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Chef loses US$1mil overnight in casino



A Chinese migrant residing in New York lost all his US$1mil lottery wins overnight while gambling in a casino.

Zou Bingsheng, originally from Fujian of China, bought a lottery ticket for US$20 in 2009, and won a US$1mil prize.

He and his wife Liu Liqin planned to use the money to realise their dreams of opening a hair saloon and a sushi shop.

But Zou soon lost all the money overnight at a casino in Connecticut.

The 31-year-old chef also had incurred huge debts from gambling.

The angry Liu divorced him the following year and Zou eventually went into hiding to evade moneylenders.

After failing to locate Zou, the moneylenders turned to Liu with the hope that she could help settle the debts.

Unable to stand the constant harassment, Liu sought help from the media. She was also worried that the moneylenders would take revenge and harm her if she told the police.

"I don't know where he is, I have been unable to trace him since we got divorced. I'm also worried about his safety.

"It was him (who took the money), please don't get me involved," the hair-stylist pleaded to the moneylenders.

Liu said she only realised that her ex-husband was a habitual gambler after they got married in 2006. They have a four-year-old daughter.