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May 18, 2010
Man gives jackpot to university

SEOUL - A BUSINESSMAN who scooped the biggest casino jackpot in South Korea's history has donated the entire sum - equivalent to US$700,000 - to a university, the casino said on Tuesday. Ahn Seung-Pil walked away with 767 million won (S$929,500) on Saturday from Kangwon Land, the only casino legally open to Koreans. Mr Ahn, 60, who runs a small Seoul textile factory, was quoted in a casino statement and newspapers as saying he had decided to donate the lot to the prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

'Because I'm not highly educated, I dreamed of being able to contribute to the development of education,' the Korea Herald quoted him as saying. 'I'm very happy to realise the dream through unexpected luck.' Mr Ahn said his business ran up debts worth four billion won during the 1997-98 East Asian financial crisis and he still has debts outstanding. 'At first I thought to pay off my debts with the money. But such lucky money is more meaningful when it is used for the nation,' he said. -- AFP