Winner of last year’s $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot has only 4 months left to live

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan was one of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last year. He has been battling cancer since 2016

Updated on: Sep 7, 2025, 07:25:10 IST

By Sanya Jain

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There is a staggering $1.8 billion jackpot on the line for Saturday’s Powerball drawing. If someone wins, it would become the second-largest lottery jackpot in US history. If no one wins, Monday’s drawing could possibly set a new record. Either way, all eyes are on the Powerball drawing that could potentially turn one lucky winner into a very, very rich person overnight.

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 Monday, April 29, 2024, in Salem, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) (AP)

The Powerball has been known to change fortunes, with winners raking in millions. However, one of the winners of last year’s $1.3 billion jackpot does not have much time left to enjoy his newfound wealth.

Winner of 2024 Powerball jackpot

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan was one of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last year. Born in Laos and raised in a refugee camp, he immigrated to the United States in 1994.

Now based in Portland, Oregon, Saephan was among the three winners of the 2024 Powerball jackpot, where the $1.3 billion prize totalled $422 million after taxes. He had bought the winning ticket with his wife and a friend, Laiza Chao, according to an Associated Press report.

Four months left to live

Saephan, however, was suffering from cancer when he won the jackpot. The cancer has only spread in the last one year. He now has only four months left to live, according to a CBS News report.

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” Saephan had said after winning the Powerball jackpot in 2024. “[I will] find a good doctor for myself.”

But the best doctors that money can buy have told Saephan that he has only four months to live. (Also read: Cheng Saephan, Oregon Powerball winner, reveals where he spends his $1.3 billion)

But Saephan takes consolation in the fact that his family will never have to struggle for money. “I don’t worry about money now. I’ve got my family set up,” he said.

Powerball drawing today

The drawing is scheduled for Saturday at 10:59 pm ET in Tallahassee, Florida.

According to AP, the prize ballooned after the lottery held more than 40 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game's six numbers. Whenever a drawing fails to get a winner, the lottery rolls over the winnings.

(With inputs from the Associated Press)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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