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Cancer-stricken immigrant scoops $1.3 billion Powerball prize in Oregon
Immigrant from Laos wins $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot, shares half with friend
Cheng ‘Charlie’ Saephan, a 46-year-old immigrant from Laos, has become one of the fortunate winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. Isn't it just like Tom Hanks' Hollywood movie?
He has been battling cancer for the past eight years and underwent his latest chemotherapy session just last week.
During a press conference by the Oregon Lottery, Saephan, a resident of Portland, shared that he and his wife, Duanpen, 37, will be claiming half of the jackpot. The remaining half will go to their friend, Laiza Chao, 55, from Milwaukie, a suburb of Portland.
How much Saephan pocketed
Chao had contributed $100 towards the purchase of the tickets. The winners have pocketed almost $422 million after tax deductions.
If taken as a lump sum, the jackpot had a pre-tax cash value of $621 million, as opposed to an annuity paid over 30 years. The prize is subject to both federal and state taxes in Oregon.
Saephan said, “I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” and he shared his intention to “find a good doctor for myself.”
The Laos native told CBS, “I prayed to God to help me. My kids are young and I'm not that healthy.”
As a father of two young children and a cancer patient now expressing, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?” he pondered.
After purchasing the tickets together, Chao jokingly sent Saephan a photo of the tickets with the message, “We’re billionaires.”
The very next day, Chao, who was on her way to work when Saephan broke the news: “I said, 'Laiza, where are you?' and she said, 'I'm going to work,'” Saephan said.
“I replied, 'You don't have to go anymore.'”
Who is Cheng ‘Charlie’ Saephan?
Saephan’s journey to fortune began in Laos, from where he moved to Thailand in 1987, and later immigrated to the United States in 1994. At the press conference, he proudly wore a sash identifying himself as a member of the Iu Mien community, an ethnic group from Southeast Asia with origins in southern China.
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The Iu Mien people, many of whom were subsistence farmers, played a role in assisting American forces during the Vietnam War. Following the war, to escape retribution, thousands of Iu Mien families sought refuge in Thailand and eventually resettled in the U.S. Today, a significant number of Iu Mien individuals reside along the West Coast, particularly in Portland, where they have established a vibrant community.
Saephan, who has called Portland home for three decades, completed his high school education in 1996 and worked as a machinist for an aerospace company. In the lead-up to the lottery draw, he engaged in a personal ritual, writing down numbers for the game on a piece of paper and placing it under his pillow as he slept.
“I need some help — I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first,” he prayed.
The lucky ticket to win the multi-million dollar prize had been bought early the previous month at a convenience store in downtown Portland, ending a stretch which had been luckless for almost three months. It was reported that The Oregon Lottery went through a very tedious and thorough vetting/screening process and had to follow state regulations before it could disclose the winner's name.
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The Oregon law, however, gives icy winters ample time to the grand prize winner for one year of claim from the lottery or has few exceptions of remaining anonymous.
