Uh, this isn't real. Check the source. The Hoosier Gazette is a satire site.
Really? That is too bad. If they were going to write a fake story, you'd think they would have given the guy more than $289,000.
I'd question their use of the word "satire." This seems more like a fake story--one that reads real and then is discovered to be fictional. "Satire" at least employs humor and an attempt to mimic something (cf. The Onion), whereas this site just writes a fake story and calls it satire.
They are not a site in the same vein as the Onion, so this may be a real story.
They use real and fake stories, both.
$289K after taxes on a cash payout probably $440K is reasonable. The cash pay would be around there, I think.
The front page looks legit enough and they sure do hide the fact that it's a satire site. Maybe some of their stories are more obviously satire but this one could very easily be mistaken as real.
From their disclaimer link:
DISCLAIMER
The Hoosier Gazette is a satirical newspaper published by The Hoosier Gazette
The Hoosier Gazette uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.
I checked the Hoosier Lottery site. The winning numbers are correct and the estimated jackpot for the 17th was indeed $1 million. But the site lists only winners that appear for their "Millionare" game show, not drawing winners.
So who knows?
actually, i heard this story on 2 local radio stations here in NYC yesterday. it was in some local papers here as well.