I came across some interesting news this weekend. It’s possible—though not confirmed at this point—that Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue could be leaving Arkansas and heading back home to South Carolina. Sources tell online news site FITSNews.com that “Passailaigue is being tapped to run a lobbying effort aimed at bringing video poker back to South Carolina.”
The story also mentions that back when Passailaigue was running the lottery in South Carolina, he left amidst accusations that he hired “one of his mistresses to a $67,000-a-year position at the agency.” We knew that Passailaigue left South Carolina embroiled in controversy, but these allegations concerning a mistress are news to us—and we’ve been covering the lottery since before its inception.
