A Scottsdale, Arizona, convenience store manager is at the center of one of the most legally bizarre lottery disputes in Arizona history - accused of clocking out, changing clothes and purchasing a $12.8 million winning ticket that a customer had abandoned at his store the night before.
Circle K Stores filed the lawsuit this week in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking a court declaration on who legally owns the ticket, one of the largest lottery prizes in Arizona history.
According to court documents, a customer visited the Circle K at 5601 E. Bell Road in Scottsdale on Nov. 24, 2025, and asked an employee to replay previously used lottery numbers for that evening's drawing of The Pick, an Arizona Lottery game. The employee printed $85 worth of tickets, but the customer paid for only $60 and left the remaining 25 tickets on the counter. The winning numbers - 3, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 26 - were later announced, and one of the unpurchased tickets matched all six numbers, worth $12.8 million.
The next morning, store manager Robert Gawlitza arrived for his shift and learned a winning ticket had been printed at his location. He located the remaining tickets and confirmed one was the jackpot winner. Then he clocked out, took off his Circle K uniform and had another employee ring him up for the remaining tickets - including the winner - for $10. He signed the back of the ticket.
Circle K management stepped in immediately, ordering the ticket held at its corporate offices, where it remains today. Arizona Lottery rules prohibit store employees from playing any lottery game "while working," according to the Phoenix New Times — which may explain why Gawlitza clocked out and changed clothes before making the purchase.
The legal question now before a Maricopa County judge is both simple and genuinely unprecedented. Under the Arizona Administrative Code, when a retailer prints a lottery ticket that a customer refuses or abandons and the ticket isn't resold, it becomes the retailer's property - because retailers pay the Arizona Lottery for every ticket they print, whether or not those tickets are sold.
Arizona state Rep. Jeff Weninger, chairman of the House Commerce Committee, summed it up plainly: "It is in the administrative rules that basically says if they overprint, the retailer owns the tickets."
But the question of whether Gawlitza's after-the-fact purchase counts as a valid personal transaction - or an attempt to claim property that already belonged to Circle K - is precisely what the court must untangle.
"This is a unique situation and we are not aware of any prior litigation of this sort involving the Arizona Lottery," Arizona Lottery spokesperson Cydeni Carter said. Former Arizona Lottery Executive Director Gregg Edgar echoed that assessment: "I have not ever encountered something like this."
The ticket must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. That deadline is May 23, 2026. Circle K is not seeking the jackpot for itself outright — the company is asking the court to determine the lawful owner so the prize can be properly paid out.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube