Heart of gold: How a Bucks County native competed and won for a cause on 'Press Your Luck'

Of all the prizes Julie Marcus won on "Press Your Luck," 150 gnomes were the least of them.

While such a ridiculous number of garden accoutrements makes for a funny story, the Yardley native said the most meaningful prize struck at the very heart of why she came onto the show to begin with — she was there for her daughter Miah.

Competing on a recent episode of the rebooted gameshow, the single mother reminded viewers why paying it forward is life’s best reward.

On the show, Marcus, a pharmaceutical sales rep currently living outside Las Vegas, was quick to cheer on the other contestants, while besting them with her razor-sharp reflexes and high-energy charm.

The key to her success was the strength she drew from Miah.

On the show, Marcus described her daughter’s battle with a rare heart condition that nearly took her life at 2 years old and left them struggling for several years in search of answers.

“We almost lost her, and she is the happiest, most amazing child who has been through so much. And I just want to show her that girls can do anything,” she said on air.

Today, Miah, now 16, is doing well and it was her love of gameshows that inspired Marcus to apply to be on "Press Your Luck."

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Once on the show, Miah’s encouragement gave her the nerve to take big risks, taking her all the way to the bonus round, where the stakes grew considerably higher with the chance to win personalized prizes aimed at making her wildest dreams come true.

In Marcus’s case, this meant a chance at visiting the set of "General Hospital," a 30-day girls trip around the world, a pair of matching cars for her and Miah and big cash payouts, to name a few.

“They take the time to get to know you and you get to make this wish list,” she said during a phone interview following the show’s airing. “When 'General Hospital' came up, I almost lost my mind, and the girls trip was a bucket list item for me that you could only dream of. It’s so special they take the time to do that.”

As she went along, however, a whammy stole much of it away.

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But she rebounded with her most favored prize, one that allowed Marcus and Miah to give back to a nonprofit which provides services to children with heart conditions and their families.

Labeled on the board, as “Gaming Devices,” the prize supported a goal, set by Miah a few years back, to help build up the teen department of the Children’s Heart Foundation of Nevada by providing more than $31,000 in Nintendo Switches, iPads and latest handheld gaming devices.

“One of the things that really helped when Miah was sick was the Children’s Heart Foundation of Nevada. They have a place where heart kids can go before surgery to make surgery less scary. But there aren’t as many things for teenagers,” Marcus said.

“It was just a full circle moment. To be able to win something that gives back to a nonprofit that helped my daughter and our family through a tough time was as beautiful as I could ask.”

Ultimately, she won a total of $123,000 in cash and prizes, including the gaming systems, garden gnomes, 40 Louis Vuitton scarves and $47,000 in cash.

As far as meeting the show’s host, Marcus said Elizabeth Banks was very supportive of each of the contestants.

“She wants it just as bad and you really feel that. She was so amazing and was as nice as you hope she’d be,” Marcus said, offering this bit of advice to anyone hoping to compete on a gameshow one day:

“Have fun, have energy and have courage. I couldn’t believe that I actually kept spinning, that is not me. But I made the decision I was going to take risks. So have the courage to take risks,” she said.

The show's fifth season episode, called “Go Big or Go Gnome,” aired Oct. 24 on ABC and is currently available for streaming on Hulu.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Inspired by daughter, a Bucks County woman wins big on 'Press Your Luck'