News Board

A legal dispute has emerged in Arizona over a $12.8 million lottery jackpot after a ticket was left behind at a convenience store and later purchased by an employee.

The incident took place on November 24 at a convenience store in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to a complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, a customer requested to replay numbers for “The Pick” drawing that evening. A store employee printed $85 worth of $1 lottery tickets. However, the customer only paid for $60 worth, leaving 25 tickets unpaid on the counter.

The remaining tickets stayed at the store overnight and into the next morning.

The following day, it was announced that the store had sold the jackpot-winning ticket. An employee on duty reviewed the abandoned tickets and later, after clocking out and removing his uniform, purchased the remaining tickets from another employee for $10. One of those tickets turned out to be the $12.8 million winner.

The convenience store company has since filed a legal complaint, arguing that under Arizona administrative rules, lottery tickets that are printed but not paid for remain the property of the retailer. The company is asking the court to determine the rightful owner of the prize.

Arizona Lottery officials stated that they are not aware of any previous cases in which both a store and an employee have competing claims to a jackpot of this nature.

The $12.8 million prize is reportedly the fourth-largest “The Pick” jackpot ever sold in Arizona and the largest since 2019.

The court’s decision will determine who ultimately receives the historic prize.