Story by Robin Cottle
For most people, buying a multi-million pound Lottery ticket is the stuff of dreams. But for one man it turned out to be anything but as a cruel turn of events meant he never saw a penny.
Clarence Jackson, of Connecticut in the USA, purchased a Quick Pick lottery ticket on October 13, 1995. One of his number combinations matched the winning six-number jackpot, which should have won him an incredible $5.8million (£4.25m) windfall.
Only that is not how it panned out. At the time, Clarence was working hard as a cleaner while also caring for his ill father.
He didn’t realise he held the winning ticket until October 13, 1996 – the final day of the Connecticut lottery’s 365-day window to claim your prize.
As luck would have it (or not as the case may be), the day fell on a Sunday. Clarence assumed he would have to take the ticket to the state’s lottery headquarters, which he thought would be closed at the weekend.
Clarence Jackson (right)© ABC
He was unaware that he could have taken the ticket to the store where he purchased it to claim his prize.
As the following day was Columbus Day, a state holiday in Connecticut, it was not until October 15 when he finally turned in his winning ticket – only to be told that by then, it was too late to claim the prize.
Clarence then did what any reasonable person who thought they had been wronged would do – he tried to sue the lottery.
His legal team filed a ruling against the Connecticut Lottery Corporation in October 1996 after he was denied what he thought were his winnings.
Clarence explained the extenuating circumstances that led to him not realising he was holding a £4.25m ticket.
His dad had been hospitalised with emphysema and the young man had been looking after his father for most of the time that elapsed between buying the ticket and the deadline expiring.
A Quick Pick ticket© ABC
He said: “He was in the hospital for most of that year and he came home a week before the expiration date.”
Despite the best efforts of his legal team, a court sided with the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. It successfully argued that Jackson breached the contract’s terms that stated winners have one full calendar year to claim their winnings.
After missing out on receiving a life-changing sum of money, Clarence managed to see the silver-lining of his agonising near miss.
Speaking to Good Morning America back in 2016, he claimed he would be “dead or broke” if he had received such a large amount of money as a young man.
He said: “Back then, I must say, I would have been too young, and I would have blown all the money.
“I was living a different lifestyle. I was trying to get into the music business back then, and I knew I’d be dead or broke now.”
