Circle K asks judge to delay expiration date for $12.8 million Arizona Lottery jackpot amid dispute

Comment #35

Nikkicute — Sun, 31 May 2026 06:58:06 GMT

Oh shoot! That's why I asked about the original customer.(Thanks Tony Numbers for answering my question).

So they are going to back and find whoever purchased them, wow. That customer is going to flip after finding out he/she left a winning ticket of that size behind and is going to get a lawyer too lol

180 days to wrap this up, someone is getting that money

Comment #34

JustMaybe — Mon, 18 May 2026 17:50:42 GMT

There is an update to this story, the court has granted a 180 day suspension on the prize expiration date.

They are also tracking the actual buyer of the ticket who only got some and left the others.

It's getting interesting.

Comment #33

gvpazkn — Sun, 17 May 2026 22:49:27 GMT

Are you a spokesperson for Circle K? Sounds like you are...

Comment #32

KY Floyd — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:45:35 GMT

Is it even possible that the judge has the authority to ...

What does authority mean? Even a town justice has extremely broad authority until a higher court (or the state board of judicial conduct) steps in. The judge can certainly order the lottery to extend the claim period but the lottery can appeal and potentially have a higher court allow them to follow their usual rules almost as soon as the ink is dry on the lower court's order. I doubt the lottery has the ability to extend the claim... [ More ]

Comment #31

Participant — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:13:03 GMT

I must have missed the complete facts of this story . I did not know of that part I remain corrected. I thought that the clerk was still in possession of the ticket he purchased after the drawing.

Based on this new information then what seems to be the issue. Why can't Circle K submit the ticket for fulfillment

Comment #30

Brock Lee — Wed, 13 May 2026 01:59:25 GMT

circle k managed to get a hold of the ticket quickly after finding out gawlitza had it, so it looks like he never even made it to the arizona lottery claim office. another employee must have told a higher level circle k manager what gawlitza was up to.

i'm not sure what legal argument circle k could use to sue gawlitza for money he doesn't have from a lottery ticket he didn't have possession of for very long. pain and suffering? lol. i guess corporations really are people too.... [ More ]

Comment #29

Participant — Wed, 13 May 2026 00:52:01 GMT

That will be an interesting outcome but I doubt it.

Circle K must file proper motions in court to secure an injunctive order of the court that blocks actual delivery of funds to the clerk because the clerk had used a non salable property of Circle K to secure the funds and the financial property must be forfeited to Circle K.

If the clerk can file before the expiration date I believe he will move for that action than let the ticket expire altogether.

If the ticket expires, Circle K c... [ More ]

Comment #28

Participant — Wed, 13 May 2026 00:34:20 GMT

An extension of time may be unnecessary, irrelevant and impertinent.

While the clerk of the court is in the physical possession of the ticket and could present it before the expiration date, Circle K could seek an injunction order against the lottery not to pay, because the ticket was a property of Circle K at the time it was sold the day after drawing and was not eligible for sale to anyone after the drawing

Comment #27

Brock Lee — Wed, 13 May 2026 00:19:15 GMT

the judge might decide that neither the clerk nor circle k are entitled to the prize and the money goes back to the arizona lottery as an unclaimed prize. i'd actually put money on that.

Comment #26

Participant — Tue, 12 May 2026 21:08:50 GMT

I don't know what Arizona policy says but the purchase may still be defeated for the following reasons:

He did not buy all other unpaid non winning tickets. The purchase fails the spirit of lottery purchasing. The Purchase was not made before the drawing and at the instance of drawing the ticket converts to the irrevocable property of the retailer.

Comment #25

Fantasy876 — Tue, 12 May 2026 20:21:49 GMT

I wonder if the customer could still have a claim to the Jackpot. This is all so fascinating. They could make a movie out of it. If the customer doesn't have a claim I can't imagine how they must be feeling knowing they let 12 million go over $20.

