(Radio Iowa) – Iowa casinos took in a record amount of money in the fiscal year that just ended — despite a slowdown in the finals months. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko  says pent up demand showed early. “The industry really had a lot of success at the beginning of the fiscal year. So that would have been July through December of 2021. A numbers were still very strong from coming out of the pandemic,” Ohorilko says. Iowa casinos reported one-point-seven-six billion dollars in gross revenue for casino games and slots. “Many of the other entertainment options we saw either closed or had reduced hours, where the casinos in Iowa, for the most part did not. And so the casino industry really was able to kind of fill that gap — and that drove a lot of the revenue,” he says. He says things slowed down in the second part of the fiscal year, especially in this last quarter.

“It will be interesting to kind of keep an eye on what will happen here in the next fiscal year, just based on some of the early signs that we are seeing a slowdown at a number of the facilities across the state,” according to Ohorilko. He says finding enough staff has been a significant problem throughout the casino industry this year and the casinos are doing a number of things to try to counteract that problem. “We’re starting to see some wages increase, we’re seeing a number of the the businesses or other amenities associated with casinos, maybe adjusting some of their hours to maybe be more friendly or favorable for people seeking employment,” according to Ohorilko. ” But it still is a difficult time in terms of finding employees. And so the facilities are starting to figure that out.” Casinos generally see a little downturn this time of year as people are on vacation or doing more outdoor activities.

Ohorilko says the state is also seeing the Nebraska casinos ramping up their operations. “That really will be another thing to monitor closely — will be how does gambling in Nebraska impact the western Iowa casinos? And what do those casinos in western Iowa do to counteract some of that competition?,” he says. He says it appears that Nebraska will have temporary facilities open up relatively soon, or at least in the fall.

(Atlanta, GA) – The Megamillions jackpot went unclaimed following Tuesday night’s (July 26th) drawing, making the drawing for Friday night’s multi-state lottery game an expected $1.02-BILLION, which ties for the second-highest prize ever in Mega Millions history. Tuesday night’s drawing was the third-highest ever at $830 million, or a cash option of $487.9 million.

Even without a big winner, there were a few ticket purchasers who will be a bit wealthier after Tuesday’s drawing. Lottery officials say there were nine tickets sold that matched five of the six winning numbers – each is worth at least $1 million or more. One of those tickets sold in Ohio with the the megaplier option is worth $3 million. The California lottery says a ticket sold in Baker with five matching numbers will have a payout of $2.9 million. California uses a pari-mutuel system with payouts that vary from those in other states.

The seven other tickets are believed to be worth $1 million each. They were sold in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 7 – 29 – 60 – 63 – 66 Mega Ball: 15

The jackpot has grown so large because there hasn’t been a winner in three months. Those 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all six numbers have allowed the jackpot to gradually grow from its $20 million starting point in April.

(Radio Iowa) – A McGregor man has been arrested after allegedly striking a person protesting the Supreme Court’s recent abortion decision.  McGregor police say Ronald Paradine was charged with assault in the incident which occurred Friday night.

Authorities say Paradine began voicing his opposition to the demonstrators, walked across a street unprovoked and began striking an individual multiple times.

(Radio Iowa) – An opioid manufacturer is willing to pay up billions to settle thousands of legal claims, including one filed by the State of Iowa. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has been a lead negotiator for a dozen states that sued Teva Pharmaceuticals. He says the settlement is another major step in addressing the opioid crisis. Final details are still being worked out. The deal is contingent on the willingness of a generic drug manufacturer that’s associated with Teva to also strike a nationwide settlement.

Still, Teva executives have announced the company’s willing to pay up to three-point-seven billion dollars in cash over a 13 year period. Teva, which is based in Israel, will also provide one-point-two billion dollars worth of a drug that reverses opioid overdoses. Miller says the settlement will help cover treatment for opioid addiction and help prevent fatal overdoses.

Attorneys for Iowa and other states accused Teva of downplaying the risks associated with opioids and even suggesting prescribing more pills was the answer to people who were showing signs of addiction.