By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-06 03:16:26 | Updated at 2024-12-22 11:49:03
2 weeks ago
A US army vet who won a jaw-dropping $44.5 million jackpot has began spending his windfall by paying off his home, making investments and gifting cash to his family.
Jerry Heath, who served six years in the Army and is now a retired detective from the Long Beach Police Department, has always been a daily lottery fanatic in California - and it finally paid off after he struck gold this past August.
But it took nearly five months for the newfound multimillionaire to see a single cent.
'I felt great but I was so stressed about it,' the lucky winner told ABC 7. 'I am thankful. I am going to be a millionaire for the rest of my life.'
He purchased a Powerball ticket at Ralph's grocery store in southern Orange County for the August 19 drawing using some of his favorite numbers - 1, 2, 15, 23, 28 and the red Powerball 10 - which is his lucky number.
The chance of winning the Powerball is one in every 292,201,338 - but the odds were in his favor.
That same night, all six numbers, including his lucky number, were drawn - making him the winner of the whopping $44.5 million.
'It was exciting in a really subtle way,' Heath told the outlet. 'You don't anticipate every hitting all six.'
Jerry Heath, a US Army vet and retired detective in California, revealed that he will spend his jaw-dropping $44.5 million jackpot winnings on paying off his home, investing and sharing with family
The California resident, who plays the lottery everyday, waited nearly five months to see a single cent of his earnings
'Six numbers on a Powerball. The odds are... you'll walk out and get hit by lightning before you win that one.'
He finally picked up his check which held his lump-sum option of nearly $17 million two weeks ago after the state took nearly 12 weeks to pay the funds - all due to a lengthy vetting process to prove that he was the rightful winner of the game.
'I'm a very fortunate human being,' he told the California Lottery while describing how he went from a low-income upbringing to winning a life-changing amount of money.
People always think about what they would spend their money on if they happened to win the lotto - but for Heath, luxury and material things weren't in the cards.
He revealed that he has since paid off his home and made some improvements along with investing some of his millions after receiving the money.
As for the rest of his wealth - Heath plans to share it with his daughter and grandchildren.
'I can't forget where I came from now that I'm a multimillionaire,' he told The New York Post. 'I don't really travel; playing the lottery is my only luxury.'
Heath never was one to skip out on playing the lottery daily knowing that some of the money was going to a good cause that he personally supports.
He purchased a Powerball ticket at Ralph's grocery store in southern Orange County for the August 19 drawing using some of his favorite numbers - and all six were drawn that same night
Heath told ABC7: 'I can't forget where I came from now that I'm a multimillionaire. I don't really travel; playing the lottery is my only luxury'
In California, around 80 cents of every $2 Powerball ticket goes to the state's education system to help fund public schools.
The state's lottery has already generated more than $46 billion for public schools in the state since its beginning in 1985.
In the 2023-2024 year alone, the lottery raised more than $2 billion for the Golden State's education system.
Yet Heath hopes that other winners don't have to go through the same stressful waiting period that he had to go through as he is still disappointed with the concerning amount of time the state took to pay him.
The state's vetting process on any person with a winning ticket consists of an investigation from the lottery's law enforcement team where they cross-check the winner to make sure they don't owe any money to the state, taxes or child support.
Four weeks is the earliest a winner may get to see their massive sum of money, but it's very rare.
'California Lottery processes, believe t or not, 10,000-plus claims a month,' Carolyn Becker told ABC 7. 'So we want to manage the expectations of our winners.'
Heath told the California Lottery that he plays the lottery everyday and now that he conquered a Powerball win, his sights are set on an even bigger prize - SuperLotto Plus - which is only offered in the Golden State.
A former boss also told the outlet that this enormous win 'couldn't have happened to a better person'.
