User:Daniel Benfield/Lottery Game Show Video Archive

To the surprise of...well, not me, that's for sure...there's been a lot of lottery game shows here in the States.

From what I can tell, lottery games used to be relatively staid affairs – most of them simply had multiple players (usually 4-7) taking turns blindly picking boxes for money and/or prizes (a couple of shows added a twist to that, though), while games such as The Big Spin were little more than player interviews and wheel spinning (although the first two hosts of said show easily carried that). Don't get me wrong, though – they're good for what they were, and can be fun to watch if in the right mindset.

In early 1994, Mark Goodson Productions (now headed by his son Jonathan) taped a pilot called Cash Tornado which applied the Price Is Right "variety of games on the same theme" concept to luck, with the format shown there available for licensing to various state lotteries. This little pilot, which remained under the radar until 2014, pretty much set a new standard for lottery game shows.

This page is sorted alphabetically by state. If a state had multiple shows, those are listed chronologically.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. All footage is copyrighted by their respective copyright holders, and I'm using that wording because there's way too many of them to list here.

AND ANOTHER THING: I don't recommend binge-watching these, regardless of whether they use the "pick boxes for money", "spin a wheel for money", or Cash Tornado format. I'm thinking there's a good reason these aired weekly – even stuff like Illinois Instant Riches and The Big Spin would get dull if they aired daily, and especially if you try to binge-watch 'em for, say, a Video Archive; learned that the hard way, and as such additions to this page will probably be weekly at best.

California
Make a reference to The Wizard and I'll bop you in the nose. :P

The Big Spin (1985-2009)
Syndicated, Weekly: September 14, 1985 - January 10, 2009 (taped through November 16, 2008)

The long-running lottery game, with several well-known game show hosts involved. Maiquel Suarez joined in 1993 to co-host, as well as assist with Spanish-speaking players who knew little to no English; she got married, and her last name became "Alejo", in 1997.

Chuck Woolery (September 14-November 18, 1985)
 * November 4, 1985 (Spinners: Rosemarie, Naomi, Jose, James, & Harry {Part 2, Part 3})
 * November 11, 1985 (Spinners: Linda, Haruhisa, Reyna, Hazel, Willa {fun segment!}, Emma, Pete, & Sivitri {Part 2, Part 3}; no intro)

Geoff Edwards (November 25, 1985-December 24, 1994)
 * April 25, 1987 (Spinners: Norman, Cleveland, The Gia {pronounced "Tay Gaia"}, John, Hugo, Perry, Timothy, Shirley, William, & Faye {Part 2}; Jackpot starts at $3,275,000; first and sixth spinners' segments missing, although I think that's more the show's doing)
 * [Hugo doesn't speak English, and so a translator is brought in. Interestingly, "Spring Rain" (the Love Experts/Jackpot '84 theme) plays from 8:20-9:24 of Part 2.]

Car now awarded each week; logo redone (began by 8/22/87)
 * August 22, 1987 (Master copy of a 30-second promo)
 * April 9, 1988 (Spin & Win, Week 4: Spinners are Robert, Anna, Mary, Shamiran, & Harry {Jackpot starts at $5,000,000}; studio master with slate and two commercials, audio is a bit low)
 * [Airdate per Charles DeLano.]

Jackpot removed; top prize dropped back to $2,000,000 (began 4/ or 5/88)
 * July 16, 1988 (First spinner is Connie; first player's segment only)

Maiquel Suarez added (began 1993)
 * 1993-94 (First 50 seconds of an episode)

Larry Anderson (February 11, 1995-September 7, 1996)
 * January 20, 1996 (Partial intro, plus $2M Spin {Scott})


 * August 24, 1996 ($2M Spin {Nancy}, Dream Machine #1 {Bob}, Dream Machine #2 {Jean}, Winner's Circle #1, Winner's Circle #2 {Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5}; taped from KRON with a few commercials, begins with a local news report)

Jack Gallagher (September 14, 1996-December 26, 1998)
 * August 9, 1997 (Dream Machine #1 {Eddie}, Winner’s Circle, Dream Machine #2 {Carol}, $2M Spin {Jesus}, Fun In the Sun {Bonnie/Tony/Young/Michael}, with the debut of Fun In the Sun {Part 2}; kinda-low audio)

