Terminally ill man (46) wins $1.3 billion with American lottery: “Now I can find a good doctor”

A terminally ill man has just won 1.3 billion dollars (just over 1.2 billion euros) playing Powerball, the American equivalent of Euromillions. American media report this.

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan (46) emigrated from Laos to the United States in 1994. There the man worked for many years in the space industry, in the city of Portland. The man was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago. After years of struggle, his last chemo treatment was carried out last week, because the father of two young children has now completed his treatment.

A drama for the family. Saephan prayed every time in recent weeks before he participated Powerball. “I wrote the numbers on a piece of paper that I put under my pillow because I needed help. I didn’t want to die before I did something for my family.” His prayers were answered: the man got all 6 numbers correct, a 1 in 292 million chance.

Given his health situation, Saephan chose to have the amount paid out in one go. That does save a sip on the drink: after taxes, about 422 million dollars remain. “I hope I can enjoy it for a while,” Saephan said at a press conference. “But at least I will now be able to take care of my family and my health. Start by finding a good doctor.”