Armand Jackson
The Great U.S. Treasure Hunt is a nationwide event that gained recognition last year when the organizers hid four $10,000 treasures across the United States. This year, the six cities that will be involved are Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, Asheville, and Milwaukee. Each city will have a hidden treasure in the form of a coin and when said coin is found and turned in, it will be worth $1,000. Hunt clues are delivered through email to those who are registered to participate in the event. The organizers also have a YouTube show hosted by comedian Chrissie Mayr who will interview the winners every week.
The hunt began on Saturday, July 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada with more than 2,000 registered participants searching for the coin to win the $1,000 prize. Tony Kneisser, a New Jersey resident, won the grand prize when he found the coin stuck under a stone bench only 22 minutes after five puzzles were emailed to all of the active players. Apparently Kneisser has luck on his side since he was the second winner in the first Great U.S. Treasure Hunt, having found the hidden token in Santa Fe, New Mexico, back in January of last year, making him the first repeat winner in the nationwide game.
From here, the contest moves on to the only Sunday hunt in Los Angeles, California, where the next coin will be hidden within a 50-mile radius of the Hollywood sign. The organizer did state that if a participant is not near any of the hunt’s locations they can partner with another player to split the $1,000 prize to ensure that both the solver and finder get $500 each. The start dates for each of the other five hunts are: August 7th: Los Angeles, California; August 13th: Austin, Texas; August 20th: New York City, New York; August 27th: Asheville, North Carolina; and September 3rd: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
For those that are interested in participating, make sure to register for free at https://thegreatustreasurehunt.com/ .