- Status
- Filed, pending (filed)
- As of
- 6 Nov 2026 · from secondary reports
- Court
- Maricopa County Superior Court · First instance
- Judge
- Joseph Kreamer
- Filed
- 17 Feb 2026
- Type
- Individual suit, lottery lawsuits
- Next date
- Next hearing: 15 Dec 2026
- Money
- 12800000 prize held by Arizona Lottery
- Payout
- No payout exists as of 14 Nov 2026
Status words follow the court record: a complaint states one side's allegations, only the court's orders decide anything. Filing a settlement claim is always free.
What this case is about
A clerk at a Scottsdale Circle K printed $85 of The Pick tickets for a customer who paid for $60; the 25 leftover tickets were set aside and store manager Robert Gawlitza later paid for them. One matched all six numbers of the 24 November 2025 drawing ($12.8 million). Circle K fired him on 30 January 2026 and sued on 17 February 2026 asking the court to decide ownership, relying on the Arizona Lottery rule that overprinted unsold tickets belong to the retailer; Gawlitza says he bought them under an unofficial store policy and counterclaimed for wrongful termination. The court delayed the prize-claim expiry (originally 23 May 2026) and on 6 November 2026 let seven counterclaims proceed while staying six until ownership is decided. The Lottery holds the prize.
Circle K Stores sued its former Scottsdale store manager Robert Gawlitza on February 17, 2026 for a declaration that it, not he, owns a winning Arizona Lottery ticket worth USD 12.8 million. As of November 6, 2026 the Maricopa County Superior Court has decided which claims may proceed, but not who owns the ticket.
Nobody has been paid: the Arizona Lottery holds the prize, and there is no claim form for the public. Per press reports, a hearing is set for December 15, 2026. The Maricopa County case number is not confirmed in the court record, so every date here rests on press coverage.
Dates from press reports; no court order has been fetched.
What this case is about
Known as the Circle K lottery ticket lawsuit, the case is Circle K Stores v. Gawlitza and Arizona Lottery, a first-instance dispute in the Maricopa County Superior Court before Judge Joseph Kreamer, filed on February 17, 2026. A complaint states one side's allegations, and only the court's orders decide anything.
How 25 extra lottery tickets became a USD 12.8 million dispute
According to the record as press reports describe it, a clerk at a Scottsdale Circle K printed USD 85 of The Pick tickets for a customer who paid for USD 60, and the 25 leftover tickets were set aside.
Store manager Robert Gawlitza later paid for them, per ABC15. One of those tickets matched all six numbers in the November 24, 2025 drawing, a prize of USD 12.8 million, per KOLD.
Circle K fired Gawlitza on January 30, 2026 and sued on February 17, 2026, per ABC15. The suit is one of the lottery lawsuits on this site, a group that covers ticket disputes, jackpot claims and retailer cases. The ownership question is the heart of it, and no court has answered it.
The two rules in play: the retailer's rule and the purchase
Circle K relies on an Arizona Lottery rule on unsold tickets under which overprinted tickets belong to the retailer, as the record describes the rule, while Gawlitza says he bought the tickets under an unofficial store policy. The text of the rule is not in our record, so this page does not quote it.
Circle K asks for a declaratory judgment on ownership of the ticket. Gawlitza counterclaimed for wrongful termination and other claims, per ABC15, and a former coworker joined those counterclaims. Both sides are making allegations, and none has been tested by a ruling on ownership.
Who is covered
No group is covered: this is a dispute between named parties over one ticket, and the public has no claim to file. Filing a settlement claim is always free, and this site is not a law firm and not a claims administrator.
Who is involved: Circle K, the former manager, the coworker and the customer
Four parties appear in the record: Circle K Stores, Robert Gawlitza, his former coworker Marline Ybarra, who joined the counterclaims, and the Arizona Lottery as a nominal party. The original customer is named only as a possible claimant, "Jane or John Doe".
| Party | Role | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Circle K Stores Inc. | Retailer, plaintiff | Seeks a declaration that it owns the ticket |
| Robert Gawlitza | Former store manager, defendant | Says he bought the tickets; counterclaims for wrongful termination and others |
| Marline Ybarra | Former coworker | Co-claimant on the counterclaims |
| Jane or John Doe | Customer who left the tickets | Named as a possible claimant; per LotteryUSA also claims ownership |
| Arizona Lottery | Nominal party | Holds the prize; no one awarded |
The Arizona Lottery is a nominal party that holds the prize, per ABC15 and NBC Palm Springs. Per LotteryUSA, the customer also claims ownership of the ticket. The case also sits among the gambling lawsuits in Arizona that this site tracks.
Is there a payout?
