A Scottsdale, Arizona, convenience store manager is at the center of one of the most legally bizarre lottery disputes in Arizona history – accused of clocking out, changing clothes and purchasing a $12.8 million winning ticket that a customer had abandoned at his store the night before.
Circle K Stores filed the lawsuit this week in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking a court declaration on who legally owns the ticket, one of the largest lottery prizes in Arizona history.
According to court documents, a customer visited the Circle K at 5601 E. Bell Road in Scottsdale on Nov. 24, 2025, and asked an employee to replay previously used lottery numbers for that evening’s drawing of The Pick, an Arizona Lottery game. The employee printed $85 worth of tickets, but the customer paid for only $60 and left the remaining 25 tickets on the counter. The winning numbers – 3, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 26 – were later announced, and one of the unpurchased tickets matched all six numbers, worth $12.8 million…