Efforts for North Carolina Lottery Fall Short

Like a phantom that refuses to be exorcised, a lottery haunts the halls of the General Assembly -- surviving a stonewall of opposition but never quite gaining the support necessary to burst fully to life as the Senate wrapped up its work this week.

"I thought there would be a break, and that break never occurred," Senate Leader Marc Basnight by telephone Wednesday afternoon as he drove home from the chamber's marathon session that ended at sunrise.

Basnight, Gov. Mike Easley and other lottery supporters continued their push to the 11th hour and 59th minute of the Senate's session as they have for weeks, fruitlessly telephoning and cajoling anti-lottery holdouts.

But they declined to take advantage of a procedural loophole that would have given them the single vote needed to pass the bill, citing respect for an absent senator and for legislative tradition.

"There were some opportunities to use some trickery, but we decided not to do that," Basnight said. "That would have been unethical."

So the bill to create a lottery remains on the table for the Legislature to take up again when it meets next spring -- or sooner. The House met again Wednesday, with Speaker Jim Black warning that representatives may not finish their work until next week.

Unless the House adjourns for the year Wednesday, a majority of senators would have to come back later to close down the session.