Oregon man battling cancer revealed as winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot
By Kaila Nichols, CNN
(CNN) — An Oregon man who says he’s been battling cancer for eight years and received chemotherapy just last week is among three winners of this month’s $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot.
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan said he is sharing the prize with his wife, Duanpen Saephan, and friend Laiza Chao. The trio chose the cash option of over $422 million after taxes. Chao will receive 50% of the earnings and the Saephans will each take 25%.
“I’m happy for my family. They will have a good life,” Cheng Saephan, 46, said Monday at an Oregon Lottery news conference. “But to myself, I’m in the middle of battling cancer, so I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to have time to spend all this money?’”
Saephan said he plans to live a “normal” life moving forward and buy his family a “dream home.”
This was the fourth-largest jackpot in history, according to Powerball. The historic April 6 drawing was delayed for more than three hours to give additional time needed to complete pre-draw procedures. This win was also the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon.
The winning ticket was sold at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, according to the Oregon Lottery. The store receives a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Saephan, a native of Laos who has lived in Portland for 30 years, said the winning numbers were computer-generated using the Quick Pick option.
“God picked for me,” he said.
When Saephan discovered he won, he called his friend Chao, of Milwaukie, Oregon, who had given him $100 toward buying the lottery tickets.
“She’s driving on the way to work,” Saephan said. “And I told her, ‘You don’t have to go work now. We won the lottery. We won the jackpot.’”
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CNN’s Amanda Musa contributed to this story.
