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The winner of the August 6, 2023, $1.765 billion Powerball drawing has finally been revealed.
Cheng 'Charlie' Saephan, 46, a Laotian native who lives in Portland and has battled cancer for eight years, was identified as the Oregon resident who won the massive jackpot earlier this month. Saephan and his wife, Duanpen, 37, plan to take the lump sum payment of $422 million after taxes and split it evenly with a friend who contributed $100 toward purchasing tickets with them.
“I am grateful for the lottery and how I have been blessed,” Saephan said during an Oregon Lottery press conference held on Monday (April 29) via the New York Post. “I will be able to provide for my family and my health… I’ll find a good doctor for myself.”
Saephan said he had wondered, "How am I going to have time to spend all of this money" and "How long will i live?" given his medical situation and told his wife she didn't "have to go" to work "anymore" after their lottery win. Oregon Lottery officials previously said they wouldn't identify the $1.3 billion jackpot winner until they could ensure their safety, as well as their staggering payout.
The $1.3 billion jackpot winning ticket was purchased at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in a Portland neighborhood ahead of the April 6 drawing, the Oregon Lottery confirmed in a statement obtained by the New York Post earlier this month.
“This is an unprecedented jackpot win for Oregon Lottery,” Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells said. “We’re taking every precaution to verify the winner before awarding the prize money.”
“No one in Oregon has ever won a prize on this scale, and it’s a very exciting for our staff and players.”
The jackpot was the fourth largest drawing in Powerball history and eighth largest drawing in U.S. lottery history. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are reported to be 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.com.
The Powerball jackpot previously reset after one player in Grand Blanc, Michigan, won the $842.2 million drawing on January 1 and continued to grow after 41 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. One player in Frazier Park, California, won the $1.73 billion Powerball drawing on October 11, which was the second-largest drawing in the game's history and the second-largest in U.S. history.
One player in California matched all six numbers to win the $2.04 billion ($997.6 million) jackpot on November 7, the largest jackpot offered in U.S. lottery history, according to the official Powerball website. Powerball has had jackpots exceeding $1 billion five times.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million regardless of the size of the drawing. Mega Millions games have exceeded $1 billion six times, which includes its largest offering, a $1.603 billion jackpot that was one by a player in Florida on August 8.
Both jackpots increase during each following game until there's a jackpot winning ticket matching all six numbers drawn, which includes the additional Mega Millions Gold Ball or Powerball in each respective game.