Pat Finn (January 2, 1999-January 10, 2009)

Show renamed Big Spin 2000 (1999-2000)
 * April 24?, 1999 (Fame & Fortune {Mariela/Rafael/Tessa}, Dream Machine {Kerry}, California Gold {Gold Dust format}; has commercials)
 * [Pat notes that "there's a great new twist" to Fame & Fortune: namely, if you don't like the number in your first pick you can opt to choose a different letter.]
 * May 1, 1999 (California Gold {Gold Dust format}, Dream Machine #1 {Richard}, Dream Machine #2 {Michelle}, $3M Spin {Kenneth}, plus Mike Newman presents a Hero in Education award {Part 2, Part 3}; has some bits of commercials, kinda-low audio, video is a bit bright)


 * September 16, 2000 (California Gold, Extravaganza 2000 Drawing, $3M Spin {Irene}, plus Jimmie Walker presents a Hero in Education award; has commercials)
 * December 9, 2000 (California Gold, Dream Machine #1 {Stan}, Dream Machine #2 {Ghee}, $3M Spin {Alan}, plus Hilda Solis presents a Hero in Education award; has commercials, no intro, audio/video is a bit off)
 * [Maiquel's first episode back after a short absence (due to her pregnancy).]

Standard title returns (began 1/01)
 * December 15, 2001 (California Gold, Dream Machine {Jun}, $3M Spin {Alicia}, plus Tony Dow presents a Hero in Education award {Part 2}; taped from KCAL, with one commercial)
 * [Jackie Taylor fills in for Maiquel.]


 * August 10, 2002 (California Gold #1, Dream Machine {Judy}, California Gold #2; taped from KCAL with commercials, video is cropped at the top and bottom but still very watchable)
 * [Maiquel notes that it's the second week of August.]
 * August 17, 2002 (California Gold, Dream Machine #1 {Su}, Dream Machine #2 {Jakira}, Dream Machine #3 {Marty}, $3M Spin {Ruby}; taped from KCAL with commercials, video is cropped at the top and bottom but still very watchable)

All side games (except Dream Machine) replaced by Aces High; final set debuts (began 2004)
 * June 17, 2006 (Clip of a $1,000,000 win!)


 * February 2, 2008 (Dream Machine x3 {David, Eva, Terri}, Aces High)
 * February 23, 2008 (Aces High, Dream Machine {Johnny}, $3M Spin {Michael})
 * January 10, 2009 (Finale: Clip show looking back at the show's 23+-year run, taped 11/16/08 {Part 3, Part 4})
 * [One clip is Maurice Wiley's $1,000,000 win on 3/18/89.]

Cash Tornado (1994)
Unaired Pilot: taped April 5, 1994 at Television City (very likely Studio 33)

Okay, not really a "true" example since this is a kinda-generic presentation intended for licensing to various states, but it was taped in California and, as I noted at the top of the page, basically set the new standard for lottery game shows. This is pretty much why Mark and/or Jonathan Goodson's names are attached to a lot of these shows from '94 onward, starting with Illinois Instant Riches.

Honestly, I think this would've made a great companion to The Big Spin as-is. Jim Perry still had it even five years after Sale of the Century ended, and he really should've gotten another show; that, and several portions of the below feel remarkably like he's hosting TNPIR '94 with Gene Wood announcing...partly because the set's at a "halfway point" between the 1993 pilots and eventual Davidson series.


 * Taped 4/5/94 (Sales Presentation: Onstage players are Edna {Freefall}, Bettye {Grand Prix}, and ROGER DOBKOWITZ! {Force Field})

Make Me a Millionaire (2009-10)
Syndicated, Weekly: January 17, 2009 - January 9, 2010 (approx. 52 episodes)/January 16 - July 3, 2010 (25 episodes + 5 unaired)

Well, hey, Mark L. Walberg got a job for 18 months. :) The theme is kinda annoying and the sound effects are serviceable, but co-host Liz Hernandez doesn't really do anything except read prize copy. Plus, there's really no game variety – the games themselves are varied, sure, but it's always Lucky Penny, Safe Cracker, and California Cool...and always in that order, hence I've opted to just list the player names below. Using different games or mixing up the order of the three might have helped things a bit.

