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.

My Battle With Blizzard: The Frequency of Phishing is Intensifying

Battle.net Logo

I am being hacked, cracked, spammed, spooled [sending too much to the printer], & phished by "Blizzard Entertainment". That's what the sender line says anyway.  But I don't believe it is really Blizzard Entertainment. I think its some nefarious guy waiting behind a computer monitor attempting to phish in my pond. 

You see, I played World of Warcraft for a short period of time back in 2005.  That is where the connection to Battle.net comes in.  Somehow they got my email.  But they didn't get the memo.

I didn't play long enough to update over to the Battle.net account, which all World of Warcraft players have to get to play nowadays.  Since I never converted, I don't have Battle.net credentials.  But the scammers don't know that.  They are saying my Battle.net account has been compromised, and want to check it out for me.  Wow, those are really friendly guys.  Always on the lookout for me.  Not!

In the past month, the tactics of the email have escalated.  The threat level is now orange [which is right below red].  Below is one of their new emails, which is screaming: "We're getting really desperate...so please give us your info.!"

Phishing email from fake Battle.net Account Team



One thing I noticed, is that when I hover over the first link above that is supposed to take me to http://us.battle.net/verifyconfirm.html the actual redirect link is: http://worldofwarcraft.account-management-info.net/verifyconfirm.html

Hmmm. Something isn't right here.  And on top of that, the most recent email was sent as 'High Priority' (an exclamation point next to it, meaning very urgent).

The IP address from the most recent email was: 124.2.40.168, originating in Korea. The one before that was: 112.65.246.26, originating in China.

It looks like they are starting to get out the big guns, bringing China into this. That only means one thing: I'm am going to have to get out my secret weapon in this cyber-war: invincibility...because I've got tiger blood & Adonis DNA. Winning!

McLobster & McSushi out, McWinning in @ McDonalds

The McLobster Meal @ McDonalds

On March 3 2011, McDonalds made the big announcement on Twitter, saying:

“Despite all the rumors there r no plans 2 bring mclobster or mcsushi 2 the US menu. We r working on a new menu item called McWinning.”

Sorry to all of you who from Maine, who are craving the McLobster.  And to be honest, I would give it a try, if it was reasonably priced.

McSushi Meal @ McDonalds

But as for sushi, I would not go to McDonalds for McSushi.  Let's just say I am particular about sushi.  I have a sushi place in Huntsville [Miyako] - and in my opinion - it does the best chicken teriyaki sushi around. Couple this with a sushi special on Monday nights that offers the best price on sushi, and you get a winner.  Or should I say: "Winning!"  Plus, I don't know any other place around here that even does chicken teriyaki sushi right.  I asked for it once at the Chinese buffet, and the language barrier was the first obstacle to getting what I really wanted.  He set my plate in the "ready to go" area and I came back to my table with fried shrimp in a rice roll covered in some strange sauce, and I can safely say that I did not order whatever I was given.

Arbys Twitter is trying to capitalize off of this rumor as well, tweeting:  "Want a McLobster? Didn’t think so..." followed by a coupon for one of their sandwiches.
I am not a big fan of Arbys, even since Snopes claims that their meat does not start out in liquid form - to which I had been curious about for quite some time.  You can read about that here. Even if their meat isn't trans-meat-erized from liquid to solid, I still don't know if I can trust them.  My trust has to be earned.

But you know they say there is some truth to rumors, so it makes me wonder if McDonalds really had such a sandwich in the works and it was axed at the last minute.  The world may never know...

The Mean, Green, Sheen Machine

Actor Charlie Sheen

After watching the many interviews of Charlie Sheen on all of the networks, I think it is safe to say that Charlie Sheen is currently not himself.  Although I am not an expert, I would say from observation that his body is trying to deal with the withdrawals of drugs. Charlie Sheen is currently taking and constantly re-confirming to all of the interviewers that he is drug-free.  But his mind might not agree with you. 

And throughout all of this, there are certain phrases and words that Charlie Sheen continues to say consistently through these interviews.  Common phrases we keep hearing are:  "violent hatred" - in context they first were used when he was talking about the on-going war with CBS, now it is being used to describe his legal battle with Brooke Mueller to see his twins; Sheen possessing "tiger blood & Adonis DNA" - when referring to how he survived "banging 7 gram crack rocks" on a recurring basis; "Winning!" - Sheen exclaimed when asked how his children will respond when they find out about their father's drug history; "The Goddesses" - referring to his two live-in girlfriends (who were taking part in raising his children); "Sober Valley Lodge" - his home (which is supposedly drug and alcohol-free); "bi-polar" - Sheen claims he is not, but the earth is, but he is "bi-winning"; "warlock" - Sheen calls himself this many times; among many other terms.

Charlie Sheen has also said that he doesn't believe in Alchoholics Anonymous (AA).  He says the creator of it was a plagiarist and it is all fiction, because he has cured himself in his mind.  Later in the NBC Today Show interview (with Jeff Rossen), he opens up the AA manual and reads from it, citing the argument that the reason he sought after drugs & alcohol is because someone or something does not accept him.  He then closely the book, and tosses it in the air theatrically in a spiral, saying: "Accept me Chuck."  Charlie Sheen is directly his anger at Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and a Half Men.

But the reality of it all is that Charlie has relapsed into doing drugs and is in a state of denial, blaming his downward spiral at Chuck Lorre and CBS, for not allowing the production of his show to go on.  Unless Charlie Sheen allows himself to get professional help, his misfortunes will continue to push him farther and farther into a rage that only the Hulk can relate to.



Charlie Sheen photographed in a passionate state during an interview.

More Content! To read a list of Charlie-isms, read A List of Charlie Sheen Charlie-isms...Because Drugs Tests Don't Lie.

For more tips on How to Identify When a Celebrity Needs Help, read my Yahoo! Associated Content article here.