Wichita ? Bringing the Kansas Lottery back from problems that forced out its previous executive director – and threatened its continued existence – was Ed Van Petten’s first challenge.

Now, he must get his agency ready for another: owning and operating racetrack slot operations and destination casinos.

“I’m not aware of anybody in Kansas government right now that’s real well-versed on casino management, so we’re running on a pretty steep learning curve,” said Van Petten, 53.

When Van Petten took over as acting director in 2001, the lottery faced a long list of problems – ranging from the theft of $63,000 by the agency’s information resource manager to complaints about inappropriate office behavior and offensive postings on the lottery’s internal Web site.

Auditing and security problems had led to the ouster of the previous director, Greg Ziemak. The lottery was up for re-authorization in the Legislature, a process that had to be delayed while lawmakers questioned Van Petten.

He was confirmed 37-1, with only Sen. Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, voting against him.

“I lacked confidence in Ed’s ability to bring things back in order,” Hensley said. “Since then I’ve been convinced Ed is up to the task and certainly has a great deal of integrity.”

Lawmakers have shown their faith in Van Petten, Hensley said, by extending the lottery’s sunset provision for 15 years in the new gambling bill.

The new law permits casinos in four zones in Kansas – and creates more security issues for Van Petten’s agency, which he said will likely hire 10 to 12 new employees to deal with auditing and security.

The lottery has overall responsibility for the new operations, but daily control rests with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

Van Petten knows, though, that opponents of the expanded state-run gambling – who say it creates opportunities for corruption – will be watching to see if their predictions come true.