A $12.8 million Arizona Lottery jackpot is now tied up in court after Circle K alleged that a store manager bought the winning ticket only after the numbers had already been announced, according to a video report by Arizona’s Family reporter David Caltabiano.
Caltabiano reported that a judge is expected to decide who gets the massive prize, which came from a lottery ticket sold at a Circle K in Scottsdale. The case centers on a strange and unusually high-stakes question: who owns a winning lottery ticket that was printed for one customer, left behind, and allegedly purchased later by the store’s own manager?
“This is quite the story,” Caltabiano said at the start of the report, noting that the allegation is that the lottery winner bought the ticket after the winning numbers had already been announced.
The case is not just about luck anymore. It is about timing, store rules, lottery rules, and whether the person who claimed the ticket had information an ordinary customer would not have had.
A Customer Bought Some Tickets, But Not All Of Them
According to Caltabiano, the controversy began when a customer went to the Circle K to buy multiple tickets for “The Pick,” an Arizona Lottery game where players try to match six numbers on their ticket to the six numbers drawn.
The lawsuit filed by Circle K claims a clerk printed $85 worth of tickets for the customer. The customer, however, only bought $60 worth of tickets at $1 each.
That left 25 printed tickets behind.
Caltabiano reported that those remaining tickets were set aside and were not sold to any other customer that night.
That small leftover stack is now the center of a multimillion-dollar legal fight. In a normal store transaction, forgotten or unbought tickets might not seem like much, but lottery tickets are different because their value can change in an instant once the numbers are drawn.
That is what makes this case so interesting. At the time those tickets were left behind, they may have looked like unwanted scraps from an unfinished purchase. By the next day, one of them was allegedly worth $12.8 million.
Circle K Says The Manager Bought The Ticket Later
Caltabiano reported that the following day, Circle K store manager Robert Gawlitza allegedly realized one of the leftover tickets had hit the jackpot.
According to the complaint, Gawlitza then clocked out, removed his uniform, and had another employee ring him up for the remaining tickets.
Caltabiano said the receipt was for all of the remaining tickets for $10, including the winning ticket.
That detail is the heart of the dispute. Circle K is not simply saying the manager happened to buy a lucky ticket. The company is claiming the ticket was part of an earlier overprint and, under state rules, belonged to the retailer after it was printed and not purchased by the original customer.
Circle K is citing an Arizona administrative rule that says if there is an overprint, the retailer owns those tickets.
If the court agrees with Circle K, the winning ticket may not belong to Gawlitza even though he later paid for the remaining tickets. If the court sees him as a normal customer who lawfully bought available tickets, the outcome could look very different.
It is a rare kind of lottery fight because it is not about someone losing a ticket, stealing a ticket, or claiming numbers were misread. It is about whether a ticket that already existed before the drawing could be legally purchased after its winning status was apparently known.
A Legal Fight Over Rules, Timing, And Insider Knowledge
Caltabiano spoke with Valley attorney Josh Kolsrud, who is not affiliated with the case, about how the dispute may play out.
Kolsrud said the rules appear to favor Circle K when it comes to ownership of the overprinted tickets.
“It’s clear through the rules that the tickets belonged to Circle K after they were printed out the night before,” Kolsrud told Arizona’s Family.
But he also said there could be another side to the argument.
“However, if he’s able to show that he was just an average person, like you or me, walking into the store, without really any insider knowledge, then he has a pretty good chance of coming out the winner in this case,” Kolsrud said.
That comment captures the biggest tension in the case.
If Gawlitza acted like any other customer and bought tickets that were available for sale, his claim may sound stronger. But if the court decides he used his position at the store, or knowledge gained from that position, to buy a ticket after learning it had won, the case could tilt sharply the other way.
The timing matters because lottery games depend on fairness. Every player is supposed to buy a chance before the result is known. Once the winning numbers are out, the “chance” is gone, and the ticket’s value is no longer a mystery.
That is why the allegation feels so serious. A lottery ticket is supposed to be a gamble, not a treasure map someone can pick up after the treasure has already been marked.
Circle K Calls It A Unique Situation
According to Caltabiano’s report, Circle K filed the lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court in February, asking a judge to determine who is entitled to the $12.8 million prize.
A Circle K spokesperson told Arizona’s Family that the company is not aware of any prior litigation like this involving the Arizona Lottery.
“This is a unique situation, and we are not aware of any prior litigation of this sort involving the Arizona Lottery,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Arizona’s Family.
That alone makes the case stand out.
Lottery jackpots often produce disputes between relatives, coworkers, office pools, or people who say they were promised a share. This one is different because it reaches into store operations and the rules that apply when tickets are printed but not bought by the person who requested them.
It also raises practical questions for retailers. What exactly should happen when a customer asks for a batch of tickets but does not buy them all? Who controls them? When must they be voided, held, or paid for? And what happens if the drawing occurs before anyone resolves that leftover-ticket problem?
Those questions may sound technical, but a $12.8 million jackpot turns technical details into life-changing stakes.
The Judge’s Decision Could Set A Precedent
Caltabiano said a judge is expected to decide the case on May 15, with the central question being who gets to walk away with the winning ticket.
He also asked what future court precedent the case could set.
That may be just as important as the jackpot itself. If a court rules that overprinted tickets belong firmly to the retailer, that could strengthen the rules for similar disputes later. If the manager is allowed to claim the prize, it may create new pressure on lottery retailers to tighten how unsold printed tickets are handled.
Either way, this case shows how messy lottery winnings can become when procedure is not airtight.
Most lottery stories are simple: someone buys a ticket, the numbers hit, and their life changes overnight. This one is much stranger because the ticket’s path from printer to claimant is now being examined step by step in court.
Caltabiano closed his report by calling it the “$12.8 million question,” and that phrase fits. The judge will not only decide who may become a millionaire, but also how Arizona treats a winning ticket that was printed before the drawing, allegedly purchased after the drawing, and claimed by someone who worked inside the store where it was sold.
For now, the jackpot remains in limbo.
And until the court rules, the winning ticket is less a symbol of sudden luck than a reminder that even a lottery dream can turn into a legal fight when the timing looks wrong.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
