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Judge Allows Legal Fight Over $12.8 Million Arizona Lottery Ticket to Continue
A legal battle over a nearly $12.8 million Arizona Lottery ticket will continue after a judge ruled Friday that the case can move forward, but limited the immediate proceedings to determining who owns the winning ticket.
The dispute involves a ticket purchased at a Circle K near 56th Street and Bell Road in Maricopa County.
According to the case, a woman purchased several lottery tickets at the store in 2025 but did not have enough money to pay for all of them. She allegedly left the remaining tickets behind.
After the drawing, Circle K employee Robert Galitza found the winning ticket. He says he clocked out and purchased it himself, relying on what he described as an established store practice requiring employees to buy tickets customers had not paid for.
Circle K took possession of the ticket, arguing that Arizona Lottery rules give retailers ownership of unclaimed tickets.
Galitza and another former Circle K employee are challenging the company's claim. Their attorney, Josh Kolsrud, argued that Circle K changed its position after learning the ticket was worth $12.8 million.
During Friday's hearing, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kreamer said the immediate issue was not the employees' broader list of claims, but determining who legally owns the ticket.
The judge allowed the case to proceed but put most of the other claims on hold until the ownership question is resolved.
The ruling does not determine who gets the nearly $12.8 million prize. That question remains at the center of the ongoing legal dispute.
By: NBC Palm Springs
November 7, 2026
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