Stephen Grogan launches another exciting quest for treasure with the republishing of his mystery thriller, Vegas Die.  A recovered Spanish Coin, from the 1680 shipwreck of ‘El Salvador y San Jose’, is hidden somewhere in the Las Vegas Valley, and while a treasure in itself, if found, can be used to claim a cash prize of at least $2,500!

The location of this hidden coin can be found by solving clues given within the 2020 Vegas Die edition of Grogan’s thriller, Vegas Die. Will you be the Questor to discover this treasure!?

I was excited to catch up with Stephen and ask him more about this adventurous chase. I wondered if he could offer any advice on how to pursue this awesome prize?  Let’s find out in the following Six Questions!  Enjoy!

Six Questions with Stephen:

  • 1Q) Thank you, Stephen, for taking time to chat with MW! I have the first edition of Vegas Die, and recently brought it out again.  I was shocked by how much I wrote in that book! Obviously, you had many of us puzzling, including myself!  What inspired you to do it again? Are the reasons similar? And have you the same goals, or have they changed?

Jenny, thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions and reach out to your readers and future Questors of Vegas Die.  When my thriller first came out it became a best seller, mostly because of the treasure hunt ‘hook’.  This time a new publisher acquired all of my five titles and decided to re-publish them. I pushed for Vegas Die to be a priority, specifically because I wanted Vegas Die readers to help the  local economy and come to Vegas, have a good time and search for the hidden coin.  And as to a treasure hunt, I feel I had to make the clues viable with more clarity, so that there would be a good chance someone would locate the prize. But keep in mind my mantra: Nothing Is As It Seems.

  • 2Q) What do you enjoy most about creating and offering Treasure Quests in your books?  Can you share some of what you learned from the past hunts, and what might be different in this new Vegas Die 2020 edition? Do you have any memorable stories from the previous hunts?

I have discovered there are various niches of treasure hunters from those using metal detectors, to GPS caches, to codes.  In my two novels, Vegas Die and Captain Cooked (the latter, a new contest version out in December) I tried to use several of these methods, my goal is to host an exciting hunt but not make it too easy.  And talk about stories from the past.  At one point we had a bus tour company taking Questors around Vegas looking at clue sites.  Another time, a Questor had a huge map of where he thought the first prize, a dagger, was hidden. He was not close, but another Questor parked in front of the location, a library, but did not make the connection to go in.

  • 3Q) You mention on your website that full Armchair Questors of Vegas Die 2020 can claim the prize from home, but they must confidently provide a precise spot and account of the solution.  Do you feel solving the puzzle can just as easily be done, as going ‘BOTG’(boots on the ground)? Can all the clues be solved from home using the book alone? Or will the use of Streetview be needed, and this allows a full armchair Questor to realize the correct solution and opportunity to claim from home?

Again, trying to encourage people come to Vegas I would recommend making a trip to Sin City.  But if you want to be an at-home Armchair Questor, I believe the clues are available to get you close, even to the exact spot. If you get within ten feet, you will get the cash prize and you even keep the coin if you wish.When you think you have a guess, you can contract my website. www.spgrogan.com/contact/  As to past stories, I was bombarded by one Questor who would send a guess every 15 minutes using Google Earth.  Your guesses have to demonstrate that your following a thread of what the clues might lead to.

  • 4Q) Throughout the Quest, you plan to offer clues, and even some mini hunts.  Can you share more of how and where this will happen? Will they be easily and readily available to all on your website?  Do you have a clue for us now?

Yes, there are going to be at least three (clue) mini-hunts (black, green, red…hint…hint). But the mini-hunts are more boots-on-the-ground.  The winner, discoverer, will get $50 and one clue…and future Questors who figure out the hunt will just get the clue.  I will be posting news, events, Questor guesses, anything and everything about the hunt.  After several months if no one is getting close I will probably start releasing a clue here and there.  Another point:  there are a lot of Questors that have volunteered to help out-of-state and Armchair Questors. Make an arrangement-partnership with them.  You will start running across them on the website  www.spgrogan.com/treasure-hunt

  • 5Q) As I’m sure you discovered, there are many ways to give clues towards finding a treasure. How would you describe the type of Quest Vegas Die 2020 will be? Is it more visual, literal, or a mixture? Do you feel a Questor brand new to armchair treasure hunting, unfamiliar with code and cipher methods, can solve your puzzle?  How difficult, on a scale from 1 to 10, would you rate your hunt (with 1 being easy, and 10 difficult)?

 I rank my hunt as a 7 meaning there is a good chance of discovering the coin.  I think you have to read the book, and look around Vegas, on the ground or from a distance.  Most Questors in the past have been very excited to participate and have actually made many friends.

  • 6Q) In December 2020, you plan on re-releasing your book Captain Cooked! It too will be a Quest Mystery.  Will the hunt run much the same as Vegas Die?  I loved the fact the previous Captain Cooked held multiple recipes. Will this book have new ones?  Can you tell us more about your culinary, and other interests?

My wife is an active foodie, and her Facebook site is called Kitchen a’stir. She will be having her own book, not a treasure hunt, released next year, entitled My Cookbook Passion. 

I will keep the same Hawaiian recipes and try to add new ones.  I still have to add clues as it goes to the printer, so I am hustling.  The treasure will be found in the Las Vegas Valley instead of Hawaii, due to Covid-19.

  • And a bonus!  MW’s GiveAway for September is for a FREE SIGNED copy of Vegas Die 2020 edition!  Compliments of Stephen! (Thank you!)

Over the years, MW has hosted many FREE GiveAways. This is as a Thank You for being part of the awesome Treasure Hunting Community, the MW Forum and Website. Anyone can enter who is a member of the forum and participates, in one or more, of the numerous topics, hunts, and activities discussed there (During the GiveAway’s Duration).

The MW Forum is more than just the main site for discussing ‘armchair treasure hunts’, it is the place to find Treasures and talk about many other things too! Treasures abound and are found here, and there!

This Month’s GiveAway is for a free copy of the armchair treasure hunt book of Vegas Die by Stephen Grogan. To enter, simply participate/comment on the MW forum during the GiveAway’s duration, and submit your MW forum username onto the submission form to be entered into the Give Away! Have fun and Always Treasure the Adventure!

(UPDATE: GIVEAWAY ENDED)