Three Oregon residents who purchased a lottery ticket using the Quick Pick option won a share of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot from the historic April 6th drawing.
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, who has been battling cancer for eight years, said he would split his 25% share with his wife Duanpen.
“I’m happy for my family. They will have a good life,” lottery winner Cheng Saephan said. “But to myself, I’m in the middle of battling cancer, so I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to have time to spend all this money?’”
Their friend Laiza Chao, who contributed $100 toward the ticket purchase, will receive 50% of the cash prize totaling over $422 million after taxes.
Saephan, who plans to buy a dream home but notes he may not have time to spend the money during cancer treatment, was in disbelief when notifying Chao of their win while she was driving to work.
“God picked for me,” Saephan said.
“She’s driving on the way to work,” Saephan said. “And I told her, ‘You don’t have to go work now. We won the lottery. We won the jackpot.’”
The winning ticket was sold at a Portland convenience store, which will receive a $100,000 bonus.
