Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to raise $73 million a year by putting Keno lottery games in bars and other adult venues will go before a legislative rule-making committee this month before it goes up for funding, just as opponents insisted.

A story from the AP says, the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review scheduled a hearing for April 21. Strickland, a Democrat, had tried to get another legislative agency to release $18 million to buy Keno machines for a July 1 startup. But majority Republicans on the state Controlling Board balked at the move last month, saying public hearings were needed first.

Strickland says the game is needed to help offset a $733 million hole in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. However, several Republican lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would prevent Strickland from doing so.

Opponents say the Keno machines too closely resemble the slots-based devices such as Tic Tac Fruit that Strickland had removed as illegal from bars and storefront parlors last year. They say the machines are too inviting to low-income gamblers who have the most to lose.

In Keno, typically a bettor picks between one and 10 of 80 numbers and wins money based on how many matches he or she has with 20 numbers the lottery picks from the same field. In Ohio, payoffs would begin at $2 for each $1 wagered for getting one number right _ up to $2 million for getting 10 of the 20 numbers correct.