A Laotian immigrant in Oregon has won a lottery prize worth $1.3 billion dollars. He is splitting it with a friend. The winner, 46-year-old Cheng Saephan, said at a news conference that he will take half of the money and give the rest to his friend, Laiza Chao, who chipped in $100 to buy tickets with him. The two are members of the Iu Mien people, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China that fled Laos to Thailand and then settled in the United States following the Vietnam War. The winners say the prize will change their lives, and they hope to use it for education and other projects.
The jackpot is one of the largest in Powerball history and the fourth-largest in the nation’s history. It was won by a ticket sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The winning ticket matched the numbers 5-6-5-7-8. The lottery winner has a year to claim the top prize. Under Oregon law, winners cannot remain anonymous, but they can choose to be a public figure or stay private.
Lottery games have a long and rich history in the United States, and are now found on every continent. They can be played by individuals, groups, organizations, and even governments. Some are state-regulated while others are operated by private business interests. Some are free to play while others charge premiums on base lottery prices. Many of these games are marketed as “lottery-style” games, but some have a much more complex structure and require a significant time commitment to learn and play.
Several private companies now offer Internet-based lotteries. Those that operate these games usually offer a variety of other services, such as payment processing and data management. GTech Corporation, based in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, has a dominant market share in online lottery services, according to industry sources. The company’s software, which includes the Instant Millionaire series of games and the Lotto 6/49 and Mega Millions games, is licensed by state regulators and is used by over a dozen US lottery operators.
In Canada, lotteries are run at a provincial and territorial level. Each has its own name and logo and a separate set of regulations. In 1967, Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau imposed what he called a voluntary tax on players, charging $2.00 for the right to participate in the lottery. In return, players received silver bars valued at $100,000 and were able to answer four questions about Montreal to win the prize. The resulting controversy eventually led to the federal Liberal government passing an omnibus bill that made buying a lottery ticket legal. Today, Canada has four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, Daily Grand, and Millionaire Life.