Gov. Bryant says he's open to lottery discussion
Creating a lottery has been mostly just a sidebar debate in Mississippi and the Legislature for decades — oft discussed, but never gonna happen.
Ever since former Gov. Ray Mabus’ ill-fated push for one in 1990 helped get him un-elected, any effort to create a lottery has faced a certain gubernatorial veto and was, therefore, moot.
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As recently as January, Gov. Phil Bryant called the idea of a lottery a “silly notion,” and more directly said, “I am not for it.”
But talk of a lottery has intensified as state revenue flags. And large Powerball jackpots have sent Mississippians scurrying across our borders to buy lottery tickets (all surrounding states except Alabama have them). The state House — although it was considered something of a protest vote most knew would never pass into law — voted 81-34 on a bill that was amended to create a lottery. The amendment was later stripped.
Read more: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/10/01/bryant-lottery-legislature/91336674/