Newest lottery game debuts

LABEL: 238 drawings a day

By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

Some say it's a harmless game, a fun and creative tax alternative that will benefit schools and children statewide.

Others say Club Keno is an addiction-feeding game, the governor's desperate, sell-your-soul income source that will adversely affect many low-income residents in Missouri.

Ready or not, keno is available at a pub near you.

Club Keno, a new fast-paced lottery game, opened statewide Tuesday, though no customers could be found playing it Tuesday afternoon at Show-Me's or Port Cape Girardeau.

Amy Kaufmann, a waitress at Show-Me's, liked the game after just two plays.

"I think once it catches on, it will be popular here," said Kaufmann, who won $5 the first time she played. "It's very easy to play."

Dale Pruett, bar manager at Port Cape Girardeau, said customers may combine keno with dinner.

"It's just something for fun, something to do when you sit down to have a bite to eat," he said. "It's a whole lot like bingo, only you don't have to have some call out 'B-12.' From my position, that's good."

Initially, the game will be offered at 480 sites licensed to serve alcoholic drinks, generating an expected $20.8 million during the next year for Missouri public education programs, said Adam Hall, Missouri Lottery marketing director.

Some 1,200 businesses eventually will host the devices, Hall said. Nine establishments in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties have offered or will offer the game.

The game is similar to other lottery games like Lotto and Powerball, but it can be played every five minutes. Drawings will be held 238 times between 5 a.m. and 12:50 a.m. seven days a week.

The game is played when 20 numbers from a field of one to 80 are chosen in a computerized, random drawing held every five minutes. The more numbers that are matched, the more the player wins.

Players can win from $1 to $100,000 on a $1 ticket, though the odds of winning $100,000 are 8,911,711 to 1.

Political disagreement

The game was pushed by Gov. Bob Holden to help the education system during a budget year that required numerous cuts. The lottery commission had been studying since 1993 or 1994 whether to implement keno to invigorate lottery revenues. The lottery expects first-year keno ticket sales of $79 million.

State Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, co-sponsored legislation to try to delay the start of the game until the state legislature could debate the topic.

The day after Holden's State of the State address, the Lottery Commission gave keno its approval.

"I'm opposed to it," Crowell said. "It was never legislatively approved. They're calling it a new lottery game, which I disagree with. It's interactive gambling, if you ask me. It's a stretch for the gaming commission to call it just another scratch-off lottery."

Crowell is also concerned that children could be exposed to the game. The game is limited to places that serve alcohol, but that doesn't rule out some family restaurants.

Rep. Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, is skeptical that the state will collect as much money as predicted.

"It seems the money never goes where it's supposed to go, and it seems very little is left for the public good," Jetton said. "And it seems to me gambling attracts the less wealthy. I just don't think it's a good idea to fund necessary programs with gambling."

Critics have included more than 40 state House members who months ago asked lottery director Jim Scroggins in writing to reconsider offering keno, saying such games are more addictive than other lottery games because of their fast pace.

Over the first seven hours of the Missouri game Tuesday, Hall said, the new keno generated about $10,000 in sales -- a response he called "probably OK for the first day."

Given the game's unfolding marketing effort, "I think it's natural we'd gain some momentum over the next few days," Hall said.

David Ackman is hoping the game will increase business at his restaurant, Delmonico's, in Jackson, Mo.

At Delmonico's, the bar -- the area where keno can be played -- is separated from the restaurant.

"I did it to increase traffic and to keep people here longer," Ackman said. "And so far, the regulars have tended to stay longer. I'm not a gambler myself, but they're having fun with it."

Ackman said the money earned from ticket sales is minimal. Outside of collecting a bonus in the case of a big winner, the only money he will generate is when his patrons buy more food and drinks while playing the game.

Electronic keno games already exist in nine states -- Kansas, California, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127