I'm sorry that so many other people are experiencing this frustrating issue, and at the same time I'm kinda glad I'm not alone. I see that many people registered to use the forum just to post here and I say THANK YOU to all of you because this really helps make the game better for EVERYONE!
My guess is that it may take several days or even a few weeks to get the problem identified, resolved, and an updated game uploaded to the store. In the meantime, I'm finding that I can squeeze in quite a few chores in the time it takes for an ad to play, and GASP I've even taken a look at a couple of products/services that I hadn't previously heard of. Those ads are helping to pay for the game and happy support them by at least getting a sense of what their product/service is.