Cash Explosion

Cash Explosion is a game show for the Ohio Lottery that is the longest-running lottery show.

Format 1 (1987-1989)
Seven players, each of whom entered a "Cash Explosion" ticket with three "ENTRY" symbols scratched off, competed in a race to reach the top of a seven tier pyramid. Each had a box of seven cards in front of them, numbered "-2" to "3". Each player drew a card, then moved up the pyramid by those number of spaces.

In every contestant's track was a randomly designated bonus square. Landing on it gave the player the option to leave the game and take a new car or stay in the game. Regardless of their decision, once two bonus squares had been revealed, all other bonus squares were voided; this was to avoid giving away seven cars.

The first person to land on the final square by exact count won $50,000. If any player returned to the start line at any point in the game, they were eliminated.

Semi-Final Round
Four people compete in the Semi-Final Game. They originally faced a 24-space game board with six columns of four rows. The columns were labeled D-O-U-B-L-E and the rows, P-L-A-Y. On October 3, 2009, the board was increased to 36 spaces, and now consisted of nine columns of four rows. The rows are now labeled C-A-S-H, and the columns, E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N.

On a player's turn, the columns randomly flash. They press their button to stop the lights on a column, and pick one of the four rows in that column. They win whatever money is behind the space represented by that row/column combination, originally between $1,000 and $3,200, later between $1,500 and $5,000.

There were originally three special spaces on the board. Two of them are marked "Double"; if picked, the contestant gets another turn, and whatever they land on next is doubled. (If that turn results in the other "Double" card being hit, they get a third turn, with whatever they land on being multiplied by four; in this event, a player could win as much as $12,800 on a single turn.) The third special square is the "Bonus" card, which not only contains a money amount, but a bonus prize (originally a new car, currently $25,000). Originally the contestant had to choose whether he/she wanted the bonus (dropping out of further play if they took it) or the money, but by 1993 contestants were simply awarded both. (Prior to the start of the current format, the bonus prize did not count towards their score, and if it was found in a "Double" situation, only the score money behind the bonus was doubled, i.e. the bonus does not become two cars or $50,000.)

In 2000, a second bonus prize was added to the board. This bonus prize was four years of prepaid tuition at any four year college or university in Ohio, along with extra cash thrown in to make the prize worth $20,000. This was later replaced with Ohio Lottery tickets attached to a dollar amount. In all cases, like the standard Bonus card, the value of these prizes was not added to the score, but the dollar amount attached to them was. The second bonus prize was dropped by 2004.

On October 3, 2009, the number of special spaces was increased from three to nine, as two $10,000 cash bonus squares were added, along with four more double squares. Every time a player hits a double square, as before, they get an extra turn, but now, each of the letters in E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N now conceal cash amounts; landing on one of those letters reveals a dollar amount that is doubled, from $4,000-$10,000. This ALSO prevents landing on a another double or bonus space. As part of the show's 25th Anniversary, from 2/25-8/18/2012, five additional $5,000 bonuses were added.

On June 28th, 2014, a "Game Changer" effect was added to the 3rd round, thus raising the drama and turning the tide of the game for the players. The Game Changer is hidden in one of the columns for each of the players.

After each player has three turns, the one in the lead wins the game, has their score doubled (bonuses do not count), and advances to the Championship Game. All other contestants leave with whatever they had won.

In the event of a tie for the lead after three rounds, a tiebreaker round is played. Originally, the tying players each picked a playing card from a set of eight, with the highest value card winning; these were later replaced by cash amounts from $100–$800, again with the highest amount winning. The current format has four amounts hidden behind the word "CASH".

A second Semi-Final Game is played with four new contestants and a new board, exactly as before.

Original format
The original Championship Round format was very much like The Price Is Right's Showcase Showdown. The two Semi-Final winners face off against the returning champion. The bonus round was played with a wheel (later 3 wheels one for each player). One space was labeled "Double", while the others were numbered 1-9. To begin, a target number was selected randomly. Each contestant got a chance to spin the wheel, and could spin either once or twice. Landing on "Double" meant they could spin again, and whatever number they landed on was doubled. The person who came closest to that target number without going over was the winner. If there was a tie, the tying players each picked a playing card from a set of eight. The player with the highest card won.

