GAINESVILLE - A Florida Lottery regional manager resigned after he was charged with bribery for allegedly seeking a kickback from a convenience store owner.
Donnie Hampton, manager of a 12-county lottery district, resigned Monday. Investigators said he offered to put Tony's Food Mart in Starke at the top of a waiting list for a lottery machine in exchange for $1,500.
The Florida Lottery operates about 10,000 ticket machines. Vendors get 5 cents per ticket sold and bonuses for selling winning tickets. But what they like most about the machines is that they draw extra customers who might buy other items.
Getting a machine is not easy. First, a store owner must spend more than a year selling scratch-off lottery tickets to prove that the location can attract players, lottery spokeswoman Sheila Griffin said. Then the store owner goes on a waiting list for a machine.
Woody Hiers, chief of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Bradford County office, said Hampton is accused of approaching Tony's owner last week to solicit the bribe.
"The store owner was apparently offended at the offer, and he gave us a call," Hiers said. He agreed to take part in a Thursday sting, in which he was recorded giving $1,500 to Hampton.
