A senior at Horndog High got lucky for the rest of his life. Robert Salo, who is just 18, got the graduation gift that keeps on giving when he won the “Win $1,000 a Week for Life†scratch off game. Click below to read the rest of the story.
That means Salo, who came forward Tuesday, could collect more than $3 million before taxes if he lives to be 80 — the average life expectancy in the city.
“This is the first thing I’ve ever won,†said a grinning Salo, who is graduating this month from James Madison High School, a school infamous for its trysting teachers. “It’s a good way to start out life.â€
Is it ever.
It’s also a big reversal of fortune for his single mom, who was wondering how to make her son’s college dreams come true: “We were kind of worried about paying for college,†Salo’s mom, Rabia, said. “I said if I had to work two jobs I would do it, but he’s going to the school he wants.â€
Now neither son nor mother have to worry about that. But first, Salo’s getting some wheels.
“I’m definitely going to use it for college,†said Salo, who plans to go “out of state†but wouldn’t say where. “I’m going to invest in myself.â€
Then, joking, he added, “Hopefully a nice car — something in my price range.â€
Salo — who lives in Sheepshead Bay with his mom, a sibling and an uncle — was on the way to collect another set of wheels when he struck it rich May 15.
The family’s 2001 Volkswagen Jetta had been stolen and they were heading to the pound to pick it up, he said.
Salo said when they stopped at the BP station at the corner of Avenue T and Coney Island Avenue for gas, he bought a ticket.
“When I scratched it, I couldn’t believe it,†he said. “I thought it was a fake ticket. I had to ask them to pull over — I couldn’t drive and show them at the same time.â€
Salo said the whole experience of winning so much money was surreal.