Safe Cracker's a bit weird: while the loser is the first to find two empty safes (and hence their money is halved), a player can also win by finding the last money safe...and hence their opponent's money is halved, even if no empty safes were found. I'm guessing that's because even if all the money's found, they still technically (but physically don't) alternate picking safes...and hence, a player loses because they theoretically picked one or two empty safes even though they in practice didn't. ...Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.

The jackpot started at $1,000,000 and increased by $200,000 per show until won, although for whatever reason the qualifier for the Millionaire Game was played by six people who weren't those from the previous three games.

Originally, losing the Millionaire Game dropped said player's winnings there to just $10,000. Beginning on July 25, 2009, this was changed to simply halve whatever amount s/he had gotten from any prior right guesses, with a minimum of $10,000.

When the show began, the car in Lucky Penny varied, but seems to have stayed in the $24,000 range. Sometime between March 21, 2009 and April 17, 2010, it was locked to being a Chevy Malibu worth $24,764, which makes the game feel kinda monotonous; on May 1, 2010, the Malibu's color switched from dark blue to gray, probably to stand out better against the dark set.

Originally, the first six contestants got varying prizes in addition to the $2,000 cash minimum, which were sometimes or occasionally Lottery scratchers. Later on, probably at the same time as Lucky Penny limiting itself to the Malibu, all the non-scratcher, non-cash prizes were ousted.

For whatever reason, the last five episodes didn't air...but I'll talk about that more down below. :)

Losing the Millionaire Game drops winnings to $10,000
 * January 17, 2009 (#101/Premiere: Oscar/Carlos/Ignacio, Tammy vs. Raymond, and Ronnie {taped 12/14/08}; Jackpot is at $1,000,000 {Part 3, Part 4})
 * [The episode numbers are based on those of the shows uploaded by the California Lottery's YouTube channel, hence how I knew the show was divided into two seasons. The numbers could essentially be read as "1x01", "1x02", etc.]

Safe Cracker graphics slightly altered: "Strike lights" added to score displays, Strikes change from red to black (began by 3/21/09)
 * March 21, 2009 (#110: Kim/Lori/Hazel, Garrett vs. Maryann, and Casey {Part 3, Part 4}; Jackpot is at $2,800,000)

Losing the Millionaire Game halves total, with a minimum of $10,000 (began 7/25/09)

Lucky Penny car permanently becomes a $24,764 Chevy Malibu; all other non-scratcher, non-cash prizes removed (began by 4/17/10)
 * April 17, 2010 (#214: George/Carlos/Rosa, Patricia vs. Josue, and Bettie; Jackpot is at $2,400,000)
 * April 24, 2010 (#215: Tosha/Carlos/Gregorio, Cindy vs. Arpine, and Saturnino)

Chevy Malibu in Lucky Penny changes from dark blue to gray/white (began 5/1/10)
 * May 1, 2010 (#216: Todd/Larry/Luis, Eddie vs. Isobel, and Helen)
 * May 8, 2010 (#217: Bob/Tony/Paul, Lisa vs. Gene, and Denise, with a notable moment in California Cool; Jackpot is at $3,000,000!)
 * [Bob was on The Big Spin twice, and Mark namedrops the show!]
 * May 15, 2010 (#218: Sean/Julio/Janet, Felix vs. Vicky, and Ana)
 * May 22, 2010 (#219: Cuc/Mal/Mary, Jim vs. Elisenda, and Noel)
 * May 29, 2010 (#220: Nick/Fernando/Sonia, Garland vs. Kim, and Robert, with a small but fun moment during Mark's opening explanations)


 * June 5, 2010 (#221: Walter/Anita/Jerry, Bill vs. Artak, and Eric)
 * [Marilyn, one of the Millionaire Game qualifier players, won $80,000 on The Big Spin about 14 years earlier, and Mark namedrops the show!]
 * June 12, 2010 (#222: Abel/Karen/Joe R., Joe O. vs. Judy, and Joe S.)
 * June 19, 2010 (#223: Anamaria/Cathy/Ken, Silvino vs. Rhonda, and Wanda)
 * June 26, 2010 (#224: Ross/Ruben/Frank, Jorge vs. Max, and Lilia, with a pretty rare event in Lucky Penny)
 * July 3, 2010 (#225 {last aired}: Magaly/Joel/Maria, Barbara vs. Luis, and George)
 * [A disclaimer near the end notes that this is the last show, but winners of the scratchers and second-chance drawings will be able to play on a non-televised episode of the show. Given said disclaimer is a cutaway to a graphic read by Liz, it's clear they didn't know this was the end at the time of taping.]

