‘No need to work any more’: cancer-hit Laotian man in US lands US$400 million in lottery after sharing jackpot with pal
Chao, who contributed US$100 towards the lottery tickets, will receive half the money, while the Saephans will each take 25 per cent.
As soon as Saephan made the exciting discovery, he called his wife and then his friend.
“She was driving to work, but I told her, ‘there’s no need to work now!’” the thrilled winner said.
The day before the draw, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan with the joke caption: “We’re billionaires”, never dreaming he would be saying it for real the very next day.
“I’m in the middle of battling cancer, so I am thinking about how I am going to have time to spend all this money,” Saephan said at the lottery news conference.
He had undergone a chemotherapy session just last week.
Besides promising himself he would find a “good doctor” for his cancer treatment, the father of two said he felt relieved that his close relatives would no longer have to worry about money.
Saephan added that he plans to live a “normal” life after his win but would buy his family a “dream home.”
This jackpot is also the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon, where Saephan bought the winning lottery ticket. The convenience shop that sold it received a US$100,000 bonus.
Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous.
In the weeks leading up to the draw, Saephan wrote out what he hoped would be the winning numbers on a slip of paper, slept with it under his pillow and prayed for good luck.
“I don’t want to die until I have done something for my family,” he said.
The winning numbers were computer-generated using the Quick Pick option.
“God picked for me,” said Saephan.
He wore a sash identifying himself as Iu Mein at the news conference, a Southeast Asian ethnic group with roots in southern China.
Many Iu Mein were subsistence farmers who helped the US military during the Vietnam war and later fled to Thailand to avoid retribution, eventually resettling in the US.
Saephan’s pastor revealed plans for missionary trips funded by the win to Thailand, Laos, and possibly China.
“The gods have come to help him,” one online observer said.
“After battling cancer for eight years, could this be considered a special reward from the heavens for him?” said another.
“Giving half to a friend? His character is beyond reproach,” was just one of the many comments about his generosity.