MONTICELLO The former director of the New York State Lottery is joining the board of directors at Empire Resorts, the company announced this morning.

The interim president of the University of Central Arkansas dropped Monday his effort to become the state lottery’s executive director, a move that Arkansas Lottery Commission Chairman Ray Thornton said “shocked” him. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition)

A panel of state lawmakers has agreed to let the Ohio Lottery Commission hire a new company to run its games. The Lottery Commission will pay Intralot Inc. $40.8 million over the next two years to run Pick 3, Pick 4, MegaMillions, Keno and other games.

The two- and three-digit online lottery will be at the top of the agenda for the Government Lottery Office board once a new finance permanent secretary is appointed by the cabinet, GLO director Wanchai Surakul said on Tuesday.

State legislators scolded the head of the Ohio Lottery yesterday for misleading them last year about a contract for the Keno game, but they did not hold that against him in approving a new $40 million contract for Keno and other games.