€4.9m lotto winner missed out on life-changing prize after cruel twist of events

Clarence Jackson matched all six numbers on his Connecticut lottery ticket in October 1995, but a devastating series of events meant he missed the claim deadline by just two days – and his £4.25m unclaimed lottery prize was lost forever.

For the vast majority of people, purchasing a multi-million pound Lottery ticket remains nothing more than a fantasy. However, for one man it became a nightmare as a devastating twist of fate meant he never received a single penny.

Clarence Jackson, from Connecticut in the United States, bought a Quick Pick lottery ticket on October 13, 1995. One of his number selections matched the winning six-figure jackpot, which ought to have secured him an astonishing $5.8million (€4.9m) payout.

Except that’s not what happened. Back then, Clarence was working as a cleaner while also looking after his ill father.

He remained oblivious to the fact he holding the winning ticket until October 13, 1996 – the closing day of the Connecticut lottery’s 365-day deadline to collect your winnings.

As fate would have it (or rather wouldn’t), that particular day happened to be a Sunday. Clarence believed he needed to present the ticket to the state’s lottery headquarters, which he presumed would be shut over the weekend, reports the Mirror.

He had no idea that he could have brought the ticket to the shop where he’d bought it to secure his winnings.

Given that the following day was Columbus Day, a public holiday in Connecticut, it wasn’t until October 15 when he eventually submitted his winning ticket – only to discover that by that stage, the deadline to claim the prize had passed.

Clarence then did what any sensible person who felt they’d been treated unfairly would do – he attempted to sue the lottery. His legal representatives lodged a claim against the Connecticut Lottery Corporation in October 1996 after he was refused what he believed to be his rightful winnings.

Clarence outlined the exceptional circumstances that resulted in him failing to realise he was sitting on a €4.9m ticket.

His father had been admitted to hospital with emphysema, and the young man had spent the majority of the period between purchasing the ticket and the deadline passing caring for him.

He said: “He was in the hospital for most of that year and he came home a week before the expiration date.”

Despite his legal team’s best efforts, the court ruled in favour of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. It successfully argued that Jackson had violated the contract’s conditions, which stipulated that winners have one full calendar year to collect their prize money.

Having missed out on a potentially life-changing fortune, Clarence managed to find a silver lining in his painful near miss.

Speaking to Good Morning America in 2016, he suggested he would be “dead or broke” had he received such a substantial windfall at such a young age.

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.”

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