Unaired on TV

Originally scheduled for July 10-August 7, 2010, but shoved to being online-only when the show was abruptly canned. All five were uploaded by the California Lottery's YouTube channel on the same day.


 * July 10, 2010 (#226 {uploaded 7/9/10}: Cecilia/Lana/Wolfe, Robert vs. Mary, and Melisa; Jackpot is at $2,600,000)
 * [For whatever reason, the Chevy Malibu in Lucky Penny is worth $24,395 on this show only. They probably changed it back because it's kinda bad to have players aim for an extreme end of the 1-9 scale.]
 * July 17, 2010 (#227 {uploaded 7/9/10}: Nina/Susan/Edna, Ray vs. Harjoyt, and Mike)
 * July 24, 2010 (#228 {uploaded 7/9/10}: Eugenia/Francena/David, Bill vs. Luis, and Alfred, with a rare event in Lucky Penny)
 * July 31, 2010 (#229 {uploaded 7/9/10}: Jose/Barbara/Melissa, Fannie vs. Marina, and Gorge, with rare events in the first two games)
 * August 7, 2010 (#230/Finale {uploaded 7/9/10}: Roxana/Chuck F./Mario, Chuck W. {no, not Woolery :P} vs. Louis, and Greg; Jackpot is at $1,600,000)
 * [...Boy, what a bad way to end the run, especially since Mark and Liz's comments indicate they didn't know it was the end. The show's cancellation was clearly abrupt, with the disclaimer in #225 done afterward.]

Flamingo Fortune (Florida, 1995-99)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 14, 1995 - February 27, 1999 (228 episodes, taped at Universal Studios in Orlando)

The show I remember watching when I was young (definitely at least during the original format, since I remember the bonus round), and hence have a fondness for.

The first five episodes credited the show to Mark Goodson Productions; beginning on the sixth show, they started crediting Jonathan Goodson's company instead.

Sony took over production on October 11, 1997, overhauling the show in the process. From what I can tell, only Game 3 differed between shows: the order was always Florida Diceway, Break the Piggy Bank, Florida's Famous or Crack the Code, and Florida's Jackpot. Also, the Million-Dollar part of the title only came into play right before Game 3, which involved spinning the $1,000,000 wheel; if the ball to pick the player for Game 3 landed in the spot the wheel had stopped at, said player won the Million and played said game.

JD Roberto & Heather Alexander (1995-96)
 * October 14, 1995 (Premiere: Susan {Beach Ball}, Steve {Grand Prix}, Pat {Splashdown}, with designated champ George; taped from WTVJ)

Mark Goodson's logo replaced by Jonathan's (began 11/18/95)
 * January 6, 1996 (Martin {Beach Ball}, Frank {Grand Prix}, Nicholas {Splashdown}, with returning champ Jackie and an amazing event {Part 2}; taped from WTVJ, wavy video but very watchable)
 * [JD asks Heather "How was your new year?" after the two walk out, and they briefly discuss New Year's resolutions.]


 * 1996 (Judy {Beach Ball}, Stacey {Grand Prix}, Chris {Splashdown}, with returning champ Cecil, plus Rich Fields appears on-camera!; Game 1 only)

Michael Young & Lisa Stahl-Sullivan (1996-99)
 * 1996 (Michael & Lisa's debut: Lucille {Beach Ball}, Joe {Grand Prix}, Jay {Splashdown}, with returning champ Judy {$263,000!} plus Lottomobile III giving away five Cadillacs to home viewers!; taped from WTVJ, video jumps a few times during the show)

Sony takes over production; Million-Dollar format debuts (began 10/11/97)
 * November 1, 1997 (Flamingo Diceway {Maryann/Lennie/Patsy/Jean}, Break the Piggy Bank, Florida's Famous {based on the intro}, Florida's Jackpot; first segment and tail end of credits only)


