Lottery commission okays Powerball games (UALR Public Radio) - Click above to hear a full report from FM 89's Kelly MacNeill.

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Arkansas's lottery commission has voted to join the multistate Powerball games.

Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue says he hopes systems vendors will be able to sell Powerball tickets in the state before the end of the year, even before smaller numbers games are offered.

Powerball is played in 30 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, according to the association's Web site.

Wednesday was the first official day on the job for Passailaigue. Passailaigue also says it'll be one to two years before the commission would even look at the possibility of offering keno, a game of chance typically offered at a bar or restaurant. He says those games are much lower priority than Powerball.

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