SALEM, Ore. (AP) — One of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot this month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery on Monday that he and his 37-year-old wife, Duanpen, would split the prize evenly with a friend. Laiza Chao, 55, of the Portland suburb of Milwaukie, had chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them. They are taking a lump sum payment, $422 million after taxes.
“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he’d “find a good doctor for myself.”
Saephan, who has two young children, said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”
After they bought the shared tickets, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan and said, “We’re billionaires.” It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it came true.
Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
China, Pakistan pledge to enhance pragmatic cooperation in various fields
Witness at Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial says meat
Parents of disabled children sue Indiana over Medicaid changes addressing $1 billion shortfall
Shooting injures 2 at Missouri high school graduation ceremony
China remains popular destination for foreign investment: FM spokesperson
Tyson Fury meets Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia
Bob Baffert is again the center of attention at the Preakness, even without the Derby winner
Potential signature fraud in Michigan threatens to disrupt congressional races
Company wins court ruling to continue development of Michigan factory serving EV industry
Inside the Paris hotel that's VERY handy for the Eurostar