 * January 1999 (Flamingo Diceway {Linda/Doris/Ann/Charlie}, Break the Piggy Bank {Duviel vs. Barry}, Florida's Famous {Fran}, Florida's Jackpot {Sonya, playing for $75,000}, with a pretty unlikely event at one point {Part 2}; taped from WFOR)

Super Shot (circa 1976)
WSNS, Weekly?: Circa 1976 (may have also been syndicated)

Found this through an old Game Show Paradise thread I had bookmarked, but totally forgot about.

The show, hosted by Bob Hale and Sandie Wolsfeld, is...complicated. It's supposed to be a basketball-themed contest, but it also has the results of previous horse races for some reason, a bunch of drawn-out number draws for home players, and Bob seems to be confused.

That fact it's produced by and for WSLS adds to the issues (or the charm, depending on your viewpoint), as the station was apparently pretty well-known at this point for being "where budgets go to die", and as a result the production looks...pretty frickin' cheap.


 * 1976-77 ("Today is Playday" segment, with the same hosts)

$100,000 Fortune Hunt (1989-94)
WGN/Syndicated, Weekly: September 16, 1989 - July 2, 1994

The first lottery game show to air across the country thanks to what is now WGN America, this was your standard "pick a box for money" game, with the added bonus of $100,000 being awarded to whoever's in the lead after five sets of picks. Episodes were taped the day before they aired, and the show went through several changes in its first year.

Originally, the four non-winning players could opt to keep their earnings or pick off of a 12-square bonus board for various prizes, including more money. This was removed on April 14, 1990, increasing the front-game amounts to compensate.

When the show began, there was a space called Wipeout which, if picked, kicked that contestant from the game with $1,000. On October 14, 1989, this was replaced by Lose A Turn; said space originally had "Lose a Turn" below a sad face, which became "TURN" in a slashed circle sometime after August 11, 1990. Also at first, a car (usually in the $15,000 range) could be taken by finding a single space, although taking the car meant leaving the game; sometime after August 11, 1990, it was split in half and placed behind two numbers, both of which had to be found to get the option of quitting with the car.

When the Bonus Play element was added on April 14, 1990, each contestant's podium had one letter (A-B-C-D-E-F), and the letter of whoever won the $100,000 was used for the Bonus Play drawing. Sometime in June 1990, this was altered to have each podium use two different letters (A&G-B&H-C&I-D&J-E&K-F&L), although this appears to have been for some kind of transition as beginning on July 21 only the G-L letters were used. In any case, the home player elements as a whole were ousted sometime between August 18, 1990 and July 1991.

Jeff left the show voluntarily on August 11, 1990 (and was replaced by Mike Jackson) because, per this March 2015 interview, the Lottery tried to rewrite the terms of his and Linda's contracts from annual guarantees to six-month periods with no guarantee of renewal. Since the show's ratings were phenomenal, Jeff was fulfilling all the terms of his agreement, and the Lottery was making millions off the show (making the Lottery's motives suspicious), he said no. At the time, the reason for Jeff's departure was "he didn't renew his contract", which is true in the same way that Rich DiPirro didn't renew his contract on The Price Is Right years later. By 1992, the Lottery came up with the excuse that Jeff was wearing Lottery-owned suits outside of work, so they fired him; Jeff claimed he was a victim of Lottery harassment, which seems to be true.

Still, Jeff has done pretty well for himself in the past 25 years, and in 1996 became the voice (digitally layered) of the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact, including the now-famous "Resistance is futile." line.

The show began using returning champs on January 2, 1993, with a five-game/$500,000 limit.

As an interesting footnote, parts of the set appeared in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (released 11/20/92) as the show "Ding Dang Dong", hosted by Bob Eubanks.

