An ex-Arizona Lottery director says he was just following the rules
Includes video report
By Kate Northrop
The ex-Circle K manager embroiled in a legal battle over a $12.8 million Arizona Lottery jackpot-winning ticket has picked up an unexpected supporter: a former NFL player with alleged ties to the convenience store chain.
Nearly a year after the fight over a winning lottery ticket began, attorneys for the former store manager who "purchased" the winning ticket say that a new voice has emerged to offer their opinion in support of the man at the center of the conflict.
Robert Gawlitza is the former Circle K manager who purchased the winning ticket after a customer accidentally had it printed and left it behind at the store.
But since the draw had already taken place by the time Gawlitza paid for it, Circle K corporate pointed at the Arizona Lottery's policies and said the ticket rightfully belonged to them.
Gawlitza maintains his claim that he only followed store policy when purchasing the ticket. His attorney, Josh Kolsrud, said the chain has an official rule in place requiring employees to buy accidentally printed lottery tickets valued over $20 as a punishment for printing mistake tickets. Gawlitza said he clocked out, bought the ticket per store policy, and received a receipt.
At the time he purchased the ticket, Gawlitza entered an agreement with Marline Ybarra that they were going to split the winnings. Ybarra was named as an official participant in the legal battle back in June since she was the individual who sold him the ticket.
"The bottom line here is he bought the tickets," Kolsrud said. "He paid for them, obviously. He got a receipt. It was rung up by a Circle K employee on duty. They only changed their minds once he said, 'Well, the winning ticket is $12.8 million.' And then they said, 'Whoa, hold on for a second. Now let's talk about that.'"
The former manager has since filed six affidavits from current and former Circle K employees who verify the store policy exists and support Gawlitza's claim: Eva Sparks, Jennifer Geibeda, Joseph Fullerton, Joyce Vickers-Kien, Miguel Perez, and Nicholas Delibertis.
"Circle K required employees to purchase accidentally generated unsold lottery tickets with personal funds," the affidavits read.
"It's not just Robert saying that Circle K had these policies," Kolsrud added. "We have six affidavits from current and former Circle K employees who essentially say the exact same thing that Robert did, which is that Circle K had this unofficial policy forcing its employees to purchase accidentally printed lottery tickets."
While Kolsrud did reveal that a former NFL player voiced support for the former manager, he declined to identify him. However, the player did have connections to the Circle K brand and unofficially corroborated Gawlitza's and the other employee's accounts regarding store policy surrounding mistake tickets.
Kolsrud said that the NFL player managed Circle K stores and served as chairman of the Arizona Lottery as well.
News12 reports that he is believed to be Tony Bouie, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being appointed Director of the Arizona Lottery in 2015. He resigned from the position in 2016 amid controversy and concerns regarding his management of the department.
Circle K has since filed a motion to dismiss Gawlitza's counterclaims. The company argues that even if the internal policy is exactly what Gawlitza and his former colleagues describe, the transaction still isn't valid under Arizona Lottery regulations. Lottery rules state that when a retailer prints a ticket a customer doesn't pay for and no other customer buys it, the ticket becomes the retailer's property.
Kolsrud told interviewers that he does not believe the Arizona Lottery's rules address the specific circumstances with the Circle K policy at play.
The court is expected to rule on Circle K's motion to dismiss within the next two months. If the case is allowed to proceed, a jury trial could begin sometime in 2027.
VIDEO: Watch the report
Godspeed Gawlitza and Ybarra, don't let them <snip>s screw ya
* The minute gawlitza changed out of he's company uniform & purchased the ticket- he entered the danger zone.
* You shouldn't be (legally ) purchasing a lottery ticket & then suddenly finding yourself in a court battle over the money. Someone did something wrong.
Hate to say this but Gawlitza trying to abide by company policy is why he's in this mess. Had he just bought the ticket, and kept his mouth shut he could have just resigned from his job, then cash the ticket nobody else would have a claim to it. His loyalty to Circle K backfired, they wrangled the ticket from him and terminated his employment. He didn't need to clock out and change his clothes should have just taken the ticket that he paid for and left and never come back
So that store policy is only coming to light now with current employees confirming it ? Why now...like maybe they see a piece of the pie ? Something like that would have been brought to the attention of the lottery a long time ago by fired employees.
The whole story seems sketchy to me.
Why didn't he buy them all if that was the policy ?
so he left work after his day was done bought a ticket cant collect after he left work he can do what he wants!
Gawlitza has no claim.
"the chain has an official rule in place requiring employees to buy accidentally printed lottery tickets valued over $20 as a punishment for printing mistake tickets"
This policy is vague and however you interpret it, the policy stands to disfavor Gawiitza.
Gawiltza did not print the mistake tickets. The policy could not be interpreted to apply to every employee including those who did not make the mistake. So, Gawiltza cannot be punished for another's mistake. The purchasing of the mistake ticket(s) is still an act of store imposed punishment.
If the official lottery rules does not permit such policies, the policy is null and void ab initio.
The official lottery rules may be the strict rules by which the owner is determined.
"But since the draw had already taken place by the time Gawlitza paid for it"
That's it. That's should be the end of the story. Gawlitza bought a ticket after the draw, so no one should be able to claim it. Put the money back into the lottery fund and keep it moving. He could've watched the draw, seen it was a winner, and then paid for it. He should've bought the ticket before the draw had taken place.
The way I see it, if he was required to purchase the ticket, it is his ticket so the prize money is his. If someone has to purchase these tickets and they win a smaller prize, say $20, do they have turn that in as well? That probably has happened and I wonder if Circle K did the same thing to those employees.
I'm hoping he wins and is able to keep the money and go have a happy life.
The problem Gawlitza may have is that he was not the person that sold the mistake tickets. Since employees are required to buy mistake tickets Gawlitza has not earned a punishment - a.k.a. - buy the mistake tickets. And if he does, he has not earned the rights to keep them especially since the tickets contained a winner. Under most circumstances Gawlitza will not buy a loosing ticket. Gawlitza should be eliminated as a contester for the prize.
At the time of the drawing, the ticket belonged to Circle K. You can't legitimately claim you bought a ticket from another entity after the drawing.
He bought it like protocol said to do for a printing mistake. Its his. End of story. Looks like Circle K is the greedy mofo.
You are correct that at the time of the drawing the ticket belonged to Circle K. But it was no longer in the category of what can be sold, just like the shelves in the store cannot be sold.
Look at the leverage the corporation has, they got a judge to extend the expiration of the ticket. If this case reaches a jury trial, one thing in Gawlitzas favor is that he followed company policy and they might sympathyize with him
* No, he didn't follow company policies. If he did, he wouldn't be in the pickle he finds himself in. He knew exactly what he was doing when he purchased a winning ticket that was not picked up before the game was played. That unclaimed winning ticket remained on property overnight.
* The following day he comes across the unclaimed winning ticket & purchased it with the intention of cashing it. Where in that story was he following company guidelines?