Yahoo News Man Fighting Cancer Named as $1.3 Billion Lottery Winner
A Portland man took home over $400 million after taxes — and plans to split the money evenly with a friend who chipped in for some lotto tickets
AP Photo/Jenny Kane
Cheng "Charlie" Saephan holds display check above his head after speaking during a news conference where it was revealed that he was one of the winners of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot at the Oregon Lottery headquarters on April 29The winner of a record-breaking Powerball ticket has just been announced — and over $1 billion has gone to Cheng "Charlie" Saephan of Portland, Ore.
On Monday, April 29, the Oregon Lottery announced to great fanfare in Salem, Ore., that a whopping winning lottery ticket worth $1.326 billion had been purchased by Cheng, 46, and his wife Duanpen, 37, according to the Associated Press. The couple are the winners of Oregon’s largest-ever lottery jackpot — but they announced they'll be splitting their winnings with a friend, Laiza Chao, 55, who threw in $100 to help them buy a batch of tickets.
“First, I want to thank God for giving me this beautiful prize,” Saephan said while receiving his winnings at the Oregon Lottery office on Monday, per The Oregonian.
Saephan, previously a machinist for an aerospace company, told reporters from AP and The Oregonian that he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1994. He has since lived in Portland for the last 30 years, and is a father to two young children, he said. At the ceremony, he sported a sash representing his Iu Mien heritage.
AP Photo/Jenny Kane
Cheng "Charlie" Saephan holds display check above his head after speaking during a news conference where it was revealed that he was one of the winners of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot at the Oregon Lottery headquartersThe dad of two is also a cancer patient, he said, and wondered aloud, "How am I going to have time to spend all of this money?"
He said that he was first diagnosed in 2016, and his most recent chemotherapy treatment was just one week prior, perThe Oregonian.
"I am grateful for the lottery and how I have been blessed," Saephan said, per local station KOIN. "I am able to provide for my family and my health … My life has been changed. Now I can bless my family and hire a good doctor for myself."
Saephan also added that he, his wife and friend had spent $200 on lottery tickets, and he prayed each night that they would win for months before the winning numbers were drawn. He even wrote out the numbers and slept with them under his pillow, the AP reported.
"I need some help — I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first," Saephan said, recalling what he had prayed for before the winning numbers were announced.
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The winning ticket was purchased earlier this month at a Plaid Pantry store in Portland, The Oregonian reported, and the store will get a $100,000 bonus for selling a winner.
"I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the Saephans and Ms. Chao on this historic win," Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells told The Oregonian in a statement. "Not only is the prize life-changing for the three of them and their families, it’s also a huge win for the state."
Per the AP, after the group of three bought their tickets — the eighth-largest lottery winner in the history of the United States — Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan and joked, "We're billionaires."
The group, opting for a one-time payment rather than the 30-year annuity option, has already been paid, according to the AP. After state and federal taxes, the prize money came out to $422,309,193.97.
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