More than 1,200 Texans say they're being denied money they've won fair and square. Now they're suing the maker of one of the Texas Lottery Commission's game for more than half a billion dollars. Wednesday, both sides argued their cases in an appeal before a panel of judges. Our Stef Manisero explains why the suit is a fight over one little word.

Imagine the rush of scratching off a winning, million-dollar lottery ticket.

"Both of us scratched them together and we just said, ‘Oh my gosh we won,’” said Cathy Clark.

For Cathy Clark and more than 1,200 other Texans, that feeling was short-lived.

"And I took it to the store and they said it wasn’t a winner,” Clark said.

The Texas Lottery Commission says Cathy and the 1,200 others misinterpreted the instructions, and aren't owed any money.

"A 5th grader could even read it and know what it says,” said Clark.

Earlier this year, they sued GTECH, the ticket maker contracted by the Texas Lottery Commission.

Because the Lotto Commission is a government agency, it cannot be sued.

Now, it's up to the court to decide whether G-TECH can be sued.

The company's attorneys argue because it was working for the TLC, it has immunity, too.

Besides, they say, the Lotto Commission wrote the rules for the game, not GTECH.

"The end product was no longer what GTECH had proposed, it was what the Lottery Commission ended up deciding to do,” said GTECH’s Attorney Kenneth Broughton.

The state argues there's only one way to win.

The plaintiffs say the directions on the ticket read there's two ways to win.

The case boils down to punctuation — a period between two sentences.

"When there’s a period, that sentence ends,” said Clark.

But GTECH believes the directions are clear — To win, you need three 5's in a row.

"Everybody probably from age five on up knows how to play tic-tac-toe,” said Broughton.

While GTECH claims there's no 'harsh result' — like death or injury — the players argue otherwise.

"They bought the tickets under the impression that they had the chance to get this one thing, and it turned out that that’s not the case,” said Plaintiff’s Attorney Manfred Sternberg.

In the meantime, the plaintiffs want what they say they're owed.

"Everybody feels cheated,” said Clark.

Now, they're hoping to get lucky twice.

The decision from the third court of appeals will come likely after the holidays. Both sides say, either way, it will likely be appealed.

If that’s the case, the Texas Supreme Court will decide whether or not to hear the case.

We want you to weigh in! The instructions read, "Reveal three "5" symbols in any one row, column or diagonal, win prize in prize box. Reveal a Money Bag symbol in the 5-x box, win 5 times that prize." Let us know what you think in our comments section or on our Facebook here.