If you want to gamble in Columbus, you don't have to wait until the casino is built. And you won't have to stray far from Broad and High.

Within a half-mile radius of I-70 and Alum Creek Drive, there are three "Internet cafes" with machines that play like slots and pay off in cash. A little further out on James Road, Lucky Internet Cafe recently opened in a former neighborhood grocery store. Another such venue is in a flea market on Livingston Avenue. Yet another is advertised as opening soon in an old Sun TV building.

CHILLICOTHE -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is cautiously optimistic about recent actions by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

DeWine was in Chillicothe on Thursday talking to local officials to hear first-hand about prescription drug abuse. During his stop locally, as well as at other meetings, DeWine called out the medical board to become more active in the fight against prescription drug abuse.

Attorney General Mike DeWine has vowed to prosecute renegade doctors and pharmacists who are prescribing and selling these soul-killing drugs. The governor, meanwhile, has appointed a prescription drug task force and plans a $100,000 boost to an effective private drug treatment program in Scioto County.

Mike DeWine understood the value of the Fugitive Safe Surrender program well enough that as U.S. senator, he and the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones sponsored legislation that authorized the program. DeWine, now Ohio's attorney general, is well-placed, fortunately, to ensure an effective tool for safety is preserved in Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who is the lead plaintiff in the case, said harmed investors should be compensated whether or not taxpayers will be responsible for making payments.

"We represent a class of 30 million specific individuals who were wronged, and it would be a very sad day in this country if we're not going to compensate these people . . . simply because the federal government took over the company with partial ownership," DeWine said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State Attorney General Mike DeWine promised Monday to continue Fugitive Safe Surrender in Ohio, even though the U.S. Marshals Service has cut funding for the program nationally.

DeWine said his office will hire a person to coordinate future events and work with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clergy and social service groups. A DeWine spokesperson said it has not been determined how much the program will cost the office.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mike DeWine is uncomfortable in his new office.

Literally.

The Ohio attorney general's corner suite in Columbus is perched 17 floors above East Broad Street, a commanding aerie from which one can look down on the Statehouse across the street through a bank of deep windows.