$200,000 treasure ‘genie wish lamp’ found in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - If you want to find treasure in Colorado in 2024, turn to the breakfast menu.
A family from Severance (Colo) spent weeks participating in a new real-world treasure-hunting platform that promises huge prizes. Their clever, hard work and long scavenger hunts proved worthwhile, discovering a $200,000 genie “wish lamp” in downtown Colorado Springs.
The location? The famous, tiny purple castle on Costilla known as King’s Chef Diner.
“Our first time we came down here was Memorial Day and we spent the night,” said Fernie Martinez.
“It was all an adventure. Even if we didn’t find it we had a great time,” he said.
But they did find it.
Martinez and his family had spent considerable time and money on a new game called “Wish Lamps” from Treasure Games. After weeks of solving clues, they knew the lamp had to be in downtown Colorado Springs. It was Fernie’s daughter who noticed the diner.
“My daughter spotted it and when she spotted it, that got me [thinking], I went home. I started doing research on it,’ said Martinez.
Martinez took the day off from work on June 12. He drove down by himself to visit the diner. Although closed, he walked around to the side of the building.
“I noticed, I saw this stamp. I don’t know if you can see the stamp on there. Property of ‘TGS.’ So when I saw that, I can’t even describe the feeling,” said Martinez.
He knew he struck it rich, finding treasure thousands of others around the country had been looking for.
“My heart jumped in my throat,” said Martinez.
So how did it end up on the side of a purple castle diner nearly 70 years old?
Dirk Gibson is the man behind the treasure hunt and the decider of where the lamp was placed.
“I visually saw the castle and thought ‘That’s cool.’ That kinda fits the vibe of positivity, adventure, and fun,” said Gibson
“I did this because I wanted to build a better model to spread wealth,” he said.
Gibson cold-called Gary Geiser, the owner of King’s Chef Diner, to ask if he could place his lamp, just the second of its kind, at his business location. Geiser agreed immediately.
“My excitement was kinda building but I couldn’t tell anybody,” said Gesier.
The chef noted that many people had walked right past the lamp for months without even realizing it.
“The engagement from the community was great. And getting somebody from Colorado to win it is even better,” he said.
As for the Martinez daughters, they're proud of their dad.
“He persevered because we all gave up, kind of, but my dad kept trying,” said Amber.
If you’re thinking about playing, Ariana joked, “Stay skeptical so fewer people play so we have a better chance [to win],” she laughed.
The family hopes to spend the money on a vacation and college tuition.
Gibson says only roughly 2,000 people were playing as of July 15. The next genie “wish lamp” was just activated in the game’s region which includes Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Like the first lamp discovered in Dallas earlier this year, it’s worth $1 million or $1.2 million in 3 wishes; the caveat with the wishes being that the third wish has to be for someone else.
Gibson produces TV shows. While Treasure Games wouldn’t fit the mold for a show, he believes it’s a sustainable business model long-term.
The platform is privately funded for now. The hope is that Treasure Games will be sustainable through subscription fees and sponsors. Gibson believes the odds of winning huge prizes will be exponentially better than any lottery and he hopes that large sponsors will enjoy partnering in his mission to spread wealth.
“When I bring in these corporations I’m going to have them partner with me to spread wealth, not take from them so spread wealth. They need to get involved in making the world better,” said Gibson.
Gibson also noted that he is prepared to adjust his model and rules, as needed, to avoid any suspicion of collusion. He also spends large amounts of resources on the technology holding up the platform to defend against any hacking attempts.
