"One of the benefits of having no lottery there (in North Carolina) was that we had people from across the borders coming in to buy lottery tickets," said Doug Woodward, director of research at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business. "That's all gravy to us, rather than taking income out of the pockets of the citizens of the state."

S.C. lottery officials said they weren't worried about the competition, and they already had plans about how to step up marketing.

"I probably know the North Carolina player better than anyone else around," said Ernie Passailaigue, executive director for the S.C. Education Lottery. "We have studies in play."

He estimated that North Carolina could have its lottery ready to go as soon as six months after the governor signs it into law.

"I got this thing up and running five months from the day I walked in the door," Passailaigue said. If North Carolina gets the right person, they could be on track quickly, he said.

North Carolina has been bordered by lottery states since Tennessee voters approved a lottery for their state in 2002, two years after S.C. voters authorized a lottery.

But North Carolina held out. Last week, the Senate left Raleigh after efforts failed to win over lottery opponents -- five Democrats and 21 Republicans. At that time, Senate leader Marc Basnight said the Senate was through for the year.

But Basnight changed his mind Friday. On Tuesday, two Republican senators were absent and the Senate's lottery vote tied. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Senate's presiding officer, broke the tie and sided with most of her Democratic colleagues.

In April, the N.C. House passed a similar bill by two votes. Gov. Mike Easley is expected to sign the legislation creating the lottery, something he's wanted since his 2000 election.

11th hour decision

One lottery watcher said such decisions are often made at the 11th hour because of lobbying efforts on the part of private companies that want to run lotteries.

"That's the way most gambling legislation gets passed -- at the last minute," said Bill Thompson, a public administration professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who studies gambling.

The impact of N.C.'s lottery on South Carolina will probably be minimal, Thompson said. "You'll lose some border traffic." But, he said, if the games each state offers are different, people will still cross borders to buy tickets.

Alabama and Mississippi are the only Southern states without lotteries, Thompson said.

Rebecca Sulock • 329-4072

rsulock@heraldonline.com