The launch of the “Celebrating our Statehood” game took place at Kansas Lottery headquarters in Topeka. Assisting in the unveiling were Kansas Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten and Mary Madden, Kansas 150 State Coordinator.  “The Lottery is proud to help promote our state’s 150^th anniversary,” said Van Petten. “The tickets should help raise awareness about the Sesquicentennial and let Kansans know about a website where they can learn more about the many activities being done in connection with the birthday celebration.”

The Board voted 5-0 to accept a lottery evaluation committee’s recommendation of Scientific Games International as the vendor that will supply the communications equipment, software, and computerized terminals that are used to sell and validate lottery tickets at about 2,500 retail locations statewide.  The Iowa Lottery received bids for its system from Scientific Games; INTRALOT Inc., based in Duluth, Ga.; and GTECH Corp., based in Providence, R.I. There were 1,000 points possible within the Iowa Lottery’s RFP and Sci-Games received the highest technical score as well as the best pricing score.

Frank opened the conversation by asserting, “If you have some guy who wants to play poker on the internet, we say it’s illegal… We could make billions of dollars a year by making it legal and taxing it.” The Federal Government could stand to rake in up to $42 billion over a 10-year period by legalizing and regulating the internet gambling industry in the United States.

 “The story of how Lottery proceeds help education efforts in Tennessee has expanded so much since inception, when it was just about HOPE Scholarships, pre-K and afterschool,” said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO. “Beyond the basic HOPE Scholarship, there are unique and innovative programs designed to help foster children, non-traditional students, military service men and women, and many more. The story is bigger now, and it’s an important story to tell.