In Oregon, between 1995 and 1997, the state budget relied for 9% of its revenue on the lottery system, most of it from video poker.

CNN: They Call It Video Crack

State governments, facing budget disaster, have mined other revenue sources, including tolls.

ECONOMIST: Repairing America's roads

With the expansion, Ohio will spend 54 percent of its budget and 32 percent of state tax revenue on health care, crowding out other essential state services.

FORBES: How Ohio's Medicaid Expansion Will Increase Health Insurance Premiums for Everyone Else

In Maryland, tax collections in nearly every category are falling short of expectations, with dismal revenue projects putting more pressure on state legislators to balance the budget without relying on the federal stimulus package, CNN affiliate WBAL reported.

CNN: Kansas budget standoff ends, but other states in limbo

The scope of the estimates is "way too narrow" and the tax-revenue figures "are infinitesimal compared to either the county or the state budget, " says Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.

WSJ: Cost of California Gay-Marriage Ban Unclear

At this economic time, with California suffering budget shortfalls, the Obama administration has decided to strip the state of a huge source of revenue and jobs, and to deny the state avenues that helped get drugs off the streets and out of the hands of criminal gangs and children.

FORBES: It's Time For A New Approach To Policies Involving Illegal Drugs

Yesterday's deal may solve California's immediate budgetary problems but it does little to address the structure of the underlying revenue-raising and budget-setting process, which are the cause of perennial strife for the state.

ECONOMIST: California's budget