Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Old questions, new concerns on keno

  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • April 15, 2015
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"
Anne Noble, President and CEO of the CT Lottery Corporation testifies Wednesday.

Keith M. Phaneuf :: CTMirror.org

Anne Noble, President and CEO of the CT Lottery Corporation testifies Wednesday.

A legislative hearing on a renewed proposal to legalize keno raised old concerns Wednesday about expanding gambling in restaurants, bars and convenience stores and new ones about profit-sharing and technology.

The Indian tribes that run Connecticut’s casinos could receive roughly as much from keno as the state would next fiscal year. That’s according to details of the bill raised by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee as well as gaming proceed projections from the Connecticut Lottery Corporation.

Meanwhile, the tribe that operates the Mohegan Sun casino complained that the legalization measure removes safeguards that could pave the way for dramatic shift in state policy – namely the launch of online gaming.

Anne Noble, the president of the Lottery Corporation, said the lottery was not seeking permission to conduct online gambling or to sell its products over the web and would work on clarifying the legislation.

“There’s not an issue here,” Noble said. “If the language needs to be tickled, we’ll certainly tickle the language. We look forward to working with the tribe.”

Meanwhile, opponents of gambling expansion renewed their opposition to keno, noting that the legislature approved and repealed the game in 2013 and 2014, respectively, in the face of public pressure.

“It may be small, but it will grow over time,” Noble said of potential keno revenues, noting they follow a different path from other games.

Receipts from popular big-drawing lottery games, such as Powerball, explode at first, then plunge from that initial high before achieving relative balance, she said.

Keno, which would be offered not just in convenience stores, but also in bars and restaurants, tends to build a player base over time, and attracts more affluent gamblers than lottery tickets.

But since the state expects to have to share some of its keno proceeds with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, the state’s ultimate profit on the game may be less than lawmakers’ expected — and less than the tribes receive — at least in the first year.

The lottery estimates gross keno receipts would be $25 million, if approved, in the 2015-16 fiscal year. Noble called that a “conservative estimate,” adding it also reflects only six months’ receipts, assuming the lottery would need the first half of the fiscal year to prepare to launch the game.

But after paying prizes and meeting expenses, the state’s profit margin could be as low as 20 percent, or $5 million. But it can’t keep all of that.

That’s because the compact that grants the state a share of the casinos’ video slot revenues, also grants the tribes that run them exclusive rights to offer casino games in the state.

The legislation allows the state to transfer up to 25 percent of proceeds after prizes are awarded but before the lottery covers its other expenses – or about $2.2 million of the state’s $5 million profit – to the tribes.

But Noble also told lawmakers to think-long-term, adding that keno revenues have the potential to grow significantly over the next few years as the game attracts more players at thousands of sites.

In Massachusetts — the home of the most successful lottery in the nation in terms of per capita sales — the $790 million wagered on keno two years ago was 17 percent of the lottery’s gross revenues of $4.7 billion.

Lottery officials have said offering keno is crucial to compete with diverse gambling options in neighboring states.

But Noble also said Wednesday that preliminary numbers show interest in many lottery ticket games has peaked. The $310 million the lottery is expected to transfer into the state’s coffers this year is down slightly from the $319 million contributed in 2013-14.

Lottery officials also said they would face increasing competition if lawmakers approve a proposal from the Mashantucket Pequot tribe — which operates Foxwoods Resorts Casino — and from the Mohegan tribe to open as many as three smaller casinos outside of tribal territory in Connecticut.

Further complicating matters, the Mohegan tribe raised new concerns Wednesday with the keno proposal.

Noble insisted the game — a lottery-style contest using randomly drawn numbers — would not be played electronically, and participants would fill out paper slips to select their numbers.

But Chuck Bunnell, the Mohegan tribe’s chief of staff, wrote in his testimony that, in the legalization measure, keno is “too loosely defined to be acceptable.”

The tribe’s interpretation of the bill holds that it removes existing restrictions that prevent lottery games from being conducted online.

“Some may find these small changes to be insignificant, but in this instance words do matter greatly,” Bunnell wrote, adding that the language “raises some deep concerns for our tribe.”

Noble issued her statement offering to work with the tribe on the bill’s language after hearing of Bunnell’s testimony.

Opponents of expanding gambling also raised concerns Wednesday.

Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, one of the legislature’s most vocal opponents of gambling, argued keno would expand this activity dramatically by reaching into bars and restaurants where gaming currently is not present.

“We’re taking it to another level,” Hwang said. “That goes to the very essence of a family setting.”

Hwang and others also argued that Connecticut has not done a detailed study on the negative impacts of gambling in more than a decade, and should conduct one immediately.

Shattered lives, broken families and suicides tied to gambling addiction “are issued that cannot be measured” in dollars and cents, he said. “The fact is we have not added up how much it costs our communities to pick up the pieces of broken lives.”

Tamara Petro, executive director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, also pressed for a new study, and said offering keno in restaurants could increase addiction.

“It may expose children if the proximity for gambling is in family settings,” she said.

Joanie Mascot, a gambling addict who is in her 12th year of recovery, told lawmakers should couldn’t participate Wednesday in a simple lottery at the Legislative Office Building. Visitors draw slips of paper from a shoe box to determine the order in which they will testify before the committee. A legislative staffer drew the slip for her.

“As simple as it sounded, that would have been really hard for me to do,” said Mascot, who said she had been imprisoned for embezzling from her former employer.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
People with disabilities were next in line for COVID vaccine. Then the plan changed.
by Kelan Lyons

Younger people with chronic medical conditions feel left behind by the governor's new vaccine plan, which prioritizes by age.

The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO