Oregon Man With Cancer Wins $1.3bn Lottery and Plans To Find A “Good Doctor”

Here’s a heartwarming story from Oregon: Cheng “Charlie” Saephan from Portland has just won the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. He is still trying to understand the significance of this life-changing moment, and he is expressing how much it means to him.

Saephan was born in Laos and then moved to Thailand in 1987. Later, in 1994, Saephan immigrated to the U.S. He used to work as a machinist in the aerospace industry. He has been living in Portland for the last thirty years and proudly represents his Lu Mien heritage. Saephan is a dedicated father to two children. He has been dealing with cancer, but now that he has more money, he wants to prioritize his health.

Saephan was very happy and grateful to his wife, Duanpen, and their friend Laiza Chao. Laiza contributed $100 towards the purchase of the winning ticket. Saephan thanked them and God for this wonderful blessing. During a press conference, he also mentioned that as a cancer patient, the 55-year-old was wondering, “How will I find the time to spend all of this money?” How much time will I be alive? But now, he said, “I will be able to support my family and take care of my health.” He also mentioned that he plans to “find a good doctor for myself.”

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More On The Lottery

Just to clarify, according to Oregon law, most lottery players are not allowed to remain anonymous, except for a few exceptions. Winners only have one year to claim the top prize.

Winning the lottery, especially a big prize like the Powerball or Mega Millions, is very unlikely. The chances of winning these types of lotteries can be extremely low, often in the hundreds of millions or even billions. This depends on the specific game and the number of possible combinations. Here’s an example: The chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million, while the chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million.

The chances of an individual winning a major lottery jackpot are very low because the odds are not in their favor. Many people consider winning the lottery to be extremely lucky because it is very rare to match all the numbers required to win the top prize.

However, even though it is unlikely, there are still occasional lottery winners. The largest lottery prize ever won in the United States was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.