Friday, October 25

Winner of $1.3bn jackpot plans to make use of cash to ‘discover a good physician’

One of the winners of a $1.3bn (£1bn) Powerball jackpot has had most cancers for eight years and desires to make use of the cash to “find a good doctor”.

Father-of-two Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, from Portland, Oregon, was introduced because the winner of the large jackpot – the fourth largest within the lottery’s historical past – on Monday.

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” the 46-year-old stated at a press convention.

“How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”

Images of Cheng "Charlie" Saephan are displayed 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)
Image:
Pic: AP

Mr Saephan, 46, entered the lottery with good friend Laiza Chao, 55, who contributed $100 (£80) for them to purchase a batch of shared tickets.

After they purchased the tickets, Ms Chao despatched a photograph of the tickets to Mr Saephan and jokingly stated: “We’re billionaires.”

The subsequent day, they gained.

Mr Saephan broke the information to Ms Chao as she travelled to work, telling her over the telephone: “You don’t have to go anymore.”

In the weeks main as much as the draw, Mr Saephan stated he wrote out numbers for the sport on a chunk of paper and slept with it below his pillow.

Oregon Lottery External Communications Program Manager Melanie Mesaros holds a list of numbers as Cheng "Charlie" Saephan speaks during a press conference after 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)
Image:
Pic: AP

He prayed that he would win, saying: “I need some help – I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first.”

Mr Saephan and his spouse, 37-year-old spouse, Duanpen, are taking half the cash, and the remaining goes to Ms Chao.

They are taking a lump sum cost of $422m (£336m) after taxes.

Read extra from Sky News:
Wonka-inspired chocolate expertise in LA mimics Glasgow occasion
Gold watch recovered from physique of man on Titanic sells for £1.2m

Mr Saephan, a machinist for an aerospace firm, stated he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987, earlier than immigrating to the US in 1994.

He wore a sash on the information convention figuring out himself as Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with roots in southern China.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the newest information from the UK and all over the world by following Sky News

Tap right here

Many Iu Mein had been subsistence farmers and assisted American forces throughout the Vietnam struggle.

After the battle, 1000’s of Iu Mien households fled to Thailand to keep away from retribution and ultimately settled within the US, with a sizeable and energetic neighborhood in Portland.

The successful ticket was offered in early April at a Plaid Pantry comfort retailer in Portland, ending a winless Powerball streak that had stretched greater than three months.

FILE - A Plaid Pantry convenience store is shown, April 9, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Oregon authorities are set to reveal the winner of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. The Oregon Lottery says it will identify the person Monday, April 29, 2024. The winning Powerball ticket was sold at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland in early April. The winner had contacted the Oregon Lottery to claim the prize. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, file)
Image:
Pic: AP

The $1.3bn (£1bn) prize is the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in historical past, and the eighth largest amongst US jackpot video games, in accordance with the Oregon Lottery.

The greatest US lottery jackpot gained was $2.04bn (£1.69bn) in California in 2022.

Content Source: information.sky.com