Laotian Immigrant with Cancer Among Winners of Lottery Prize

A Laotian immigrant who has battled cancer for eight years will share hundreds of millions of dollars with a friend after winning a game of chance.

Forty-six-year-old Cheng Saephan lives in Portland, Oregon. He spoke¹ at a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery² on Monday. He said he and his wife, Duanpen, will take half of the prize money. He plans to give the rest to his friend.

That friend, Laiza Chao, gave $100 to buy lottery tickets with the couple.

Saephan said he was told he had cancer in 2016. He has been undergoing cancer treatment since then. He told reporters that he received his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

With the money, he said, "I will be able to provide for my family and my health." He added that he would "find a good doctor."

Saephan has two young children. He said, "How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?" He said he prayed that he would be able to provide something for his children before the prize announcement.

After buying the lottery tickets, Chao sent a picture of the tickets to Saephan saying, "We're billionaires!" That was before the winning numbers were announced. Chao was just making a joke.

But the next day, the friends won.

Chao was on her way to work when Saephan called her to tell her they had won the lottery. "You don't have to go anymore," he said.

An immigrant from Laos

Saephan told reporters he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987. He came to America in 1994. He has lived in the Portland area for 30 years. He worked as a machinist for an aerospace³ company.

He appeared at the news conference wearing a piece of cloth that identified him as Iu Mien⁴, a southeast Asian ethnic⁵ group with roots in southern China.

"I am born in Laos, but I am not Laotian," Saephan told reporters. "I am Iu Mien."

The Iu Mien aided American forces during the Vietnam War. After the end of the conflict, they feared punishment from the communist fighters who took over the government. Thousands of Iu Mien fled Laos at that time.

Tens of thousands of Iu Mien immigrated⁶ to the United States through a refugee⁷ rescue program. Many of them moved to the West Coast area. Many have attended universities and started businesses. The Iu Mien community in the Portland area is large, with a Buddhist⁸ temple, a Baptist church, social organizations, businesses and restaurants.

How much did they win?

The Oregon Lottery game is known as Powerball. Many other states hold Powerball lotteries⁹.

The announced prize was $1.3 billion dollars. However, that total would be paid out over 30 years. Instead, the winners can choose to take a single payment that is lower. The reported total for the winners in Portland is about $422 million dollars after federal and state taxes are taken out.

Oregon does not permit winners of the Powerball lottery to keep their identities from the public with a few exceptions. The prize is said to be the fourth-largest Powerball prize in history.

Words in This Story

lottery –n. a game of chance in which the winner has bought a ticket with the same numbers as those picked at random¹⁰ during a regular drawing (if no one wins the drawing, the prize money increases)

ticket –n. a paper or electronic evidence that you have paid to attend or take part in an activity, travel on a vehicle or play a game

aerospace –adj. related to the industry of making aircraft and spacecraft

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

3 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

4 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

7 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

8 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

9 lotteries   

n.抽彩给奖法( lottery的名词复数 )；碰运气的事；彩票；彩券

参考例句：

• Next to bullfights and soccer, lotteries are Spain's biggest sport. 除了斗牛和足球以外，彩票是西班牙最热门的玩意儿。 来自辞典例句
• Next to bullfight and soccer, lotteries are Spain's biggest sport. 发行彩票在西班牙是仅次于斗牛和足球的最大娱乐活动。 来自辞典例句

10 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。