Keno officially went online in 700 establishments across Ohio at 11:04 a.m. Monday.
The popular game of chance, operated by the Ohio Lottery Commission, is being offered by at least eight bars and restaurants in Washington County.
"We already had four or five players here at 11 a.m., but we'll have more this evening with our Monday pool tournaments. Some people will play Keno in between the pool games," said Mary Eddy, owner of the Norwood Tavern on Greene Street.
She said the tavern, like other businesses carrying the new game, will only realize about 5 percent profit from Keno, but Eddy hopes it will help bring back some of the customers she lost after the state banned smoking in bars last year.
Ohio's Keno game pays up to $20 million for a $20 bet that matches 10 of 20 randomly selected numbers. The maximum payout on a $1 bet is $100,000.
A new 20-number drawing runs every four minutes starting at 11:04 a.m. and ending at 1:44 a.m. daily, giving players a total of 221 chances to win every day.
In Belpre, Rhonda Funk, manager of the Station Lounge on Joe Skinner Road, said the Keno game brought some new faces into the bar.
"We're doing fine and have had a few players in and no big winners, but it's only Monday," she said. "And we've actually seen some new customers come in to play."
At Marietta's River City Tavern and Grill on Pike Street, manager Matt Ware said there wasn't a big crowd waiting to play the new Keno game at noon, but more people were showing an interest as dinner time approached.
"It's going pretty well. The biggest problem is explaining to customers how to play the game," Ware said. "But once they play a game they see how easy it is.
"I think it's going to increase our business, too, once people realize they can play Keno here as well as in West Virginia," he added.
Julie Brookover was a little apprehensive about offering the game at her Edgewater Cafe on Muskingum River Road between Marietta and Lowell.
"I was nervous at first, but I've got it down now," she said. "We've probably had 15 to 20 players today, but Mondays are usually slow for us. It will pick up."
Several players on Monday declined to be interviewed for this story.
Gov. Ted Strickland is banking on Keno to bring at least $73 million into the state's education coffers by July 2009. Ohio's constitution requires that all lottery earnings be funneled into education. But the governor says that money will still help offset the state's projected deficit of $733 million in fiscal 2009.
