Customer left lottery tickets at Circle K, one later won $12.8M

A legal battle has emerged over the rightful ownership of a winning lottery ticket worth $12.8 million, with a Circle K store clerk maintaining that he simply followed company policy when he purchased a set of abandoned lottery tickets. According to reports, Circle K filed a complaint in February against store clerk Robert Gawlitza, alleging that he attempted to claim the jackpot from a winning Arizona Lottery ticket that had been left behind by a customer at one of its stores on November 24, 2025.