I'm gonna follow up on this case because the employee seems to have technically done some legal by clocking out and coming back as a customer. The ticket was available and he paid for it. The store could have paid for it same day why didn't they... [ More ]

Comment #24

Brock Lee — Tue, 12 May 2026 16:07:05 GMT

that depends on what arizona lottery laws say about who or what can claim prizes. in some states, only actual people can claim, not legal entities like trusts, llcs and businesses.

circle k can have corporate policy that says anything they want, but when it conflicts with what a gov't agency says, the gov't wins.

Comment #23

Participant — Tue, 12 May 2026 05:12:17 GMT

Circle K owns the ticket.

Comment #22

pstfleur — Mon, 11 May 2026 17:52:49 GMT

Exactly. No argument here, it's clear it belongs to the retailer.

Comment #21

HiyoCheeto — Sat, 09 May 2026 19:04:53 GMT

Is it even possible that the judge has the authority to halt the expiration of a ticket from a multi-state lottery?

They would be wise to to settle on a split (in writing), then cash in the ticket.

Comment #20

RichW — Sat, 09 May 2026 18:00:34 GMT

This is a wild one down in Arizona. It reminds me why it's so important to keep your tickets safe and clear about who bought them, especially when you're buying for a group or at work. Here in Michigan, we've had our share of ticket disputes, but usually not with the store itself trying to freeze things like this. Hopefully, the judge does the right thing and protects that prize until they figure out who the true owner is. It's a shame to see a big jackpot tied up in court like this instead of g... [ More ]

Comment #19

KY Floyd — Fri, 08 May 2026 08:14:31 GMT

If this were only about store policy and principle, they could let the ticket expire and end the fight.

Do you think they're morons? Sometimes it costs money to maintain your principles and occasionally you come out ahead. Of course this is entirely about the money, and I've got no idea why anyone would think otherwise.

Why did Robert change out of the company uniform go back in to purchase the ticket unless he knew what he was doing was against company policy?

He did it in the (li... [ More ]

Comment #18

IAmABadOne — Thu, 07 May 2026 21:13:13 GMT

I cannot help but wonder, considering all of the attention that this is getting from Lottery Post, and *probably* many other state, regional, and national news outlets, that the original customer who came up $20 short (for whatever reason) has figured out that they were the one that originally missed out on all of that money?

It probably happens occasionally, but I do not think that there would be a great number of times that a person places an order for $80-$85 tickets and ends up leaving w... [ More ]

Comment #17

Perfecttiming2 — Thu, 07 May 2026 20:32:01 GMT

The person missed out on $12 Million Dollar Jackpot because they were short by $20 bucks.

(That's so crazy and sad at the same time.

Comment #16

Tucker Black — Thu, 07 May 2026 15:03:17 GMT

This seems pretty simple. Lottery policy is that tickets are non-refundable, and tickets printed but not paid for belong to the retailer. On average, the retailer loses 50% of the face value of those tickets.

Someone asked for a ticket, the retailer printed it, the customer didn't have enough money to pay for it, so the ticket belongs to the retailer.

You can't seriously argue that one can buy a ticket that legally belongs to the retailer after the drawing which reveals it to be a winnin... [ More ]

Comment #15

Tony Numbers — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:05:53 GMT

The customer intended to purchase $80 worth of tickets but only had $60 dollars on him, so he left $20 worth of tickets at the store. Those unpaid tickets sat there until the next day when Gawlitza noticed one of the tickets was a winner and decided to buy it

Comment #14

Nikkicute — Thu, 07 May 2026 07:09:14 GMT

The legal battle involves Circle K store manager Robert Gawlitza, who clocked out, changed out of his uniform, and purchased a lottery ticket left behind by a customer the day after it won a $12.8 million jackpot.

What do you mean left behind by a customer ? The lottery can't find the customer?

They can't roll back the camera and find the customer who purchased it in the first place?

That's who I think should get it, if the customer didn't want it that's another story but I... [ More ]

Comment #13

Cupcake2016 — Thu, 07 May 2026 03:53:01 GMT

If I had to guess, this employee probably found winning tickets in the past and the company probably kept them without giving him or any other employee a dime. Probably didn't want them to keep 12M. Either way, should have just kept the ticket, dropped cash in the drawer to balance the lottery sales ledger and kept his mouth shut. Highly doubt the lottery will extend the claim period as the state benefits greatly if the ticket goes unclaimed. Greed has consequences.

