Three-Way Fight Erupts Over $12.8M Circle K Lottery Ticket

A complicated dispute about the legal ownership of a $12.8 million lottery ticket just got a little messier as a woman who ordered but never paid for the ticket is now claiming it belongs to her.

Court records show Soonchun Kim entered the legal battle in September, joining a dispute between a former store manager and his ex-employer, Circle K.

On Nov. 24, 2025, Kim asked a clerk at a Circle K in Scottsdale for $85 worth of $1 tickets for The Pick, an Arizona Lottery game in which players try to match six numbers drawn later that evening. However, when she discovered she only had $60, she left the remaining 25 tickets unpaid for at the store.

One matched all six numbers in that evening’s draw.

Store Manager Buys Ticket

The next morning, store manager Robert Gawlitza discovered the winner among the leftovers. According to court filings, he clocked out, changed out of his uniform, and had cashier Marline Ybarra sell him the leftover tickets for $10, obtaining a receipt.

Court exhibits show Gawlitza sought his supervisor’s approval by text message before making the purchase, although he did not disclose that he had found the winning ticket until afterward.

Gawlitza and Ybarra agreed to divide any winnings equally. But Circle K took possession of the ticket, fired Gawlitza, and filed suit in February seeking a ruling on who was entitled to the money.

Three Competing Claims

The company’s position is that Arizona Lottery rules assign ownership of unsold tickets to retailers and that Gawlitza could not validly purchase the winner after the drawing.

Gawlitza’s attorney, Josh Kolsrud, says his client followed a longstanding, unwritten Circle K practice requiring employees to pay for mistakenly printed tickets left unsold. Six current and former employees have submitted statements supporting that account.

Gawlitza has made several counterclaims against his former employer, including wrongful termination. He and Ybarra also contend that Circle K improperly retained the winning ticket.

At a hearing Friday (Nov. 6), Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kreamer allowed the lawsuit to continue but put most of the employees’ other claims on hold, according to NBC Palm Springs. The court will first have to establish who legally owns the ticket.

The legal basis of Kim’s claim to the ticket is unclear.

A judge previously extended the claim deadline to prevent the ticket from expiring before ownership could be decided.