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CHICAGO -- A college student who moved from India to Illinois has won $1 million in a scratch-off game.
Asif Kahn, 21, who lives in Chicago suburb Villa Park, bought a ticket for the Illinois Lottery's Gold Bullion game three days before Thanksgiving at a Shell station in Hillside, Ill.
"I just took the ticket and went to my car, and I made a U-turn and went straight back home," Kahn said. "I walked into my house and I said, 'Mom, you're not gonna believe what happened."
He said he plans on using the majority of the money to pay off thousands of dollars in student loans, and then to eventually pay for medical school.
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"I can actually imagine my life ... a better future," Kahn said. "My long-term goal is to be a cardiologist, relating to the heart. Science has always been a very broad field for me and I love it," Kahn said at a Wednesday news conference.
Kahn borrows his mother's 2003 Honda Accord every day to drive from his home to classes at East-West University.
He said his one splurge will be a new Mercedes. He also plans to transfer to University of Illinois at Chicago, now that he can afford the tuition.
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Good for him!!!! He looks like a nice guy and he will be taking on a profession that benefits mankind. I wish him the best.
I hope he is not a terrorist. I'd hate to see that money get funneled back to Al quada.
CHICAGO??? That boy had better get the hell out of dodge and nix on the Merc until he does. Now everybody knows his face, and the odds of getting nabbed in that marker car, made to cough up the dough and end up at the bottom of Lake Michigan are FAR BETTER for him than the odds of holding the winning lottery ticket were. If I were him, I'd move back to India. Lots more bang for the buck on his money there.
Hopefully it's a used Mercedes.
Good luck with medical school!
Maybe he wouldn't be struggling if he didn't buy stupid things like lottery tickets.
Well, if he didn't buy the lottery ticket, he would still be struggling, probably like you are now.
Of the several comments I read, nobody mentioned that now that he has assets, any aid he was receiving to go to college will likely be lost. The colleges will take it all, and they will count the Mercedes as an asset as well, I think.
can we all just get alone
I had a couple of Mercedes,
One lasted 24 years until I gave it away the other i traded in after 8 years for $22000.
They last and are the best in the world.
He can treat himself to something nice. I like that he will get to go to medical school. Hopefully he helps out a lot of people.
He's going to medical school free since he's Indian.
Indian Kahn? Must be Khan.
Congratulations to him, but is he an actual citizen?
Do they have to be to win the lottery?
Don't pound on me, just asking...
He may be an citizen, definitely a legal resident. To win lottery, you do not have to be citizen. For illegals, it is problematic to claim the prize as they need to show legal ID.
Since he made over $250,000 shouldn't he give the rest to King Obama. That's too much money for anyone to have in this country under the King Obama rule. Give it up Dude!
"He said his one splurge will be a new Mercedes."
I suspect that a few years from now we'll read that this guy was one of the many lottery winners who manage to blow their entire winnings.
My first thought would have been about how I could invest the after-tax amount (far less than $1 million) to pay for my college education without spending any of the principle. Then I would have bought an economical used car to get me around without borrowing mom's car, but definitely not a new Mercedes (expensive insurance and maintenance).
Maybe with this lottery money helping one, this guy may be able to save the lives of many. It is good to see somebody making a wise investment in their future. Best of luck to this young man!
I thought you had to be an american citizen to win lottery in this country. It supposed to benefit americans not foreigners. If you enter a lottery in any other country and are not a citizen you cant claim it. SAD
Article doesn't say whether he's a citizen or not.
Is he an Illegal Immigrant! After his schooling he needs to be deported back to India if he doesn't leave.
Why are non-citizens allowed to play/win the lottery?
Well, at least he didn't steal the ticket like many of his convenience-store owning compatriots. Always take your lottery ticket with you, even when they say it is not a winner.