Comment #12

Tony Numbers — Wed, 06 May 2026 21:28:16 GMT

When Gawlitza was behind the counter, why didn't he just put the money in the register and take the ticket? The ticket was already printed and Circle K now has the money. If he was concerned about cashing it since he was an employee he could have asked someone else to cash it for him. He didn't need to change into civilian clothing or even disclose that it was he that purchased the ticket.

Comment #11

heisenberg991 — Wed, 06 May 2026 20:03:15 GMT

He knew it was a winner and clocked out and came back as a customer to buy the winning ticket. Just give the guy da money.

Comment #10

TheGameGrl — Wed, 06 May 2026 19:41:38 GMT

The ticket is between the holder and the lottery. The vendor circle k has zero legal standing simply cuz it's a work policy. Cash in, cash out.

Technically the person was no longer on the clock.

Only thing I may be confused on . Is, : had the drawing already happened and it was the next day , so he bought it knowing it was the jackpot winner

Comment #9

Onelast8 — Wed, 06 May 2026 19:08:56 GMT

I agree that's the best possible solution around the expiration looming.

Comment #8

Tony Numbers — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:33:02 GMT

Why don't they cash the ticket and split 50/50? It's found money for both parties. If they let the ticket expire then it's nada.

Comment #7

Jadidit — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:24:14 GMT

Whenever I go onto a retailer buy lottery or whatever .If I see a ticket that someone didn't purchase on the machine,I always ask is it for sale and if so I'll buy..I just did that a couple of days ago on a Powerball ticket.. Unfortunately it wasn't a winner.. Yeah that was shady on the worker and he should have purchased it before the drawing.I see no problem in that..

Comment #6

Onelast8 — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:58:28 GMT

I don't think the Expiration Date should be extended for this ticket or any ticket that is deemed a winner according to MUSCL and any state lottery that has expiration dates printed on the ticket.

It undermines the integrity of the lottery if the Court allows the date to be frozen or extended, possibly every state lottery could be sued and the date becomes meaningless.

The parties involved were aware of the pending date and should have asked a judge for a expedited hearing on the owners... [ More ]

Comment #5

PrisonerSix — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:44:26 GMT

Couldn't the prize be placed in an escrow until true ownership is determined

Comment #4

noise-gate — Wed, 06 May 2026 16:58:01 GMT

* Here's a question: Why did Robert change out of the company uniform go back in to purchase the ticket unless he knew what he was doing was against company policy?

* As an example: If you driving a red getaway car in a bank heist do you ditch the red car for another color or not? What was your purpose in switching cars to evade arrest or you simply thought another color would be a good idea

Comment #3

Brock Lee — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:44:05 GMT

strange things are afoot at the circle k

Comment #2

Brock Lee — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:32:24 GMT

it's probably about protecting their image too. if someone who doesn't follow the details of news stories just hears circle k employee claims customer's winning ticket, they're going to stop buying tickets at circle k. they aren't going to look into it more and learn the whole story.

Comment #1

DrMiracle — Wed, 06 May 2026 14:20:57 GMT

Circle K has many legal matters and settlements going on, and those payments could come from this $12 million lottery money. Circle K is not a saint here. If this were only a $10,000 winning ticket, would Circle K really hire law firms charging $300 per hour to defend its store policy, business principle, and lottery integrity? Probably not. That is why they are fighting so hard in court.

If this were only about store policy and principle, they could let the ticket expire and end the fight.... [ More ]

Circle K asks judge to delay expiration date for $12.8 million Arizona Lottery jackpot amid dispute

Lottery Post — Wed, 06 May 2026 11:38:06 GMT

Multiple parties still embroiled in gooey legal battle over who owns the winning ticket

By Kate Northrop

With the expiration date just weeks away, a retailer is asking a judge to freeze a ticket that won a $12.8 million Arizona Lottery The Pick jackpot while the court figures out who it belongs to.

Circle K is trying to get a judge to stop a $12.8 million jackpot-winning ticket from expiring until the legal dispute over ownership is finally determined.

In February, the Arizona Lo... [ More ]