Arizona court continues dispute over $12.8m lottery ticket ownership
Regulation2 min read
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has allowed a dispute over an unclaimed $12.8m Arizona Lottery ticket to continue, with claims involving Circle K, former store manager Robert Gawlitza and customer Soonchun Kim. The court will first determine ownership; it has put most of the employees’ other claims on hold, while a previously extended deadline prevents the ticket from expiring during the case.
A lawsuit may proceed while most other employee claims remain on hold, following a ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kreamer at a 6 November hearing, according to NBC Palm Springs. The first question for the court is the ticket’s legal ownership. The disputed lottery ticket is worth $12.8 million.
On 24 November 2025, Kim asked a Scottsdale Circle K clerk for $85 in $1 tickets for The Pick, an Arizona Lottery game. Finding she had just $60, she left 25 tickets at the store without paying for them. One matched every number drawn that evening.
Store manager Robert Gawlitza found the winning ticket among those left over the following morning. After clocking out and changing clothes, he bought the leftover tickets from cashier Marline Ybarra for $10 and got a receipt, according to court filings. Court exhibits show he texted his supervisor for permission before the purchase but waited until afterwards to reveal he had found the winner. Gawlitza and Ybarra agreed to split any winnings evenly.
Circle K seized the ticket, fired Gawlitza and sued in February to establish entitlement to the money. The company maintains that retailers own unsold tickets under Arizona Lottery rules and that Gawlitza’s post-draw purchase of the winner was invalid. His attorney, Josh Kolsrud, says Gawlitza acted under an unwritten, longstanding Circle K practice requiring staff to cover the cost of unsold tickets printed by mistake. Statements from six current and former employees back that account.
Gawlitza has brought counterclaims against his former employer, among them wrongful termination. He and Ybarra also argue that Circle K wrongly kept the winning ticket.
Court records show Kim joined the dispute in September. The legal basis of her claim is unclear. A judge previously extended the claim deadline so the ticket would not expire before ownership was decided.