Before last month's $768 million Powerball drawing, 24-year-old Manuel Franco was just trying to save $1,000 in the bank.

That should no longer be an issue for Franco, who on Tuesday stepped forward to claim the third-largest lottery prize in US history.

Franco, who lives in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin, bought the lone winning ticket for the March 27 Powerball drawing. On Tuesday, he chose the lump sum payment option for the the jackpot prize, which equals $477 million. After paying state and federal taxes, Franco will take home about $326 million, Wisconsin lottery officials said.

"Trying to get the bank account to $1,000 was my biggest concern [before winning the lottery]," he told reporters at a press conference.

Franco said he showed up for work for one day after realizing he'd won the lottery, but he quit that day and never went back.

TWEETPHOTO

Franco bought his winning ticket at a Speedway gas station near Milwaukee, and he says he "pretty much felt lucky" when buying about $10 worth of Powerball tickets that day.

"It's a weird lucky feeling. It's not natural, not normal at all," Franco told reporters, adding that he felt so lucky he even thought about winking at the gas station's security camera while buying the tickets.

When checking his tickets the day after the Powerball drawing, Franco says he was already "super excited" when he first realized that he won a $4 prize with one of the other tickets before even getting around to checking the numbers on the jackpot-winning ticket. But, his "heart started to pump and whatnot" when he checked (and double-checked) the ticket that won the $768 million prize.