A Polk County judge has denied a last-minute bid to keep the ban on the Iowa Lottery’s TouchPlay machines from going into effort overnight.
The judge said he had “specifically and carefully” reviewed the latest arguments from five companies that had purchased TouchPlay machines,b ut he denied their request for an injunction that would have kept the machines in operation.
The ban is set to go into effect at 11:59 p.m. this evening. Meanwhile, last-minute activity at the statehouse today (Wednesday) saw lobbyists for the TouchPlay industry huddled with key senators, seeking a bill that would let the machines operate another 120 days to let investors recoupe more of their investment.
Craig Cohoon of Moss Distributing, one of the companies that invested millions in TouchPlay machinery, says up to 40 businesses may file for bankruptcy if that extension isn’t granted. Cohoon himself said in March that he’d probably lose his job if TouchPlay machines go away on May 4.