As the dust settles on the legislative session, it has become clear that a balanced state budget for next year depends on a $35 million increase in lottery revenue. Our budget is premised on encouraging working Missourians to put their hard-earned dollars and their hopes for the future on this game of chance. There is something unseemly about building a budget in this manner — not to mention the gamble of it all. We are betting on the come, and if we fail, we certainly face withholdings. Although there have been lots of high-fives over the fact that the University of Missouri was not cut, we are not out of the woods yet, as withholdings are still a very real possibility. Additionally, there are other stubborn facts about this budget that are hard to ignore.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/jun/03/budget-bets-on-lottery-revenue/
