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Connecticut Legislators Want Lottery Claim Restrictions Eliminated3 May 2002CONNECTICUT – As reported by Hartford Courtant: "There was the woman who contacted the Connecticut Lottery offices the other day, saying her (possibly) winning lottery ticket had slipped from her hands and blown right out the window of her car. "Then there's the mom who put the ticket out with the trash. Always, a dog somewhere in Connecticut is eating winning Lotto tickets. And annually in the state legislature there is unlucky Clarence Jackson, hoping for a special act to award him the $5.8 million prize for the ticket he turned in three days too late in 1996. "…Since 1987, $36,311,941 has accumulated in unspoken-for jackpots, from the $5.8 million Jackson missed in 1996 to a $100,000 Powerball prize in January 2001. "Now, during the General Assembly's perennial Clarence Jackson debate, some state legislators are suggesting that the one-year deadline be eliminated. There is, however, one costly problem with allowing lottery winners unlimited time to collect their portion of the $36.3 million. "`It's not here,' said lottery spokeswoman Diane Patterson. At the end of each fiscal year, she said, most unclaimed prize money is returned to the state treasury, with some of the unclaimed winnings used to boost other jackpots. "…About five people a month file affidavits claiming they have lost winning tickets. If the one-year claiming deadline were eliminated, `you would have people coming forward saying I had a ticket 10 years ago.'[says Patterson.] "…`We ought to be thankful people are buying these things,' said state Rep. Reginald G. Beamon, D-Waterbury. He is part of a coalition of legislators favoring a special act for Jackson. He is also not opposed to a proposal by state Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven, to eliminate all deadlines for lottery tickets…" |