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The winner of the $1.3 billion Powerball Jackpot is an immigrant from Laos battling cancer

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Topline

The winner of this month’s $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot, an immigrant from Laos living in Portland and undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, emerged Monday to receive his prize.

Key facts

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, told reporters that he and his wife will keep half of the winnings and give the rest to their friend Laiza Chao, 55, because they pooled money to buy the lottery tickets.

Instead of receiving the $1.3 billion jackpot spread over 30 annual payments, the winners opted for the more popular option and opted for the lump sum cash prize of $608 million.

Saephan took home a prize of $422.3 million after federal and state taxes were deducted.

Oregon is one of the states that taxes lottery winnings, with an 8% deduction on all prizes of $1,500 and over.

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Important background

Saephan said he would use the winnings to take care of his family and his health and said he was looking forward to finding “a good doctor for myself.” The 46-year-old has been battling cancer for eight years and is currently dealing with a recurrence. Saephan said he bought more than 20 tickets for the drawing and even joked with his friend Chao about becoming a billionaire before the drawing was conducted. After Saephan found out they won, he called Chao while she was on her way to work and told her, “You don’t have to go anymore.” Saephan told reporters that he was born in Laos and migrated first to Thailand in 1987, then to the US in 1994. He also said that despite being born in Laos, he was not Laotian, but identified himself as Iu Mien – an ethnic group from Southeast Asia. who worked with the US during the Vietnam War. Iu Mien people were forced to flee to Thailand after the end of the Vietnam War to avoid retaliation.

Read further

Powerball Jackpot vaults past $1 billion – here’s what the winner could take home after taxes (Forbes)

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