Oregon
Oregon winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan laughs while speaking during a press conference after it was revealed that he was one of the winners of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot at the Oregon Lottery headquarters on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Salem, Ore.
Jenny Kane / AP
One of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, 46, of Portland, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery on Monday that he and his 37-year-old wife, Duanpen, would split the prize evenly with a friend. Laiza Chao, 55, of the Portland suburb of Milwaukie, had chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them. They are taking a lump sum payment, $422 million after taxes.
“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he’d “find a good doctor for myself.”
Saephan, who has two young children, said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”
After they bought the shared tickets, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan and said, “We’re billionaires.” It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it came true.
Lottery winner Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wrote down all the possible lottery numbers on a sheet of paper, put it under his pillow, then prayed for inspiration. Photo from Salem press event, April 29, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Saephan said he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1994. He wore a sash at the news conference identifying himself as Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with roots in southern China. Many Iu Mein were subsistence farmers and assisted American forces during the Vietnam war; after the conflict, thousands of Iu Mien families fled to Thailand to avoid retribution and eventually settled in the U.S., especially along the West Coast.
Saephan graduated from high school in 1996 and has lived in Portland for 30 years. He worked as a machinist for an aerospace company.
In the weeks leading up to the drawing, he wrote out numbers for the game on a piece of paper and slept with it under his pillow, he said. He prayed that he would win, saying, “I need some help — I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first.”
The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.
Powerball Lottery winner, Cheng ‘Charlie’ Saephan, celebrates his big win at the Oregon Lottery offices in Salem, Ore., on April 29, 2024.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.
The jackpot had a cash value of $621 million before taxes if the winner chose to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.
The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among U.S. jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.
The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot won was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.
Oregon
Glass ‘ 16 lead Washington State past Oregon State 81-67
PULLMAN, Wash. — Aaron Glass ‘ 16 points helped Washington State defeat Oregon State 81-67 on Sunday.
Glass went 7 of 15 from the field (1 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Cougars (8-9, 3-1 West Coast Conference). ND Okafor scored 13 points, shooting 6 of 8 from the field. Jerone Morton shot 5 for 8, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 13 points.
Dez White led the Beavers (8-9, 1-3) in scoring, finishing with 16 points and three steals. Oregon State also got 11 points from Isaiah Sy. Yaak Yaak finished with nine points.
Washington State took the lead for good 21 seconds into the game and it was 47-33 at halftime, with Glass racking up 11 points. Washington State pulled away with a 10-3 run in the second half to extend a 14-point lead to 21 points. The Cougars closed out the victory over Oregon State from there, as Morton led the way with a team-high seven second-half points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Oregon
Oregon gas tax and fee hikes delayed pending November vote
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Planned increases to Oregon’s gas tax, DMV fees, and payroll tax are on hold after a petition garnered enough signatures to challenge parts of a recent transportation funding bill.
The Oregon Secretary of State’s office confirmed that the petition, led by the group No Tax Oregon, will place the issue on the November ballot.
The group, spearheaded by Republican legislators Sen. Bruce Starr and Rep. Ed Diehl, launched the campaign following Gov. Tina Kotek’s approval of the bill last November.
On Dec. 12, No Tax Oregon submitted over 190,000 signatures to the Secretary of State.
The delay raises questions about the impact on the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and transportation funding.
On this week’s segment of Your Voice, Your Vote, KATU’s Angelica Thornton interviewed Rep. Ed Diehl and Rep. Susan McLain, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, to discuss the implications of the referendum.
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Watch the full Your Voice, Your Vote segment below or on KATU’s YouTube channel:
Oregon
J.D. PicKell explains why Oregon-Indiana Peach Bowl rematch is perfect for Dan Lanning
J.D. PicKell explains why Oregon-Indiana Peach Bowl rematch is perfect for Dan Lanning originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Oregon Ducks’ 23-0 Orange Bowl win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders was the eventual planted seed for the soon-to-be Peach Bowl next Friday, as they will rematch the Indiana Hoosiers for a chance to go to the national title game in Miami.
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Despite losing to the Hoosiers during the regular season, the Ducks’ resilience has shone through since, making On3’s J.D. PicKell cautiously optimistic the Ducks could turn the tables on the No. 1-seeded Hoosiers.
“That might be the greatest gift this football team could have had, in the context of this season,” PicKell said. “That loss, I think, was a big reason why you’ve seen Oregon grow and progress the way they have in this College Football Playoff.”
PicKell said Oregon’s ability to “grow” has been apparent this postseason so far.
“Very different from last year’s team, when it comes to the way they’re evolving, the kind of ball they’re playing right now in the second round of the College Football Playoff,” PicKell said. “I think a lot of Oregon’s growth, you’ve got to give credit to some of the scars they have over the course of this season.”
We’ll see if PicKell’s words hold true, but it seems the Ducks have a shot to make the postseason even more interesting.
Come next Friday, we’ll find out.
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