You know times are tough when the Legislature is reconsidering an old Chinese game involving carrier pigeons to help float the state’s boat.

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the Great Recession has left state governments across the country scrambling to close budget gaps ranging from relatively puny (Maine, $400 million) to unimaginably ginormous (California, $28 billion).

And keno, once called “white pigeon” for the way winning numbers were delivered to outlying villages, could raise a few million for Maine.

Earlier this month, Lottery Director Dan Gwadosky presented the Legislature’s Legal Affairs and Veterans Services Committee with a study on keno gaming. Gwadosky wasn’t endorsing keno, just supplying the estimate requested by the Legislature.

In case you haven’t been to Vegas in a while, a live keno game uses 80 ping-pong balls being blown around inside a plastic bubble. Players mark blank keno cards that contain 80 boxes numbered one through 80.

A tube on top of the glass bubble is opened and 20 balls gradually find their way into the tube. A computer then calculates winnings depending upon the numbers correctly selected by players and the amount wagered.

Keno could introduce a new kind of lottery gaming in Maine. It could be played as an ongoing live game, like in Maryland, with numbers drawn every few minutes from a central location.

Or, it could be introduced as a social game. For instance, bars and restaurants could have keno nights, where people could gather, play their cards and watch numbers being drawn on a large screen.

If operated by the state, according to Gwadosky, it could net the general fund $2.3 million on about $8.4 million in total sales.

Sen. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, is sponsoring a bill that would allow veterans groups and nonprofits to operate video poker machines. Others have suggested keno as a more practical alternative.

But all of this intriguing discussion may come to naught. Gov. John Baldacci has long opposed any expansion of gambling in the state, including the 2003 racino referendum which was backed by two of his brothers and by polling in his hometown of Bangor.

Baldacci has been a consistent foe of efforts to expand gambling in the state, and there is no reason to think he will change his mind with less than a year left in his second, and final, term as governor.

Which points up an opportunity — some would say a risk — as the state considers and finally selects a new governor.

With more than 20 would-be governors on the ballot, will one candidate stake out a pro-gambling position in the campaign?

This is a complex and important issue. Between the Legislature popping up with new games and two full-scale casinos — one in Lewiston and the other in Oxford — being bandied about, the issue is not going away.

Voters should demand specifics from the candidates. How much gambling is enough?  Too much? What kind?  Do we want it limited to Bangor, or should it be available to other areas of the state?

Candidates should be prepared to outline a clear vision of the limits and possibilities for gambling in Maine.

editorialboard@sunjournal.com

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