Gas station suing worker after he claimed $13m lottery win on abandoned ticket

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Circle K is taking legal action against an employee in Arizona because he cashed in a winning $13 million lottery ticket that a customer accidentally left behind at the store.

Winning the lottery can drastically change a person’s life, and recently in Arizona, it’s led to a lawsuit. Circle K, a convenience store chain, is in a legal dispute with one of its managers, Robert Gawlitza, who works at a Scottsdale location.

Circle K is claiming ownership of a $13 million winning lottery ticket, according to a lawsuit filed on February 21st. They say a customer purchased $85 worth of tickets but only paid for $60, leaving $25 worth behind in the store.

Circle K claims that when the station manager, Gawlitza, discovered a winning lottery ticket had been left behind, he bought it for $10 while not on duty, hoping to claim the prize money.

Circle K suing employee over winning lottery ticket

MoneyWise reports that Circle K is currently holding the winning lottery ticket at its main office while a disagreement is being resolved.

The report also noted that, according to Arizona rules, if a store prints a lottery ticket a customer doesn’t want and it isn’t sold to someone else, the store gets to keep the ticket.

State Representative Jeff Weninger confirmed this to AZFamily, explaining that administrative rules state retailers are responsible for tickets if more are printed than allowed.

According to MoneyWise, you must claim your winnings by May 23rd. After that, the lottery will keep some of the money to add to future prizes and donate a portion to charity.

So, the legal dispute will need to be settled sooner rather than later.

We’ve recently seen several legal battles involving lottery tickets. For example, in China, a man sued a store, a lottery agent, and the lottery organization itself after spending $130,000 on tickets that didn’t win anything. However, the judge eventually threw out the case.

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2026-02-24 14:49