The Iowa Gaming Association, a private group comprised of 14 commercial riverboat and racetrack casinos, commissioned a report in late 2005 on what TouchPlay would do to the state's gambling industry, and according to a top insider, the complaining being done by those involved with the lottery's program about being out hundreds of millions is "entirely deceptive." In fact, our source said the report showed that in cases like Kum & Go's Bill Krause, the machines paid for themselves "in 18 weeks." "They are trying to pose this as some hardship, but the only way that would be true is if you were some small operator with a handful of machines who got into the game in December," our source said. "These things have more than paid for themselves, which is why the TouchPlay people are hesitant to fully disclose all of their records." Our source also pointed to a March 30 Wall Street Journal article that reported there are 86,000 TouchPlay machines currently in operation in the United States with laws and provisions calling for another 49,000. "So to say these machines are headed for the junkyard is also disingenuous," this individual said. TouchPlay machine owners paid a $25 license fee per machine, while casino owners and operators pay $25,000 to simply apply for a gaming license in Iowa and millions more to receive one if they are given the go-ahead to open a casino, records show. The report by the Iowa Gaming Association will not be made public because in order for that to happen, all riverboat and racetrack casinos in the association have to agree to do so, and Harrah's will not.

A recent Time magazine article about GOPers not wanting to align themselves with President Bush was obviously not reading material for the Jim Nussle gubernatorial campaign. The President will appear with Nussle next week, and a Nussle insider says that the visit will help raise upwards of $1 million. "Jim's going to be tied to Bush anyway. He'd look worse, I think, if he tries to run from him," this individual said. "He has to stand up and say he's proud of his accomplishments in D.C., because if he runs from them, he loses the Republicans, and the Democrats just turn around and say, 'See? We were right all along.' Running away means you shouldn't be running at all. Let the Democrats make this race a referendum on Bush. Are they forgetting where we are? We don't exactly follow the trends here. Besides, the Democrats are killing each other for us."

Having Nussle win in November will be a huge blow to Tom Vilsack's presidential aspirations - it has been pointed out - which is causing more and more friction among the party faithful. It has become expected that nationally prominent politicians pave the way for their successors. "Having Nussle win the governorship will fuel even more doubts about Vilsack being ready for prime time, not that standing him up next to Bill Clinton last week didn't do that already," a top Democrat strategist told us. To avoid that, look for Vilsack to dump as much money as he can scrape up into the war chest of whoever claims the Democratic nomination. If Chet Culver wins the nomination, a $1 million contribution, we're told, will temporarily salve any hard feelings for Vilsack's assistance to Mike Blouin - although, we've been told to look for Christie Vilsack to come out and support Blouin in the next week or so.

In other Vilsack news, people around the statehouse and the state were shocked at the level of insensitivity the governor displayed surrounding the death of his former chief of staff Steve Gleason, a former governor's aide told us. "Instead of commenting about Gleason's many accomplishments and how he and his contributions will be missed, Vilsack attempted to tie an increase in the state's cigarette tax [which he can't get done] to his death," the person said. "The inappropriateness of that tenuous tie shocked the supporters of the cigarette tax, lawmakers, Democratic activists, statehouse press corps, as well as the governor's current staff." Said another top Democrat, "It's all about Tom Vilsack. 'Me, me, me. Look at me.' Everyone knows that [Vilsack] has few close friends, and this display explains why."

A top state source has told us to "look for" a full-on NCAA investigation into Iowa State's basketball department in the wake of former coach Wayne Morgan's departure. ISU was named as the focus of a major scheduling and recruiting scandal, in which teams schedule their non-conference games through a company called D1 Scheduling. "It's going to get pretty nasty," we were told. "Fifty thousand dollar checks don't come out of the basketball department without the athletic department signing off on it or not knowing anything about it. This can't just be pinned on Wayne and then we all move on." Iowa State and other schools paid D1 a scheduling fee to guarantee games with other universities. The money Iowa State paid, however, did not go to another team, but to company co-founder Mike Miller. Added our source: "Lots of money changing hands through lots of channels not approved by the NCAA. We could be looking at major sanctions." Our source alluded to "outsiders" being involved, but would not confirm or deny when we asked if this individual meant Cyclone boosters. CV

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