He was determined to win – no matter how long it took.

A U.S. Army veteran and retired police detective who said the California lottery took too long to pay out his eye-popping $44.3 million jackpot has finally claimed his winnings after months of waiting — and has a plan for it the price.

“I’m a very happy person,” Jerry Heath told the California Lottery after winning the life-changing prize late last month.

The lottery fanatic, who served six years in the Army before becoming a Long Beach police detective, bought the lucky ticket for the Aug. 19 drawing at a Ralphs grocery store in southern Orange County.

Soon after, he discovered to his delight that he was the only winner of the $44.3 million grand prize.

The winning numbers were 1, 2, 15, 23, 28 and the red Powerball 10 – Heath’s lucky number.

“Six numbers in Powerball are… chances are you’ll die before then… You’ll go out and get struck by lightning before you win that number,” he said in October.

However, due to a long verification period to prove he was the rightful winner, he waited almost five months to claim his nearly $17 million lump sum option.

“I felt great, but I was so stressed,” Heath told ABC 7. “I’m grateful. I’ll be a millionaire for the rest of my life.”

The Army veteran said he plans to share his newfound wealth with his daughter and grandchildren.

He also revealed that he has now paid off his house and invested some of the profits.

Describing himself as a simple man from a low-income family, Heath said his love of playing the lottery won’t change his ability to become a millionaire.

“Now that I’m a multimillionaire, I can’t forget where I come from,” the veteran said. “I don’t really travel; Playing the lottery is my only luxury.”

As a daily lottery player, Heath never shied away from playing because he knew the amount of money would benefit the Golden State’s education system.

For every $2 Powerball ticket sold in California, about 80 cents are used to fund public schools, Cal Lottery said in a 2023 news release.

Since its founding in 1985, the California Lottery has generated more than $46 billion for public schools in the state.

According to Cal Lottery, the lottery raised a record amount of more than $2 billion for education in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Lottery officials conduct a vetting process on any person claiming to have a winning ticket, including an investigation by lottery law enforcement and a cross-audit to ensure that the winner does not owe any taxes or child support to the state.

A winner can only claim their prize after four weeks at the earliest, although this rarely happens.

“The California Lottery, believe it or not, processes more than 10,000 applications per month, so we want to meet the expectations of our winners,” Cal Lottery employee Carolyn Becker told ABC 7 in October.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are an astronomical 1 in 292,201,338.

The Powerball drawing is currently up to $240 million, with a cash payout of $113.6 million for Wednesday’s drawing at 11 p.m.