From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighKentucky Lottery officials say they’re taking the necessary steps, including layoffs, to give the commonwealth a bigger share of total lottery proceeds, as mandated by state lawmakers.The Kentucky Lottery has a goal of returning 35-percent of proceeds to the state, but has never achieved the goal. Now, the state is mandating at least a 28-percent return, which lottery President Arch Gleason is optimistic will be achieved this fiscal year. However, he says it’s requiring some restructuring, including the elimination of 28 lottery jobs.“We reduced the workforces in the offices. I think about 10 or 15 people were reduced out of the sales organization. The rest came from the organization in the headquarters,” Gleason told a legislative committee.Since its creation in 1989, the lottery has seen total sales of almost $12 billion. Of that, $3 billion went to the state, and $7 billion, or 60-percent, went to lottery winners. The rest went for retailers’ commissions and operating expenses.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
