Immigrant from Laos wins $1.3bn Powerball jackpot
WORLD 01 May 2024 - 02:29
Independent has published an article saying winner of $1.3bn Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who’s been battling cancer for eight years. Caliber.Az reprints the article.
Cheng ‘Charlie’ Saephan and his wife will share the win evenly with their friend who chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets. He said he will ‘provide for my family and my health’ and find himself a good doctor who’s been battling cancer for eight years
One of the winners of a historic $1.3bn Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years – and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Cheng "Charlie" Saephan, who lives in Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife, Duanpen, would split the prize evenly with a friend who chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them, Laiza Chao.
They are taking a lump sum payment, $422m 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."
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, Ms Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Mr Saephan and said, "We're billionaires." It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it came true.
“I call Laiza as she’s driving to work, I told her you don’t have to go to work now; we won the lottery; we won the jackpot!” he said during the news conference.
When asked if he would keep playing the lottery, Mr Saephan said he likely would.
“I might get lucky again,” he said, laughing. “I’ll keep playing.”
The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The winning numbers were 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and the red Powerball 9, according to KOIN.
“Plaid Pantry is thrilled to learn that one of our 104 Oregon stores sold the $1.3 billion dollar Powerball ticket,” Plaid Pantry President and CEO Jonathan Polonsky told the Oregon Lottery. “This store is one of our newest and most loved stores. Proceeds from the Oregon Lottery fund many programs that benefit everyone in the state, and we’ve been a proud partner with the Oregon Lottery since the very beginning.”
The store will receive a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning lottery ticket.
The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.
Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.
The jackpot has a cash value of $621m 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 $1.3bn prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among US jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.
“This is our first winner on this scale, so this is very exciting for us,” Melanie Mesaros, spokesperson for the Oregon Lottery told ABC News on 7 April.
The biggest US lottery jackpot won was $2.04bn in California in 2022.
Caliber.Az
1
|
Uncertainty over Russian border guard withdrawal from Armenia Amid conflicting statements
18 May 2024 - 14:47
|
2
|
Baku's 8-0 victory Diplomacy of sovereignty
20 May 2024 - 17:53
|
3
|
Türkiye, Greece forge new geopolitical axis Amid historical rapprochement
20 May 2024 - 16:04
|
4
|
Giant meteor seen lighting up skies of Portugal
19 May 2024 - 13:11
|
5
|
Iranian president's helicopter makes hard landing on border with Azerbaijan
19 May 2024 - 17:25
|
China lodges protests with South Korea, Japan over Taiwan visit
21 May 2024 - 15:45
Armenian PM holds talks with CIA deputy director
21 May 2024 - 15:35
Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US drone
21 May 2024 - 15:30
Armenian speaker stresses importance of addressing entire border
21 May 2024 - 15:15
France to deploy more troops to troubled Pacific territory of New Caledonia
21 May 2024 - 14:59
Zelenskyy urges NATO to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine
21 May 2024 - 14:45
President Aliyev, Uzbek minister discuss economic and Investment cooperation
21 May 2024 - 14:22
EU unwilling to join US in trade war with China, says von der Leyen
21 May 2024 - 14:08
Netanyahu denounces bid to arrest him over Gaza war
21 May 2024 - 13:53
Armenian ruling party MP calls opposition claims on border delimitation ridiculous
21 May 2024 - 13:39
Türkiye transfers all helicopter crash data to Iran
21 May 2024 - 13:24
Armenia’s ruling party dismisses possibility of early elections
Criticizes Kocharyan's efforts21 May 2024 - 13:18
Australia, New Zealand send evacuation flights to New Caledonia
21 May 2024 - 13:10
Azerbaijani President warns against foreign interference in South Caucasus
Emphasizes regional sovereignty21 May 2024 - 12:56
Egypt calls on Israel to open all checkpoints on border with Gaza
21 May 2024 - 12:41
Media: Germany ready to support US plan for $50 billion aid for Ukraine
21 May 2024 - 12:25
Russia lifts ban on petrol exports
21 May 2024 - 12:11
Iran's change of president won't affect rapprochement with Russia, China, Azerbaijan and Türkiye
Expert insight21 May 2024 - 11:57
UN closely following process of Azerbaijan-Armenia normalisation
21 May 2024 - 11:42
US offers Georgia major aid package in exchange for waiving law on foreign agents
21 May 2024 - 11:28
Azerbaijani Air Force bolsters its arsenal with another Su-25 attack aircraft upgraded in Türkiye
PHOTO21 May 2024 - 11:15
Azerbaijani troops hone skills in EFES-2024 multinational drills in Türkiye
PHOTO/VIDEO21 May 2024 - 11:02
Soaring precious metals prices encourage Azerbaijan to boost extraction
Higher revenues foreseen21 May 2024 - 10:49
Armenian FM, IAEA chief discussed further operation of Metsamor NPP
21 May 2024 - 10:36
First cargo train dispatched on expanded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway
PHOTO21 May 2024 - 10:23
Iran announces date for snap presidential election
21 May 2024 - 10:10
Türkiye announces one-day mourning in connection with death of Iran's president
21 May 2024 - 09:57
Pentagon says no US involvement in Iranian helicopter crash
21 May 2024 - 09:43
Azerbaijani, Turkish leaders discuss regional, global developments
21 May 2024 - 09:35
Erdogan: Türkiye committed to achieve lasting peace between Azerbaijan, Armenia
21 May 2024 - 09:17
Musk loses autonomy in race for Tesla robotaxis
21 May 2024 - 09:05
South Africa's ex-leader Zuma barred from standing in election
21 May 2024 - 07:21
US Army could soon have new branch dedicated solely to drones
21 May 2024 - 05:26
Russia doubles military repairs, adds new 122mm artillery line
21 May 2024 - 03:15
Many world leaders died, few survived in aviation accidents since 1936
21 May 2024 - 01:12
New Covid variants stoke fears of a summer surge in cases
20 May 2024 - 23:00
Russia ready to assist Iran in helicopter crash investigation
20 May 2024 - 21:21
Azerbaijan, Georgia conduct inter-ministerial political consultations in Baku
20 May 2024 - 21:14
Iran’s Chief of Army Staff orders probe into Raesi helicopter crash
20 May 2024 - 21:06
Iranian President Raisi's funeral to be held on May 23
20 May 2024 - 21:02