No payout exists: nobody has been awarded the USD 12.8 million, which the Arizona Lottery holds while the Maricopa County Superior Court decides who owns the winning ticket, and there is no claim form for the public. The USD 12.8 million is the size of the prize, not a settlement fund or a damages award.
Who holds the USD 12.8 million and when the prize claim expires
The Arizona Lottery holds the USD 12.8 million prize, and the original prize-claim deadline of May 23, 2026 was delayed by the court. KOLD reported the extension on May 15, 2026.
The new expiry date is not stated in our record, so this page does not give one. The Lottery holds the prize as of November 6, 2026, and no ruling on ownership has been reported.
What happens next
The next dated step is the hearing on December 15, 2026, with briefs due December 4, 2026, on whether a judge or a jury decides ownership. Both dates come from one secondary source, LotteryUSA.
The December 15, 2026 hearing: judge or jury
Per LotteryUSA, the December 15, 2026 hearing is about whether a judge or a jury decides ownership of the ticket. The briefs on that question are due December 4, 2026. No trial date appears in the record.
Six counterclaims are stayed until ownership is decided, so they wait on whatever the court decides about the ticket. Nothing in the press coverage says when that decision will come.
Timeline
The dispute began with a drawing in November 2025. Every row below comes from press reports, not from court orders.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-24 | The Pick drawing; one of the 25 set-aside tickets matches all six numbers, prize USD 12.8 million | KOLD |
| 2026-01-30 | Circle K fires Gawlitza | ABC15 |
| 2026-02-17 | Circle K files the complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court | ABC15 |
| 2026-05-15 | Report that the court delayed the prize-claim deadline | KOLD |
| 2026-05-23 | Original prize-claim expiry | KOLD |
| 2026-11-06 | Hearing: seven counterclaims proceed, six are stayed | NBC Palm Springs, LotteryUSA |
| 2026-12-04 | Briefs due on judge or jury | LotteryUSA |
| 2026-12-15 | Hearing on judge or jury | LotteryUSA |
The later dates are scheduled steps, not decisions. Other lottery disputes with competing claimants are listed under related cases below.
What the court has decided so far
On November 6, 2026 Judge Joseph Kreamer let seven counterclaims by Gawlitza and Ybarra proceed and stayed six until ownership is decided, according to press reports. NBC Palm Springs and LotteryUSA both carry that account.
Per press reports; ownership undecided.
The court also delayed the prize-claim expiry in May 2026, per KOLD. No ruling on ownership has been reported, and no court order has been fetched for this page.
As of November 6, 2026 the status is filed; the next dated events are the briefs due December 4, 2026 and the hearing on December 15, 2026.
What this means for lottery players
The case shows that a lottery ticket is governed by the lottery's published rules and that who bought a ticket can differ from who is entitled to the prize. In this dispute, ownership turns on an Arizona Lottery rule on unsold tickets and on the facts of the purchase.
Competing claims to one ticket are not new, and the court has not said how this one will end. Players cannot file anything in this case, and nothing on this page says who should win.
Documents and sources
Every date and figure on this page comes from local news and LotteryUSA reports because we have not fetched a court order or the Maricopa County docket.
- ABC15, report on the filing and the parties (secondary, February 2026): https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/north-phoenix/legal-fight-between-circle-k-and-employee-over-12-8-million-lottery-ticket
- KOLD, report on the delayed prize-claim deadline (secondary, May 15, 2026): https://www.kold.com/2026/05/15/judge-delays-deadline-128m-arizona-lottery-ticket-dispute/
- NBC Palm Springs, report on the November 6, 2026 ruling (secondary, November 7, 2026): https://www.nbcpalmsprings.com/ca-us-and-world/2026/11/07/judge-allows-legal-fight-over-128-million-arizona-lottery-ticket-to-continue
- LotteryUSA, report on the briefs and the December 15, 2026 hearing (secondary): https://www.lotteryusa.com/news/arizonas-12-8m-lottery-showdown-moves-forward-narrower-focus
- KOLD, November 6, 2026 hearing preview (secondary): https://www.kold.com/2026/11/06/court-hear-circle-k-ex-scottsdale-managers-128m-lottery-ticket-fight/
Related cases
Four related lottery disputes show how courts handled ticket ownership, a jackpot dispute, frozen prizes and tickets without a valid claim.
Other lottery ticket ownership disputes
Other claimants have gone to court over who is entitled to a jackpot.
- Edwin Castro Powerball lawsuit: Rivera v. Castro, a claim that the USD 2.04 billion Powerball ticket was stolen before Castro claimed it, final dismissal in October 2024.
- Texas USD 95 million "rigged jackpot" lawsuit: Reed v. Rook TX, a Lotto Texas winner who says a bulk-purchase scheme cut his jackpot, filed in November 2025.
