Man battling cancer won $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot; splitting money with wife, friend

A Portland man battling cancer was the winner of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot won earlier this month, lottery officials announced on Monday. It was the fourth largest Powerball jackpot ever.

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, is sharing the prize with his wife, Duanpen Saephan, 37, and his friend, Laiza Chao, 55, from Milwaukie, Oregon. Each elected for the cash option which is a total of $422.3 million after taxes.

Saephan, who was born in Laos and has lived in Portland for 30 years, told Oregon Lottery officials that it was a combination of faith and luck that helped hit the jackpot.

“I prayed to God to help me. My kids are young and I’m not that healthy," said Saephan, who purchased over 20 tickets for the April 26 drawing. Leading up to the drawing, he wrote out numbers on a piece of paper and slept with them under his pillow.

Battling a recurrence of cancer, Saephan said the jackpot will allow his family to be "worry free" despite his illness.

Saephan's friend gave him $100 toward the lottery tickets and he could not wait to tell her the good news.

“I said, ‘Laiza, where are you?’ and she said, ‘I’m going to work,’” Saephan told lottery officials. “I replied, ‘You don’t have to go anymore.’”

The retailer who sold the winning ticket, Plaid Pantry, received a $100,000 bonus for selling the jackpot winning ticket. The Oregon Lottery contributes a third of its sales back to the state "to support economic development, education, veteran services, state parks" and other services.

“I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the Saephans and Ms. Chao on this historic win,” said Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells. “Not only is the prize life-changing for the three of them and their families, it’s also a huge win for the state.”

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New Jersey's billion-dollar winner

Unlike Oregon, lottery winners in New Jersey have the option to remain anonymous under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020.

The winner of a $1.128 billion Mega Millions jackpot back in March has yet to come forward. The winning ticket was sold at the ShopRite Liquor on Route 66 in Neptune, New Jersey.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Man battling cancer won the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot