The Kentucky Senate voted Thursday on the expanded gambling amendment. By a 16-21 vote, the measure to allow up to seven casinos in Kentucky was denied.

Regardless of where you stand on legalizing casinos for recreational purposes, one thing we can celebrate is the end of a terrible "solution" to the state's budget problem.

The state's leadership had been selling expanded gambling tax revenue as a budget crisis cure even though economists agreed that wasn't the case. Now, with the gaming amendment out of the picture, Kentucky's legislature should focus on other solutions. Here are a few ideas for them:

• Repeal destructive and costly prevailing wage laws that artificially inflate the cost of public construction projects.

• Reform public pension policies that have created a $30 billion unfunded liability.

• Follow the lead of Kentucky's neighbor Indiana and pass right-to-work legislation.

Remember, revenue is not the state's problem - spending is. There are no excuses. It is time to move on.