(SALEM, Oregon) — One of the winners of a historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot Last month he is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and received his last chemotherapy treatment last week.
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, of Portland, said at a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife, Duanpen, would split the prize even with a friend who chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them, Laiza Bye. They’re taking a lump sum payment, $422 million after taxes.
“I will be able to support my family and my health,” he said, adding that he would “find a good doctor for me.”
He said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all this money? How long will I live?
After purchasing the shared tickets, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan and told him, “We are billionaires.” It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it became a reality.
The winning Powerball ticket was sold out in early April at a Plaid Pantry store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had lasted more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and verification process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.
Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have one year to claim the jackpot.
The jackpot has a cash value of $621 million before taxes if the winner chooses to receive a lump sum instead an annuity Paid over 30 years, with an immediate payment followed by 29 annual installments. Prize is subject to federal and state taxes in Oregon.
The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in history and the eighth-largest among jackpot games in the United States, according to the Oregon Lottery.
The largest prize won in the US lottery was $2.04 billion. in California in 2022.