MONTREAL - A lot can happen in seven seconds. Just ask the Quebec man who says that brief period cost him $13.5 million.
Joel Ifergan bought two lottery tickets in May 2008 - but the one with the eventual winning combination popped out of the terminal seven seconds after the 9 p.m. deadline.
As Ifergan discovered the next day, his Super 7 ticket had all the right numbers but was actually dated for the following week.
A delay in Loto-Quebec's computer system caused a lag in the issuing of the ticket for that night's $27-million jackpot, which was ultimately awarded to another person.
Ifergan argued the delay cost him dearly and that he should be entitled to one-half of the windfall - but the Supreme Court disagreed.
On Thursday, the country's highest court ruled it wouldn't hear his case against Loto-Quebec, effectively ending Ifergan's $100,000 legal battle. He'd already lost in Quebec Superior Court in 2012 and in the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2014.
"My crusade is up, I've done all I can, I spent enough money going to the Supreme Court," Ifergan said in a telephone interview.
