Hot Lotto: Man wins citizenship, lottery in same day
Moses Bittok became a U.S. citizen and a millionaire last week, all in one day.
Bittok, 40, a native of Kenya, came to the United States in 1989. He became a citizen Friday morning during a naturalization ceremony in Des Moines.
That night, he discovered he had won a $1.89 million jackpot in the multistate Hot Lotto game.
"I guess only in America," Bittok joked earlier this week at the Iowa Lottery headquarters. He was accompanied by his wife, Leonida, and their 4-year-old daughter, Mindy.
Bittok has been a correctional officer at the state women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa, for 81/2 years.
He and his wife have opted to take the jackpot in annual payments of $75,600 for the next 25 years, $52,920 per year after taxes.
The couple said they have no special plans for spending the extra money, and Bittok said he would continue working full time. But they do plan to establish a college fund for their daughter.
"My daughter is No. 1. I don't want to squander this. I want to make sure ... that she goes to college," he said.