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Saturday, July 20, 2002

By James O'Toole, Politics Editor, Post-Gazette

Ed Rendell, the Democratic nominee for governor, said that the state should consider adding Keno to its menu of lottery games to shore up revenue for programs for the elderly.

	Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell listens as Margaret Potter, associate dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, expresses her opinion in a session with students and members of the faculty on the Oakland campus yesterday. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Keno, currently offered by 11 state lotteries across the country, is a game in which players typically pick 10 of 80 possible numbers, hoping to match them against winning numbers chosen randomly by the state lottery's computer.

Its basic structure is similar to games such as Lotto or Powerball, but its unique feature is that a new game takes place every five minutes, with the winning numbers displayed on video screens in venues such as restaurants or taverns.

Rendell's suggestion was offered as an aside as he gave an overview of his health care proposals yesterday at the University of Pittsburgh's school of public health. It comes as the state is grappling with rising costs for lottery-funded programs -- chiefly pharmaceutical assistance for the elderly -- that are projected to produce a significant lottery deficit within the next four years.

During the primary election, both Rendell and his opponent, Auditor General Bob Casey Jr., discussed the need to boost lottery revenues, although neither offered specifics on how that could be accomplished. Rendell noted yesterday that Massachusetts, one of the states that offers Keno, has significantly greater lottery revenues than Pennsylvania despite the fact that its population is about half that of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania's total lottery revenue was approximately $1.8 billion last year while Massachusetts lottery sales totaled were more than $4 billion. Maryland, another state offering Keno, has less than half of Pennsylvania's population, but its lottery revenue, at $1.3 billion, was significantly greater than Pennsylvania's on a per capita basis.

Kent Gates, campaign manager for Rendell's Republican opponent, Attorney General Mike Fisher, questioned the Democrat's suggestion.

"I don't think [Fisher] would be supportive of Keno at this point," said Gates. "Ed Rendell is the gambler in this race; Mike Fisher is for prudent fiscal management."

Dan Fee, Rendell's deputy press secretary for communications, downplayed the Rendell suggestion, describing it just one of several lottery initiatives being explored by the campaign and one that might or might not be offered as a formal proposal.

As they seek to lead a state struggling for revenue, both Rendell and Fisher have gone on record in support of limited expansion of gambling, in the form of slot machines at the state's race tracks. Rendell would use the money from slots to help increase the state's funding for basic education. Fisher has said he would sign a slots bill only if the revenue were to be devoted to existing lottery programs.

Rendell estimated yesterday that the state could realize as much as $300 million annually from Keno. One gaming industry official described that figure as optimistic, suggesting that while total annual betting on Keno might approach $400 million, the state's actual profits, after paying prizes and administration costs, would likely be about 30 percent of sales.