Match 3/Cash Challenge
A new bonus round called "Match 3" was in place by 1993, debuting on Cash Explosion's fifth anniversary show. In the new bonus round, nine squares were put on a board (or six squares if a champion had retired undefeated the previous week). Behind each one was one of the contestant's names, and each name was used three times. The contestants took turns picking squares off the board, uncovering the names behind them. The person whose name was uncovered three times first won the game and the right to return the following week. Starting with the October 3, 2009 show, three cash bonuses totaling $25,000 were added to the championship game board, for a total of twelve spaces, but they simply serve as bonus cash, and do not reflect the score. In 2012, as part of the show's 25th anniversary celebrations, the name of the bonus round was changed to the "Cash Challenge".

From 1993-2009, a first-time champion's winnings were augmented to $50,000, while a two-time champion earned another $50,000 for a total of $100,000. A three-time champion earned another $100,000 for a total of $200,000 and retired from the show.

Beginning October 3, 2009, three cash bonuses totaling $25,000 (two $10,000 spaces and one $5,000 space) were added to the championship gameboard which now features a total of twelve spaces. If a contestant selects a bonus space they win that amount of money and control passes to the next contestant in line. Additionally, contestants no longer retire after winning their third game. First-time champions still win a total of $50,000, two-time winners $100,000, and three-time winners $200,000 (bonuses not included). However, a champion wins an additional $100,000 for every subsequent week they win thereafter. Champions can remain on the show until defeated, with no monetary limits or maximum number of appearances. Under this format, the highest amount awarded was $520,000, which was reached by Terri Waddell on the October 20, 2012 episode, when she was defeated during her record-breaking seventh appearance on the show.

From November 19, 2016 to May 27, 2017, bonus prizes were added to the board; usually merchandise such as cell phones or TV's.

Format 3 (2017-present)
On September 2, 2017, the format was altered once again. This time, the eight players played one at a time, facing three rear-projection screens; one for the board, one for the score totals, and a "Bonus Board" holding the names of sixteen lottery games. In front of them is a touchscreen of twenty numbers, hiding money, two doubles, and a "BONUS" space. The player would select three numbers, and receive the total of those numbers. If a  double is found, the player would select a letter in the word "SPOTLIGHT", and earn double that amount. If a "BONUS" is revealed, the player would select the name of a game and be awarded the money behind it, from $10,000-$50,000, with one space worth $5,000 and an automatic trip to the Cash Challenge. The two high scorers at the end of the game have their totals doubled and move to the Cash Challenge. The Cash Challenge is played the same, though with the bonuses removed and more numbers added in case more players qualify.

Anniversary Specials
On 8/18/12 and 8/26/17, Cash Explosion celebrated its 25th and 30th Anniversary with special episodes. The 25th Anniversary was an hour-long, with the first half being a standard show. The 30th Anniversary was filmed at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo and featured a $30,000 bonus on the front game board. Both specials featured 12 players who won a second-chance drawing of special anniversary tickets. Three semi-final games were played; the winners went to the Cash Challenge, and the winner had their score total bumped to $250,000/$300,000.

Cash Explosion XL
From 6/3-8/19/17, in honor of the show's 30th Anniversary, the show was drastically revamped, abstractly echoing Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich. Three teams of twelve now played; while the front game itself stayed the same, each team member had a turn at the board. Each team member won the total earned (bonuses are won individually), the winning team then picked a letter in "CHALLENGE"; each letter had a number, high number wins. That person gets their front game score doubled and heads to the Cash Challenge, which is played the same.

Cancellation and Return
The show was replaced in October 2006 with Make Me Famous Make Me Rich, due to sagging ratings and drooping ticket sales. However, the replacement did even worse in ratings and ticket sales, leading the Ohio Lottery to announce that Cash Explosion would return in October 2007.

Music
Mike Jackson

Links
Official Site

YouTube Videos
Contestant J.R.

Clip of an intro from 2002

1989 Cash Explosion promo from WOWK in Huntington, WV (has Wheel of Fortune promo before it)

Full Episodes
January 9, 1988

From 1989 (2nd Round & Bonus): Part 1, Part 2

May 9, 1998