Corbett persuades British lottery firm to keep bid alive

Among other things, Kane said the contract usurped the authority of the legislature to regulate and manage the lottery.

Now that the governor has persuaded Camelot to extend the bid, he still has to decide how to respond to Kane. Corbett could challenge her ruling in court, but the administration has not said whether that was the course it would take.

The ruling by the Democratic attorney general was a blow to months of efforts by the Republican governor to close the lottery deal.

On Friday, Brassell had said: "We are confident we will get a short-term extension to preserve the validity of the bid." Officials with Camelot, which runs Britain's national lottery, had declined to comment.

The stakes are high. The Pennsylvania Lottery in the last fiscal year recorded more than $3.5 billion in sales and sent more than $1 billion in profit to programs that help the elderly.

The administration says rapid growth of the state's senior population necessitates exploring ways to boost that profit. Across the life of its proposed 20-year contract, Camelot would guarantee profit of $34 billion.

Even if Corbett manages to get the deal back on track, another challenge awaits in court - from Democratic legislators and the union that represents lottery employees.

Contact Angela Couloumbis

at 717-787-5934 or acouloumbis@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @AngelasInk.