Vietnam Army veteran receives a special prize, but unforeseen obstacles prevented him from claiming it

By Kate Northrop

MINOCQUA, Wis. — A Connecticut veteran was gifted a scratch-off lottery ticket worth $200,000 from his Wisconsin-based daughter on Father's Day, but unforeseen circumstances made it difficult to claim the prize at Wisconsin Lottery offices.

One father received a very special card from one of his daughters this year, which contained a Wisconsin Lottery scratch-off ticket he was shocked to learn was worth $200,000.

However, the past couple months were not entirely smooth sailing for the winner and his family, as worldwide circumstances threatened to get in the way of their carefully planned trip to make the claim.

This Father's Day, Burton Chase received a card from one of his daughters a day before the holiday. After opening it and scratching off the $20 "Wisconsin Winnings" lottery ticket tucked inside, he found out it had won the game's $200,000 top prize.

Chase immediately phoned his daughters in Wisconsin and North Carolina to tell them the news, but they both thought he was kidding. To prove it was real, he had his wife text them a photo of the winning ticket, and then it really sunk in.

In the weeks following, his family teed up a coordinated trip, in which Chase, based in Connecticut, his North Carolina-based daughter and her husband would travel with him to claim the prize in Wisconsin.  They planned the trip for the weekend of July 19 to celebrate his other daughter's 50th birthday, who lives in Wisconsin.

Despite the well-thought-out plans, a worldwide IT catastrophe threw a wrench into the works. Their travels landed on the same weekend that the "Blue Screen of Death" outage occurred. During that time, airlines were forced to ground flights, and travelers found themselves stranded at airports.

One way or another, the family did make it to Lottery headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin for Chase to finally make his prize claim.

The Vietnam Army veteran, who spent much of his life working on helicopters, told Lottery officials that he plans to use the winnings to take his family on vacation to Turks and Caicos. He'll share whatever is left over with his family.

His daughter purchased the winning ticket at the Walmart SuperCenter on Northridge Way in Minocqua. For selling the winning ticket, the retailer receives a two percent bonus of $2,000.

Chase claimed the first of two top prizes of $200,000 in the $20 "Wisconsin Winnings" game, which launched in May. The game also offers three second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 98 third-tier prizes of $2,000.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.5.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Burton Chase received a very special card from one of his daughters this year, which contained a Wisconsin Lottery scratch-off ticket he was shocked to learn was worth $200,000.