Keno - Gambling now available across state

Late May saw the arrival of a new chapter in Missouri's perilous experiment with state-sponsored gambling. It's called Club Keno.

Keno is a form of video poker that is rapidly spreading into restaurants, bars and other public establishments across our state. No longer do gamblers need to find a casino along the Missouri or Mississippi rivers to indulge in risk taking in hopes of being a big winner.

In January, Gov. Bob Holden basically ordered the Missouri State Lottery Commission to take up Keno, which is projected to generate $20.8 million for state coffers in the current fiscal year.

The game is similar to other lottery games such as Lotto or 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. Players can win from $1 to $100,000 on a $1 ticket, although the odds against winning $100,000 are more than 8.9 million to one.

Local lawmakers, including Senate president pro tem Peter Kinder and state Rep. Jason Crowell, both attempted to slow down the introduction of Keno, arguing that such an expansion of gambling should require legislative approval, which wasn't sought here.

The era of Keno has arrived. With it comes an increasing dependence of state government on gambling as a dubious source of revenue.