$12.8M Arizona lottery ticket ‘win’ challenged in court

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court is asking a judge to determine who is entitled to a $12.8 million Arizona Lottery prize after a winning ticket was printed at a Circle K on 56th Street and Bell Road.

According to the complaint filed by Circle K, a customer went to the store to purchase multiple tickets for “The Pick”, a lottery game in which players match six numbers on their tickets to six numbers drawn.

The lawsuit claims a clerk printed $85 worth of tickets, but the customer bought only $60 worth of tickets at $1 each. The remaining 25 tickets were set aside and not sold to any other customers.

The following day, store manager Robert Gawlitza allegedly realized one of the leftover tickets had hit the jackpot. According to the complaint, Gawlitza clocked out, removed his uniform, and had an employee ring him up with a receipt for all remaining tickets, including the winning $10 ticket.

“It is in the administrative rules that basically says if they overprint that the retailer owns the tickets,” said state Rep. Jeff Weninger, a Republican from Chandler, who is also the chairman of the House Commerce Committee.

Circle K cites the administrative rule in the suit. The company is asking a court to determine whether the ticket was ever validly sold, who lawfully owns the ticket, and who is entitled to the $12.8 million prize.

The Arizona Lottery is named as one of the defendants in the case and is aware of the legal action. “This is a unique situation, and we are not aware of any prior litigation of this sort involving the Arizona Lottery,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Arizona’s Family.

“It might be something after the court case is played out that we look at and say, OK, do we need this in actual law if a situation like this happens?” Weninger said.

The attorneys representing Circle K declined to comment. Gawlitza did not respond to a request for comment.

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