A Laotian immigrant who was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago will share hundreds of millions of dollars after winning a lottery game in the United States. Cheng Saephan, 46, of Portland, Oregon, said he will split the prize money with his wife and a friend after federal and state taxes are taken out. The pair bought a ticket with the number 49, which won them the fourth-largest jackpot in history. Saephan is a member of the Iu Mien ethnic group that fled persecution during Vietnam’s war with the United States in the 1970s. Many settled in the West Coast area of the U.S., where they now have schools, social organizations and businesses.

Lottery officials in the communist nation of Laos are rigging the system, with winning numbers appearing to disappear from purchased tickets, sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. A recent drawing for the national lottery displayed the number 509, but access to this number was restricted throughout the day and changed only hours before the scheduled time of the drawing.

The office of Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith sent a directive on Aug. 17 directing the ministry of finance, which oversees the country’s legal state lottery, to work with the ministry of public security to improve transparency in the lottery business. The directive also said informal football lotteries and lottery chances sold over short messaging services should be closed.