Prize freezes and no-valid-ticket cases
Two other cases show a prize held back and a prize denied.
- Texas USD 83.5 million Jackpocket winner lawsuit: Doe v. Texas Lottery Commission, prize frozen, then reported paid after the suit.
- DC Powerball website error lawsuit: Cheeks v. DC Lottery, numbers displayed by mistake on a website, no valid ticket.
The full set of these disputes sits under lottery lawsuits, grouped by what each court was asked to decide.
Questions people ask
What is the Circle K lottery ticket lawsuit about?
Circle K sued its former store manager on February 17, 2026 to decide who owns a USD 12.8 million Arizona Lottery ticket. He counterclaimed for wrongful termination.
Who owns the USD 12.8 million Arizona lottery ticket?
No court has decided. As of November 6, 2026 the ownership question is still open.
Has anyone been paid?
No; the Arizona Lottery holds the USD 12.8 million. There is no award and no claim form.
What did the judge decide on November 6, 2026?
Seven counterclaims proceed and six are paused until ownership is decided, per press reports. The court did not rule on who owns the ticket.
When is the next hearing?
December 15, 2026, on whether a judge or a jury decides, with briefs due December 4, 2026, per LotteryUSA. No trial date is in the record.
Has anyone sued the lottery before?
Yes; the lottery disputes we track include ownership, frozen-prize and wrong-ticket cases. They are collected under lottery ticket disputes, jackpot claims and retailer cases.
Who is involved
Plaintiffs: Circle K Stores Inc. (retailer), seeking a declaration of ownership
| Defendants | Robert Gawlitza (former store manager); Marline Ybarra (former coworker, co-claimant on the counterclaims); Arizona Lottery (nominal party); Jane/John Doe (the customer who left the tickets, named as a possible claimant) |
|---|---|
| Judge | Joseph Kreamer |
| Claims |
|
Is there a payout?
No payout exists in this case as of 14 Nov 2026. The court record shows 12800000 prize held by Arizona Lottery. A settlement or judgment would have to come first, and any claim procedure would be announced by the court-appointed administrator, never by this site.
What happens next
Next hearing: 15 Dec 2026. The next step is a court order, a dismissal, a settlement or a judgment; this page changes when one is entered.
Timeline
3 dated steps on record, oldest first. Future dates come from court notices and can move.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 17 Feb 2026 | Filed |
| 6 Nov 2026 | Filed, pending |
| 15 Dec 2026 | Next hearing (scheduled) |
Documents and sources
0 primary sources (court file, administrator notice, regulator) and 5 secondary. Press is supporting evidence only.
- Press coverage: kold.com
- Press coverage: nbcpalmsprings.com
- Press coverage: abc15.com
| What it supports | Source | Type | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|
| filed 17 Feb 2026, parties, Lottery nominal party, counterclaims | abc15.com | n/a | 14 Nov 2026 |
| 6 Nov 2026 hearing, Judge Kreamer, seven counterclaims proceed, six paused | nbcpalmsprings.com | n/a | 14 Nov 2026 |
| prize $12.8M, drawing 24 Nov 2025, deadline extension | kold.com | n/a | 14 Nov 2026 |
| 6 Nov 2026: seven counterclaims by Gawlitza and coworker Marline Ybarra survive, six stayed; customer also claims ownership; briefs due 4 Dec 2026, hearing 15 Dec 2026 on jury vs bench | lotteryusa.com | secondary | 14 Nov 2026 |
| hearing 15 Dec 2026 on whether judge or jury decides ownership; briefs due 4 Dec 2026 | lotteryusa.com | secondary | 14 Nov 2026 |
Not yet verified
- Maricopa County case number not found in press; pull from the court e-access portal
- Only press sources so far; no court order fetched
- Co-claimants per press: coworker Marline Ybarra (joined counterclaims) and the original customer (Jane/John Doe); 180-day deadline extension of 15 May 2026 implies about 19 Nov 2026 (calculated, not stated); 15 Dec 2026 hearing on jury vs bench trial; still no court order fetched; Maricopa County CV number not found (eAccess not reachable)
Related cases
4 cases in the record share parties, claims or a settlement with this one.
| Case | Court | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DC Powerball website error lawsuit | D.C. Superior Court; U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia | Motion to dismiss pending |
| Edwin Castro Powerball lawsuit | Los Angeles County Superior Court (Alhambra) | Dismissed |
| Texas Lottery $95 million "rigged jackpot" lawsuit | Texas Business Court, Third Division (Austin); remanded to 353rd District Court, Travis County | Filed, pending |
| Texas $83.5 million Jackpocket winner lawsuit | Travis County District Court | Settlement finally approved |
Last checked against the sources on 14 Nov 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we correct the record with a dated note.