New lottery bar game could mean big money for NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Education Lottery is bringing a game to the state where players can win every five minutes and has become a staple in bars and restaurants in other states.

Keno is a game that pulls 20 numbers every five minutes and is usually played on a screen in bars and restaurants. The more numbers picked, one through 80, the greater the chances are to win.

The NC Lottery projected the game could bring in $220 million over five years. Most of it would help fund education statewide, although an independent audit by the state lottery didn’t project how much.

But some criticized the game as a form of gambling because of its quick pace.

“It sounds like gambling, and people are going to be a little more interested in winning than that money going to education,” Charlotte resident Donald Graham said.

Andy Wilson, co-owner of the Peculiar Rabbit in Plaza Midwood, said having Keno is not an ethical decision but rather a business strategy.

“Having lived in other states where they’ve had it, Keno is definitely a bar game rather than a restaurant game,” Wilson said.

The NC Lottery is hoping to have Keno up and running by Oct. 15 at 500 locations around the state and 1,500 locations at the beginning of 2018.

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