Ifergan decided to purchase two Quick Pick tickets for the now-defunct Super 7 game when he was out buying ice cream on the evening of 23rd May 2008. The first ticket was printed before the cut-off time of 9pm, but the second ticket - which had the winning numbers for the draw held that night - was printed out right after the cut-off with the date for the following draw, 30th May 2008. The numbers on the second ticket ended up appearing on the winning line for the 23rd, with the whole CA$27 million being claimed by another player.
However, shop owner Mehemosh Iranpur claims that when he sold Ifergan the tickets he made it clear that the second one would be valid for the next draw, not the one on the night, stating that he asked Ifergan whether not he wanted the second ticket, and that Ifergan said he would keep it.
Ifergan has spent over CA$100,000 trying to claim what he says was his rightful share of the Super 7 jackpot - a neat CA$13.5 million. Two lower courts have ruled against him - the Quebec Superior Court in 2012 and the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2014.
Loto-Quebec officials have stated that they are “satisfied” with the court’s ruling and do not plan to introduce any changes to their procedures for ticket sales. Ifergan says that he will continue to play the lottery.