Ohio Lottery plans to add Sunday drawings

The lottery hopes to begin Sunday drawings by May.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- For the first time in its 33-year history, the Ohio Lottery plans to hold Sunday drawings.
Adding Sunday drawings to the daily Pick 3, Pick 4 and Rolling Cash 5 games will mean additional sales of 26 million to 34 million next year, with increased profits of 10.9 million to 14.3 million, lottery director Mike Abouserhal said Monday.
The lottery staff told commission members Monday that the plan for Sunday drawings would be detailed at the April 16 commission meeting. The approval of the commissioners isn't required for Sunday drawings, spokeswoman Mardele Cohen said.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat and Methodist minister elected in November, approved the plan for Sunday drawings, Abouserhal said. He said the lottery has traditionally sold lottery tickets and cashed winning tickets on Sunday and was only adding drawings.
"The governor is aware that this brings Ohio in line with our neighboring states," Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said. Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania have Sunday lottery drawings but West Virginia does not.
Not everyone is happy
Rev. Rebecca Tollefson, executive director of the Ohio Council of Churches representing 17 Christian denominations, said it was sad that the lottery was extending drawings to a traditional day of worship.
"It goes against the grain of everything we stand for," she said from Columbus. "It's sad that the lottery folks feel they have to go to Sunday when so many people regard that as a Sabbath day."
The lottery hopes to begin Sunday drawings by May.
The lottery also announced plans for a new game, Pick 10, in which bettors pick 10 of 80 numbers and the lottery selects 20 winning numbers. A player would win by matching between five and 10 of the selected numbers or matching no selected numbers.
The game, to be drawn midday and evenings daily, would have a top prize of 500,000 and a one in 4.72 overall chance of winning.
On the Net: http://www.ohiolottery.com
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