(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-09-11 23:52

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A Canadian judge refused on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit against a race track operator who says a C$6.5 million ($6.2 million) winning ticket is really a computer mistake.

Elmer Patzer says he won the money from Great Canadian Gaming Corp when, in November 2004, he tried to cash in some old betting slips at an automatic betting machine at the company's Hastings Park Race horse-racing track in Vancouver.

The machine stamped one of his slips a big winner, but Great Canadian refused to pay. The company said its computer records show the machine issued the payment voucher by mistake.

The British Columbia Supreme Court judge said while Patzer is not sure which of the many races he won the money on, the company's request to have the lawsuit dismissed is premature. A trial date has not been set.