Connecticut Man Continues Fight For Lotto Winnings After Barely Missing Deadline

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- You could call it a terrible misfortune for a man who won a lotto jackpot worth $5.8-million. Due to bad timing he's never seen a penny of it.

Clarence Jackson would have been a multi-millionaire, but it took him three days too many to come forward.

He bought the winning ticket in Hamden, Connecticut on Friday, October 13, 1995.

The then 23-year-old brought the ticket to his father, who usually checked for winners, but his dad had fallen ill and the ticket went unchecked. One year later to the day his sister heard on the news that no-one claimed the jackpot.

"We found it on a Sunday night," Jackson told CBS2's Vanessa Murdock.

The winning ticket was theirs, but Jackson didn't realize he could validate the ticket that night. By the time he went to lottery headquarters on Wednesday, and missed the one year deadline by only three days.

"Ever since then it's been a whirlwind," he said.

Jackson has been fighting for the jackpot since. In 1997, with help from Chris Depino, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed a bill that would enable him to finally cash in, but it died in the Senate. Now, 18-years-later, he's back in Hartford.

He's testifying before the senate Public Safety Commission in hopes of getting a new bill to pass the one sponsored by Representative Ernest Hewitt.

Hewitt said the rules have been bent in the past.

"The General Assembly passed a special act to give a 16-year-old money. You're not even supposed to buy a ticket at 16-years-old," Hewitt said.

Anne Noble, president and CEO of Connecticut Lottery Corporation said they're in the business of giving money away, but everyone needs to abide by the same rules.

"When we make exceptions we open up a Pandora's box. How to we say not to the next person," she said.

Jackson plans to keep fighting.

"Yes. I will because I believe it's the right thing to do," he said.

He also said that he is confident that he won't have to and that the millions will soon be his.

The bill has a long way to go before becoming a law. By June, Jackson will know if he can finally call himself a millionaire.