36 states with lotteries have some form of Keno.

"…A legislative study released last week found that by 2005-06, the lottery will fall $3.3 million short of being able to fund the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship program, in which students can earn up to $2,500 for each of four years of college based on their high school grade-point average and college entrance exam score…"

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