Circle K has filed a lawsuit against an Arizona employee after he paid for a lottery ticket that turned out to be worth nearly $13 million, claiming the prize belongs to the company because the original customer left the ticket behind.
The dispute involves Robert Gawlitza, a manager at a Circle K store in Scottsdale. According to a lawsuit filed on February 21, a customer bought $85 worth of lottery tickets but only paid for $60, leaving $25 worth unclaimed at the counter.
Circle K alleges that after realizing one of the leftover tickets was a winner, Gawlitza purchased it for $10 while off the clock in an attempt to claim the prize.
The company argues that under the Arizona Administrative Code, any lottery ticket that is printed but refused or abandoned by a customer — and not resold — becomes the retailer’s property. State Representative Jeff Weninger told AZFamily that administrative rules support that interpretation.
The ticket is reportedly being held at Circle K’s headquarters while the legal battle continues. A deadline of May 23 has been set to claim the prize, after which unclaimed funds would be partially redirected to future prize pools and charities.