Legal in 2nd neighbor state; loss of Miss. money stirs debate

Randy Kyle spent $100 in two days on Tennessee lottery tickets. Kyle, 42, of Walls in DeSoto County scratched off tickets during his lunch break Wednesday. He sat in his pickup parked at the Mapco Express convenience store near the Mississippi-Tennessee line.

Kyle and several other Mississippians made up about a third of the store's lottery customers that afternoon.

Kyle, a construction contractor, said he expects to play regularly while working in Tennessee.

"That's a bad thing for me," said Kyle, who probably will buy tickets every time he stops in a convenience store.

He won two free tickets and at least $20 since he started playing.

Kyle is among several Mississippians who have flocked across the state line to buy lottery tickets since Tuesday, the first day of the Tennessee lottery. Almost everyone who has played has reported winning a free ticket or at least a couple of dollars.

The Tennessee lottery brought in almost $11 million on its first day, said spokeswoman Kym Gerlock. Tennessee turned to the lottery to pay for education after 20 years of debating the issue. The law, which voters approved overwhelmingly, calls for revenue from the games to pay for college scholarships.

Most Mississippians interviewed said they would buy tickets at home if the Magnolia State had a lottery. "I'd rather help my schools than the ones in Tennessee," said Mickey Allen, 48 of Michigan City in Benton County.

Mississippi legislative leaders, however, say there's no chance they would approve launching a Magnolia State lottery this year, even though thousands of residents cross state lines to play games in Louisiana and now Tennessee.

House Speaker Billy McCoy and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck say they are opposed to a lottery in Mississippi. "And I don't see the Legislature supporting it," Tuck said.

Gov. Haley Barbour doesn't support a state lottery because it wouldn't create jobs, said spokesman Pete Smith. A lottery also would tax the poor, Smith said, without elaborating.

"Like any form of gambling, a lottery is a cynical, craven way to part poor people from their money," said William Perkins of the Mississippi Baptist Convention."There is ample evidence that lotteries take much more money from poor people than wealthy people. If the state budget is in a bad way, then let's be honest and talk about taxes."

Still, Rep. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, said she's going to plug her bill that's designed to use a percentage of lottery proceeds to pump up education budgets. She introduced it Tuesday.

Lottery bills have been unsuccessful in the Mississippi Legislature since the late 1980s. The state House historically has favored lotteries, while the bills have died in the Senate. A survey of state senators by The Clarion-Ledger last week showed strong resistance to a lottery.

In 1990, the last year for a major push for legislative approval for a lottery, the bill passed in the House but died in the Senate by one vote. Then-Gov. Ray Mabus had proposed a lottery to help pay for $500 million in education reforms.

Mississippi's 1890 Constitution bans lotteries. The lottery, as a revenue bill, would require three-fifths majorities in the House and Senate, in order to pass.

Clarke said she's getting calls of encouragement from lottery supporters.

But without support from Barbour, Tuck and McCoy, the issue is dead, Perkins said. Such opposition means the Baptist Convention, which has more than 2,000 member churches, won't have to mount a large lobbying effort opposing a state lottery, he said. Besides lotteries, the Baptist Convention also opposes casino gambling, Perkins said.

Mississippi's casinos brought in $2.7 billion in 2003, according to the state Gaming Commission. About 12 percent, or $320 million, went to the state and local governments.

The Gaming Commission doesn't think Tennessee's lottery will affect Mississippi's casino industry, said commission spokeswoman Leigh Ann Wilkins.

"Casinos are resorts. They have so many amenities, such as golf courses and hotels, in addition to gaming," she said.

There's a vast difference between going to a casino and buying a lottery ticket, Wilkins said.