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'The dog ate my lottery ticket'News Story
With the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Iowa, there were several ticket-holders who had wishful thinking. The Iowa Lottery said Wednesday that since the winning numbers were drawn it has been flooded with callers trying to explain why they were winners but could not produce their winning ticket. We had already validated the ticket. I was still receiving phone calls saying, 'Are you sure that is their ticket. Are you sure that's the winning ticket?' said the Iowa Lottery's Tina Po
Oct 6, 2006, 12:45 pm - Lottery News

Iowa couple claims $200M Powerball lottery jackpotNews Story
A Fort Dodge, Iowa, couple who bought three Powerball tickets during a pit stop for soda came forward Wednesday to claim the $200 million jackpot. Tim and Kellie Guderian bought the winning ticket Sept. 23 at a Kum Go store in Fort Dodge. They discovered their good fortune the following evening, as Kellie read off the winning numbers to an awe-struck Tim. What a stroke of luck, Tim Guderian said. It seemed like a dream. According to the Iowa lottery, the odds of winning were about
Oct 6, 2006, 11:18 am - Lottery News

Lawmakers criticize Iowa Lottery bonusesNews Story
Iowa Lottery workers are about to receive up to $7,700 each in what their board calls incentive-based pay and what critics call politically tone-deaf bonuses. The lottery board voted 5-0 Thursday to split $385,710 among the agency's 116 employees, with each person receiving almost 6 percent of annual salary. The money is to be paid under a long-standing policy that rewards workers when the agency meets financial targets, lottery officials said. In this case, the lottery went almost $3 m
Aug 21, 2006, 12:30 pm - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery sales jump 60% in last 12 monthsNews Story
Iowa Lottery sales more than doubled in the last 12 months according to a report released today, fueled in large part by those now-silent TouchPlay machines. The Iowa Lottery recorded a 60 percent increase in sales of its products over the 12-month state fiscal year that began July 1st, 2005 and ended on June 30th of this year. TouchPlay machines were shut down on May 4th. But during their last 11 months of operation, those TouchPlay machines yielded $121.4 million in revenue for the state-ru
Jul 26, 2006, 3:59 pm - Lottery News

Iowa Lottery TouchPlay ends tonightNews Story
After TouchPlay owners lost a last-ditch legal battle Tuesday to leave the video lottery devices turned on, some lawmakers said they would make a final effort to keep the affected businesses out of bankruptcy. A Polk County judge on Tuesday refused to delay the ending for the Iowa Lottery's TouchPlay machines, a ruling that means the machines must be turned off by 11:59 tonight. A group of private businesses that had been invited by the Iowa Lottery to invest in the TouchPlay machines, inc
May 3, 2006, 11:48 am - Lottery News

Man, 81, Enjoys Lottery Scratch-Off StreakNews Story
Some call it luck, but Keith Selix knows better. The 81-year-old Waterloo, Iowa, man has won three big lottery prizes since last year -- a streak he believes would normally be impossible. But since his wife died in February 2005, the man's fortune has mysteriously changed. I'm still thinking that I'm being led from up above, said Selix, a retired John Deere machinist who spends about $200 a week on lottery scratch-off tickets. I'm firmly in belief of that. Ironically, Selix's wife h
May 3, 2006, 7:21 am - Lottery News

Iowa Gov. Approves Ban On TouchPlay Lottery MachinesNews Story
The fight to keep video lottery in Iowa is heating up. Governor Tom Vilsack approved a ban on the state's lottery TouchPlay machines, giving businesses 45 days to shut them down. It's a move that's not sitting well with owners, but it also could cost the state millions of dollars in revenue. They look a lot......and sound a lot......like a slot machine you'd find in Vegas. You don't have to drive to a casino anymore, you can just play these, said Dan Viereck, manager of the Trophy Cas
Mar 22, 2006, 8:51 am - Lottery News

Iowa Legislators start spinning TouchPlay debate todayNews Story
There are a lot of jackpots on the line today when legislators begin debating the future of the Iowa Lottery's slot machine-like games located in Main Street businesses across the state. More than 6,000 machines in 2,800 taverns, grocery, convenience stores and other locations across Iowa have brought in more than $212 million in sales since July. Another 4,500 machines are expected to be installed. Large companies such as Royal Financial, which operates 25 percent of the machines, and
Mar 13, 2006, 8:38 am - Lottery News

Iowa lottery records show sales trendsNews Story
Mason City TouchPlay outlets took in more than $3.2 million in their machines over the past eight months, with gamblers in Clear Lake throwing in another $663,000, according to an analysis by Lee Enterprises newspapers. Mason City ranked fourth in the state in TouchPlay receipts. The Iowa Lottery released financial information on the machines Friday in response to Freedom of Information requests by Lee, The Associated Press and other news organizations. The information is incomplete. A
Mar 8, 2006, 8:09 am - Lottery News

Burglars Take Cash From Lottery MachineNews Story
25 Burglaries Of TouchPlay Devices Happen In Six Months On Wednesday morning, burglars stole cash from a TouchPlay machine. The clerk at an east side Kum And Go at 2919 E. 14th St. said the theft happened around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The lottery machines are in a separate room called the Gaming Center at the store. The clerk told police that two men a one woman walked into the gas station together. The guys went into the room were the TouchPlay machines are located. He believes
Mar 2, 2006, 8:36 am - Lottery News