Sam Holtz is the 12-year-old boy from Illinois who made headlines this week after it was revealed that his NCAA bracket had tied for best in the ESPN.com tournament challenge.
To put that in perspective, there were a total of 11.57 million entries, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Holtz’s accomplishment was special, especially for a young fan.
But it was his age that created a problem when it came to claiming the official prize. The contest rules stated that participants needed to be 18 or older to be eligible for the grand prize of a $20,000 Best Buy gift card and a trip to the 2015 Maui Invitational. While Holtz had used his father’s email address to enter the contest (with his father’s consent) the 12-year-old was ineligible to receive any official prizes.
When Best Buy heard about the predicament, the company stepped up and presented Holtz with a $1,000 store gift card.
Holtz bought an Xbox One for himself, and with the leftover funds, donated a game system to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The middle school student said he chose that particular charity because of his cousin Alec, who received a wish from the foundation and who eventually overcame his life-threatening condition.
