Circle K is Suing a Store Manager for Trying to Buy Unclaimed Winning Arizona Lottery Ticket

Circle K is suing an employee for trying to buy an unclaimed winning lottery ticket from one of its stores.

Circle K

Summary of What Happened at an Arizona Circle K with the Lottery Tickets

Here's what happened:

A Circle K manager noticed that a winning Arizona Lottery ticket was lying around the store, and he bought it “as a customer” after he found out it had the winning numbers. His employer — Circle K — wants to keep all $12.8 million , which would be the fourth-largest jackpot won in Arizona since 2019.

The Full Details of the Circle K Story

Here’s what happened in Maricopa County, according to 12News:

A customer entered the Circle K at 5601 E. Bell Road in Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 24, 2025, and asked for lottery tickets to be printed.

The store manager, Robert Gawlitza, printed $85 worth of tickets; however, the customer only paid for $60 worth of the tickets, leaving the remaining $25 worth of tickets on the counter “available for sale” at the convenience store.

That night, the Arizona Lottery announced the winning numbers, and these tickets were still sitting in the store.

On the morning of November 25, 2025, Gawlitza noticed that one of the tickets had the winning numbers of 3, 13, 14, 15, 19, and 26, meaning that it was worth a winning cash payout of $12.6 million.

He then “clocked out” as an employee of Circle K and purchased the abandoned lottery tickets from another Circle K employee.

After the sale, Circle K management “was alerted to the winning ticket,” and the company requested that the winning ticket be kept in the head office for safekeeping until a judge decides who the rightful owner of the ticket is.

The winner of the ticket must claim the cash prize by May 23, 2026.

Reader Poll: Who do you think should be entitled to the winning lottery ticket?

Sources

Simchuk, Kyle. “Lawsuit: Circle K employee buys lottery ticket worth millions the day after the drawing.” 12news.com. 20 Feb. 2026.

Walcott, Escher. “Arizona Store Clerk Sued for Trying to Cash in $12.8 Million Lottery Ticket Left Behind by a Customer.” People.com. 22 Feb. 2026.

*****

Opinion Editorial:

Here is a thought of why Gawlitza should be able to keep the winning lottery ticket and claim the winnings.

The manager should be allowed to keep the $12.8 million winning ticket because the purchase was made as a private individual, not as a representative of Circle K. If he had clocked out and completed the transaction using his own money, then the ticket was a personal purchase, just like any other customer buying a ticket from the Arizona Lottery. Employment at a store does not automatically transfer ownership of personal property to the employer, especially when the employee followed standard purchasing procedures and paid with personal funds. Denying him the prize would set a troubling precedent suggesting that workers lose basic individual rights simply because of where they work. A lottery is based on chance, and if the ticket was legally purchased, fairness and common sense support allowing the manager — not the corporation — to claim the winnings.

FBI is Investigating Bizarre Case of a Russian Man that Flew from Europe to Los Angeles Without a Passport, Visa or Plane Ticket

A Russian man flew from Europe to Los Angeles without a passport, visa, or plane ticket, and the FBI want to know how he did it.

Airplane leaving airport at sunset; credit: Upal Patel on Unsplash

This is definitely a bizarre case of amnesia.

Russian Man Flew from Europe to Los Angeles Without Passport, Visa, or Plane Ticket

Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, landed at LAX on Nov. 4, 2023 on a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen. He showed up at the customs checkpoint without a passport or visa and was not listed as a passenger on the flight manifest,

What makes this case strange is he claimed to be confused and couldn’t remember getting on the plane or how he got past security and boarded the flight without documents.

Ochigava exhibited strange and unusual behavior during the flight, such as wandering around, changing seats, asking for two meals, and trying to eat the cabin crew’s chocolate.

No, you cannot have the cabin crew's chocolate without asking nicely.

The FBI is Still Investigating this Case

The FBI filed a federal complaint charging Ochigava with being a stowaway on an aircraft. The FBI said the investigation is still ongoing and they are trying to figure out how Ochigava managed to get on the plane without a ticket and bypass security checks. The flight’s crew members conducted head counts for their individual sections before the flight, but those were intended to ensure the plane was balanced for landing and takeoff. It was only after the flight landed that the airline discovered its passenger count was one person above the manifest, which makes this a very strange case.

Ochigava is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles and is expected to be in court later this month. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the stowaway charge. He could also face immigration and deportation issues as he has no legal status in the US. His case has raised security and safety concerns for the airline industry and the authorities.

This is a mystery that might take some time to figure out.

Hopefully the FBI will solve this strange mystery in Los Angeles.

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