COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state has passed two temporary budgets to grant lawmakers some time, but there's still no end in sight to the budget impasse created by the fight over gambling.

The state has now gone a full week without solving its budget problem, even though both the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratically-controlled House each convened a budget panel on Thursday. Both rooms were packed as the Senate panel questioned the specifics of Governor Ted Strickland's proposed slots-at-racetracks plan, while the House committee heard bad news from state agency directors about cuts that may be inevitable without slots.

The state legislature has a week and a half to figure out a way to overcome a nearly $1.2 billion deficit for the mid-year budget.

Strickland said in a news conference that progress was being made toward a compromise on the slots plan. The proposal would place video lottery terminals at seven racetracks throughout the state, leading to an estimated $933 million in additional revenue for the state.

The slots committee is scheduled to meet again Friday despite the holiday.