In this edition of the Newsreel: The conversation in West turns to regulation, the Senate wants to ask voters to use Rainy Day Fund money, the House undoes the state lottery and then puts it back together, and some Texas prosecutors are in hot water.

After an unexpected debate that spanned two days, House members passed House Bill 2197 - to continue the Texas Lottery Commission  — with a key provision that could ultimately lead to its demise.

UPDATED: After unexpectedly voting to end the Texas Lottery Commission earlier Tuesday, the Texas House reversed course Tuesday afternoon with a vote to continue the commission.

Despite strong resistance inside and outside the Legislature, groups representing gambling interests hope that a collaborative approach can help them make a breakthrough this legislative session.

Citing performance issues and alleging a conflict of interest, critics blasted Friday's decision by the Texas Lottery Commission to renew a 10-year operations contract worth up to $1 billion with Rhode Island-based GTECH Corporation, the state’s primary lottery vendor since its 1992 inception.

If you're lucky enough to win the lottery, you can cash in not just some but all of your future payouts for a lump sum. The Texas Supreme Court last week invalidated a state law that prohibited winners from selling their final two payments to finance companies offering cash now, often at a steep price.

Earlier this week, the Austin American-Statesman published an interesting series about the Texas Lottery. We mapped the data, which the paper's editors graciously released, to visualize fiscal year 2009 sales and residents' income characteristics by zip code.

Life is full of missed opportunities.  Voting in the March 2 primary doesn’t have to be one of them.