Portland Plaid Pantry gets $100,000 bonus for selling $1.3 billion ticket

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- After selling a winning Powerball ticket worth a whopping $1.3 billion, a Northeast Portland Plaid Pantry was presented a $100,000 bonus by the Oregon Lottery Thursday afternoon.

This comes after the ticket's earnings were claimed in early April by Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, a Laos-born immigrant who has been fighting cancer for the past eight years.

The prize was the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in the game's history, according to the Oregon Lottery.

To further commemorate the event, Oregon Lottery staff also surprised customers of the Columbia Boulevard store by handing out free $2 Scratch-its.

“The excitement and impact of a win like this in Oregon is incredible, not only for our prize winners, but also for our communities and locally owned retailer Plaid Pantry,” said Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells.

According to Oregon Lottery, Plain Pantry locations in the state have sold other sizable wins in the last couple years years, including a $3.3 million Megabucks ticket in August 2023 and a $1 million Powerball prize in March 2023.

Plaid Pantry President and CEO Jonathan Polonsky said in a statement that this bonus check will go towards reinvesting in the business "to benefit our associates, customers and local suppliers.”