An Arizona convenience store manager is facing a lawsuit for allegedly purchasing a $12.8 million lottery ticket after confirming it was a winner.
Robert Gawlitza, an employee at a Circle K location in Scottsdale, was working on November 24 when a customer asked to replay numbers for “The Pick,” an Arizona Lottery game that was having a drawing that night, 12 News reported.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday, claims a Circle K worker printed $85 worth of $1 tickets, but the customer only paid for $60 worth, leaving the remaining 25 tickets on the counter.
Later that night, the Arizona Lottery announced the winning numbers — and one of the unclaimed tickets matched all six numbers, making it worth $12.8 million.
Gawlitza allegedly learned his store had printed the jackpot winner but didn’t sell it and went through the remaining tickets to find the winner, the lawsuit claims.
He then clocked out, took off his Circle K uniform and bought the leftover tickets — including the $12.8 million-winning ticket — from another employee for $10, and signed the back of the ticket, the lawsuit says.
The winning numbers were 3, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 26.
However, word got back to Circle K management about the transaction and the company ordered the ticket be held at its corporate offices.
Circle K is suing Gawlitza and the Arizona Lottery and asking for a judge to determine who legally owns the ticket.
Under the Arizona Administrative Code, if a retailer generates a lottery ticket that is refused by a customer and not resold, the ticket is considered property of the retailer, according to the report.
Circle K cited this rule in its suit, but still asked the court to decide who should receive the ticket. The company is asking a court to determine whether the ticket was ever validly sold, who lawfully owns the ticket and who is entitled to the cash prize, AZFamily reported.
The Independent has contacted Circle K for comment but was unable to reach Gawlitza.
The Arizona Lottery said it was not aware of any previous instance where a store and an employee had opposing claims to a winning lottery ticket. “This is a unique situation, and we are not aware of any prior litigation of this sort involving the Arizona Lottery,” a lottery spokesperson told AZFamily.
The November drawing was the fourth-largest prize in the history of The Pick and the largest jackpot won in Arizona since 2019, according to lottery officials.
The winning ticket must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing, or before May 23, 2026.
