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“The store employee asked the Applicant if he still wanted to purchase the two tickets,” the Supreme Court of Canada summarized. “The Applicant said he did and paid for them.”

Ifergan, an accountant by trade, has always maintained that he should have won the May 23 draw because his request for the ticket was made before 9 p.m., even though the ticket itself was printed seven seconds after deadline. Every court, including the country’s top one, has now rejected that argument.

Loto-Québec has countered that if Ifergan’s second ticket had actually been registered for the May 23 draw, the numbers he got would have been different because of the technology used.

Ifergan has reportedly spent up to $100,000 in legal fees over the last seven years arguing his case. He could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.