It would be reasonable to think it's the person who sells the ticket that gets the bonus if you just know that the lottery pays a bonus for selling a winning ticket. As an incentive to sell tickets it would probably make more sense for the lottery to pay the person selling the ticket than the person who owns the store. The store owner already has a profit motive for selling tickets, but the clerks only have motive for doing a good job.

As far as Ho guessing at who bought the winning ticket,  the article says the guy he referred to called to check the numbers and said he had won. That would give Ho a perfectly good reason for thinking he knew who the winner was. I'm sure I've occasionally seen reports that give at least a general time that a winning ticket was sold, and it's possible that the retailer who sells a winner gets better info than what we see in the news. Especially in a store that doesn't sell that many tickets, a narrow time frame could give the clerks a good idea who a winner might be. FWIW, I've always been a bit puzzled that the lottery would reveal the time a ticket is sold or the specific location, since that information is potentially useful if there is a dispute over ownership.

KY Floyd, as long as there is a video of whoever sells the ticket, I suppose it wouldn't matter if a bonus was paid, but it might open up a big can of worms, IMHO.  Anyway, it has no effect on me, so I don't care.  I think it would be wonderful if store owner decided to share his good fortune should he receive a bonus from the lottery.

Regarding the time or date a ticket is sold, I agree that this information should not be revealed, but the place of purchase is always listed immediately.  When a ticket has not been claimed, the lottery posts a warning, but I've never once seen a date or time until the actual ticket is claimed. I think it's for the very reason you state. I'm quite sure that is one of the questions asked when the tickets is claimed.

This whole thing has been over-analyzed. I only made some comments about the article because it doesn't seem to correspond with what the winner said, that's all.  There's so much hype when one of the larger jackpots is won. If the winner hadn't shown up in Tallahassee right away, there probably would have been another story. 

I spoke too soon. There is another News Story!!

The Sun-Sentinel must be hurting for exciting news stories.  There is another story about this win.  This time it is about the "big" difference. Seems that instead of $42 million, the jackpot was $44 million. (FL games are pari-mutuel) The winners who bought the ticket in Margate claimed it the next day, so they didn't have the final calculations. Another player also won, so they are getting a million more less taxes. 

Just thought people might want to see part of the article.  Read the last paragraph and keep in mind that this is an article about how 2 lucky winners shared a $44 million jackpot.  First the store is contacted and there is an article about how lucky the store clerk has been.  Then there is another article about how lucky the winner is to receive another check, since the jackpot was larger than estimated.  So why write this?  As I said, I really believe this newspaper has way too much blank space!  Here is part of the article.

".......McNair, who couldn't be reached Wednesday, is getting the adjusted prize. After 25 percent in taxes is deducted from about $22.3 million he won, he will take home $16.7 million, given to him in $557,000 installments annually for the next 30 years.

McNair bought his ticket at a Margate gas station. The other ticket, bought in Port Charlotte, hasn't been claimed.

Odds of winning the jackpot are one in 23 million, the Florida Lottery said. "Basically, the same as whether you buy the ticket or not," said Eric A. Suess, a statistics professor at California State University, East Bay."

"Basically, the same as whether you buy the ticket or not," said Eric A. Suess, a statistics professor at California State University, East Bay."

 Yo, professor, actually your chances are a lot better if you buy a ticket than if you don't. There's never been a jackpot winner who didn't buy the winning ticket. 

Didn't he write The Cat in The Hat? 

My lottery tickets are pink, I think.

Pink? Do you really think they're pink?

Yes, they're pink and very distinct.

Do they shrink, your tickets so pink & distinct?

No, but sometimes I think they stink (she says with a wink!)

As somebody who thinks that the number of ways to lose means  that buying 2 tickets doesn't double your chances of winning, you should  easily be able to relate to what he said.

There are 22,999,999 numbers that will mean you lose if you buy a ticket. There are 23 million numbers that will mean you lose if you don't buy a ticket. If you don't buy a ticket your odds of losing are only .0000044% worse than if you do buy a ticket.

Look at the Chicago Bulls and the NBA for example...I am sure every team will have the odds of winning the NBA Championship...But what are the odds that one team will win it almost 7 year in a row?That's what make the Chicago Bulls the greatest thing ever..I am sure some teams may come close to getting 7 championships on their lifetime, but no team will win it in a row, that's what make the Chicago Bulls (under MIchael Jordan), the greatest team EVER (which made Michael Jordan the greatest player ever)...What make the Chicago Bulls the greatest thing ever? That they won the NBA championship almost 7 years in a row...If they had won it sporadically they probably wouldn't be considered the greatest team ever...

"Laura Simpson from Great Lakes, Illinois deserves to be rich...."            "She is so rare..."

sorry guys i posted on the wrong post...