SALEM, Ore. — The winner of a record-breaking $1.326 billion Powerball jackpot is in fact three winners who will split the prize.
Husband and wife Cheng and Duanpen Saephan of Portland, along with their friend Laiza Chao from Milwaukie, were announced as the winners at an Oregon Lottery news conference Monday afternoon, three weeks after the previously-unnamed Portland winner came forward to claim the prize.
Cheng Saephan attended the news conference and said he and Chao bought the ticket and will split the prize in half, with his half split with his wife. He also revealed that he has been battling cancer since 2016, and continues to go through chemotherapy treatment.
"I'm grateful to the lottery and how I have been blessed with this prize," he said. "I will be able to provide for my family and my health. I prayed for blessing; my prayers were answered."
He said his first purchase after getting the money would be "a house — my dream home." He said he'd played the lottery years earlier and then not much since, but began playing more often about four months ago.
"I had a feeling, said like, 'I can win it, I can win it.' But I didn't think I'd win this big," he said.
Earlier this month, Powerball announced that a single ticket sold in Oregon on April 6 had matched all six numbers to win the full prize at the drawing that night. After more than 40 weeks without a winner, the jackpot had grown to become the fourth-largest in Powerball history and the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Oregon.
The Oregon Lottery confirmed on April 8 that the ticket had been sold at a Plaid Pantry store in Northeast Portland. Oregon law does not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous in most cases, but the agency said it needed to go through a process to verify the win and set up security measures before revealing the winner publicly.
Speaking at Monday's news conference, lottery officials said the vetting process went quickly, taking only a couple days, but it took longer to collect the winnings from the multi-state agency that handles distribution.
The grand prize carried an equivalent cash value of $621 million. Winners can take the cash value as a lump sum or the full jackpot as an annuity paid out over 30 years; most winners choose the former option.
The Plaid Pantry that sold the ticket will receive a bonus $100,000 for the sale, and CEO Jonathan Polonsky said earlier this month that the money would go into a store bonus program for employees in certain positions, like assistant managers.