(Big thanks to Jeff Coopwood for uploading nearly all of the below videos so the contestants and home viewers could find their appearances {per the aforementioned 2015 interview, he has his entire tenure}. That's a pretty noble and awesome thing to do, sir. :)

Jeff Coopwood & Linda Kollmeyer (September 16, 1989-August 11, 1990)
 * September 8, 1989 (Two local news reports on the show's debut {including clips of a rehearsal game}, followed by a debut promo)


 * September 16, 1989 (Premiere: Denise/"Nick" {Neshit}/James/Ralph/Roger/Richard {Car: Chrysler Laser}; taped from WGN, with commercials {alternate copy, no commercials, audio is a bit muffled})
 * [Yes, the third player's name really is "Neshit". Oddly, at 4:49 James' podium does the display test ("1111", "2222", etc.)...but hey, it's a brand-new show and everybody's figuring out what works and what doesn't. :)]


 * September 23, 1989 (#2: Mabel/Rebecca/Anna/Walter/Joe/Lurla {Car: Chrysler Laser}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Still has the handwritten nameplates, with lowercase letters. Car value still not given.]

Nameplates now use all-caps (began by 10/7/89)
 * October 7, 1989 (#4: Marian/Leo/Anna/Rosemary/Richard/Dena {GREAT contestant!} {Car: Pontiac Firebird coupe}; taped from WGN with commercials, low audio, begins during intro)
 * [One at-home player is named Michael Larson; it couldn't be him, could it...?]

Wipeout replaced by Lose A Turn (began 10/14/89)
 * October 14, 1989 (#5: Stanley/David/Halina/Edna/Marie/Kathy {Car: Buick Century custom coupe}; taped from WGN with commercials, begins shortly before Jeff and Linda walk out)
 * [Linda notes that Wipeout has been removed from the board. Funnily, a player finds the car space and asks how much the car's worth, to which Jeff says "What is this, another game show?!" Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]


 * October 21, 1989 (#6: John L./Kathaleen/Rose Marie/Virginia/John S./Bernadette {Car: Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera}; taped from WGN with commercials, begins shortly before player intros)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * October 28, 1989 (#7: Karen/Georgia/Yolanda/Helen/John/Jim {Car: Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera}, with indication that the Doublers don't stack; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Car value still not given. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Car value now given (began by 11/11/89)
 * November 11, 1989 (#9: George/Jerry/Ken/Barb/Orville/Dahlia {Car: Buick Century custom coupe - $16,200}; taped from WGN with commercials, begins during intro)
 * November 25, 1989 (#11: Dorothy/George/Nannette/Belle/Mark/Irene {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}; taped from WGN, with commercials)


 * December 2, 1989 (#12: Margaret/Georgette/Marilyn/Roberta/Pamela/Paul {Car: Buick Century custom coupe - $16,200}; taped from WGN with commercials, begins during intro)
 * [Second decision square (for a trip) still present. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Second Decision square removed (began by 12/16/89)
 * December 16, 1989 (#14: Wayne/Carol/John/Joe/Victor/Fayma {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Intro still does not show the contestants. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Intro now shows the contestants; brighter "FORTUNE" background (began by 12/30/89)
 * December 30, 1989 (#16: Ellie/Edith/Shirley/Frank/Louis/Anuel {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}, with the set decorated for Christmas!; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Nameplate lettering is still relatively small. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Nameplates now use tall/thin all-caps (began 1/6/90)
 * January 6, 1990 (#17: Mary Ann/Joy {a guy!}/George/David/Ronald/Dan {Car: Buick Century custom coupe - $16,200}; taped from WGN with commercials, odd video issues during third set of picks and subsequent commercial break)
 * [The Lottery director, Sharon Sharp, plugs a sweepstakes for non-winning show tickets to begin in February. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * January 13, 1990 (#18: Louis/Marlene/Forrest/Roger/Ed/Daniel {Car: Pontiac Firebird - $15,000}; taped from WGN with commercials, audio/video issues at a few points {alternate copy})
 * [Jeff notes that WEEK, WREX, and WQAD are airing the show for the first time this week. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * January 27, 1990 (#20: Donna/Dorothy/Betty/Bettye/Bernice/James {Car: Pontiac Firebird - $15,000}; taped from WGN with commercials, video glitchiness at a few points)
 * [Includes part of that night's Lotto draw after the show.]


