Winner of $1.3B Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer

U.S. News

By Megan Palin

The winner of a historic $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot has been revealed as an immigrant from Laos who is battling cancer and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife, Duanpen Saephan, 37, would split the prize evenly with a friend who contributed $100 to buy some tickets with them, Laiza Chao, 55, of Milwaukee. They are taking a lump sum payment, $422 million after taxes. “I am grateful for the lottery and how I have been blessed,” he said, adding that his “life has been changed.”

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health… I’ll find a good doctor for myself.”

He 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. According to Saephan, he called Chao to tell her the life changing news about her. After discovering he was holding the winning ticket, he called her to share the news.

“I said, ‘Laiza, where are you?’ and she said, ‘I’m going to work,’” said Saephan. “I replied, ‘You don’t have to go anymore.’” According to KOIN, Saephan also told reporters he plans to first purchase a home for his family in Oregon. He also said he will likely continue to play the lottery after his winnings.

“I might get lucky again,” he said. “I’ll keep playing.”

The single ticket, which matched all six numbers drawn to win the jackpot, was sold off at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in a Portland neighborhood, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months.

This is an unprecedented jackpot win for Oregon Lottery,” Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells said in a statement before security measures were taken and the winner was named.

“We’re taking every precaution to verify the winner before awarding the prize money.”

Until the latest drawing, no one had won Powerball’s top prize since New Year’s Day, amounting to 41 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner — tying a streak set twice before in 2022 and 2021.

The drawing, too, was marred by a delay of more than three hours after a lottery participant needed “additional time to complete required pre-draw procedures.”

“Powerball game rules require that every single ticket sold nationwide be checked and verified against two different computer systems before the winning numbers are drawn.

“This is done to ensure that every ticket sold for the Powerball drawing has been accounted for and has an equal chance to win. Tonight, we have one jurisdiction that needs extra time to complete that pre-draw process.”

The jackpot has a cash value of $621 million before taxes if the winner chooses to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.

The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among US jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.

The biggest US lottery jackpot won was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.

The winning numbers drawn were: 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and the red Powerball 9.

Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.