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Lottery commission expects $73 million in first year
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008
Joe Rea left his first Ohio Keno game eight bucks ahead.
Rea was one of the first ones to play at the historic Walther's Cafe on Maple Avenue Northeast in Canton Monday.
''It was a lot of fun,'' said Rea, 79.
Ohioans began playing the state's newest lottery game — keno — at 717 locations across the state at 11:04 a.m. Monday.
Rea, who ran a bail bonds company and worked as a parole officer, spent $10 for 10 games of keno and came out $8 ahead by the end of the 10th game.
To play the game, the Ohio Lottery Commission picks 20 numbers between 1 and 80 and the contestant picks up to 10 numbers to match.
Drawings place every four minutes from 11:04 a.m. to 1:44 a.m.
Officials at the lottery commission anticipate the new numbers game will make a profit of $73 million in the first year. More than $290 million in sales are anticipated and about 2,000 locations are expected to be hosting the game by the end of 2008.
The top prize for a $1 bet that matches 10 of the 20 selected numbers is $100,000.
Only holders of valid Class D liquor permits for on-site consumption of alcoholic beverages can sell tickets for the new keno game.
Gayle Jackson, regional sales manager for the area that includes Stark, Summit, Portage, Wayne, Lake, Geauga and Holmes counties, was at Walther's for the kickoff and handed out keno buttons, Frisbees, and ball caps to people who played Monday morning and early afternoon.
''I think it's gonna catch on,'' said Jackson, a former Stark County commissioner.
She said the keno game ''is doing well in other states.''
She picked Walther's Cafe to visit on the first day because the place ''is a family business'' and has been a good lottery location over the years.
At 11:04 a.m., when the first game was played, there was a line waiting inside the bar and at the bar's lottery drive-through to buy tickets.
The lottery commission decided the game can be played only at establishments with Class D liquor permits to assure that only adults would be playing.
''We don't want to encourage youngsters to play,'' Jackson said.
Within a half-hour of starting the game, one person won $50, said Faith Kemp, a lottery official. The person dropped a ticket off before 11 a.m. and went to work, and will be notified later that she won, Kemp said.
Here are top prizes based on the number of correct numbers picked: 10 — $100,000; nine — $25,000; eight — $10,000; seven — $2,000; six — $1,100; five — $410; four — $72; three — $27; two — $11; and one — $2.
Rea, a regular at Walther's, said he arrived about 9:30 a.m. Monday, ate breakfast and hung around long enough to play keno.
He played the same numbers on each of his 10 tries.
He got the numbers he picked out of a fortune cookie, he said.
After about two hours of sales, Jan Walther, owner of the restaurant and bar, said the day's lottery sales were already up 30 percent to 40 percent.
''They have this game in Vegas and people play it for hours and hours,'' he said.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Joe Rea left his first Ohio Keno game eight bucks ahead.
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