 * February 3, 1990 (#21: Norma/Arnold/Michelle/Margaret/Linda/Pamela {Car: Buick Century custom coupe - $16,200}; taped from WGN with commercials, glitchy/stuttery video for most of show)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show...and the Lotto machine refuses to work!]
 * February 17, 1990 (#23: Steve/Debra/Bernadette/Joseph/Helen/Rich {Car: Pontiac Firebird - $15,000}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Week 2 of the "second chance" drawings, which ran from February 10-March 3. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]


 * March 10, 1990 (#26: Fred/Jerry/Virginia/Wandalea/Mary {GREAT contestant!}/Gus {Car: Pontiac Firebird - $15,000}, with the draw for the four cruise winners of the "second chance" drawings; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game and Pick 4 drawings after the show.]
 * March 17, 1990 (#27: Gloria/Pearl/Scott/John/Rick/Randall {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}; has commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * March 24, 1990 (#28: Dorothy/George/Brian/Mary/Blane/Wendell {Car: Ford Mustang LX convertible - $14,639}; taped from WGN with commercials, including a $100,000 Fortune Hunt promo!)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * March 31, 1990 (#29: Russ/Jerome/Robin/Craig/Edward/Claude {Car: Ford Mustang LX convertible - $14,639}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]


 * April 7, 1990 (#30: Bill/James/Del/Dan/Grena/Bernadette {Car: Ford Mustang LX convertible - $16,041}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show; notably, the Lotto machine is now completely different, sadly losing the nice-looking large rainbow and "pot of gold with the numbered balls inside" motif in the process.]

Intro overhauled; money amounts on front-game board raised; Bonus Play added; Bonus Board dropped (began 4/14/90)
 * April 14, 1990 (#31: Otis/Betty/Floretta/Pamela/Robin/Ruth {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}; taped from WGN with commercials, including one at 11:32 that was clearly made by whoever did those bizarre "realistic animation" segments of Monty Python's Flying Circus)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * April 21, 1990 (#32: Aug/Thomas/Carmon/Karen/Juan/John {Car: Ford Mustang LX convertible - $16,041}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Juan doesn't speak English, so a translator named Diane is present next to him. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * April 28, 1990 (#33: Frank/Eve/Candie/Ellen/Michael/Della {Car: Ford Mustang LX convertible - $16,041}; taped from WGN with commercials, first two seconds or so missing)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]


 * May 5, 1990 (#34: Andrea/Mo/George/Charles/Raymond/Phyllis {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}, with indication that the Doublers don't stack; taped from WGN with commercials, including several awkwardly shoved in during one part of Round 1)
 * [First week where the previous Bonus Play numbers are shown. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * May 12, 1990 (#35: Irwin/Robert/Angeline/Philip {whose nameplate is misspelled!}/Helen/Catherine {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}, with the announcement of a traveling "simulation" of the show starting May 15; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * May 19, 1990 (#36: Melinda/Janet/Marie/Les{ter}/Jack/Quinn {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Contestant podiums become blue (began 5/26/90)


 * May 26, 1990 (#37: Charles/Pearlie/Jim/Ira/Sharon/Tom {proxy for Vida} {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Linda notes that WCEE is airing the show for the first time this week. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * [Jeff to Pearlie, who works for the Department of Employment Security: "So when I'm out of this job I should come to you." Linda responds with "Now that's not gonna be soon, Jeff.", to which he says "I hope not." Just thought I'd mention that, mainly since Jeff left the show three months later.]

Contestant backdrops redone (began 6/2/90)


 * June 2, 1990 (#38: Joseph/Dave {proxy for Jackie}/Becky/Rose/Randy/Helen {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Dave is a Lottery employee, which they openly note. Still has the "one Bonus Play letter per player" podiums.]

Bonus Play letters on contestant podiums embossed, and now have two letters (began by 6/30/90)


 * June 30, 1990 (#42: Joen/Joan/Vicki/Jack {nameplate is "John"}/Shirley/Frank {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}, with a surprise for Jeff after the player intros!; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]


 * July 14, 1990 (#44: Charles N./Penny/Kelly/Robert/Charles W. {nameplate is "Chuck"}/Charles E. {Car: Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe - $15,300}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Lose A Turn still has a sad face; CAR space is still one piece. Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]

Bonus Play letters on contestant podiums changed to solely the G-L letters (began 7/21/90)
 * July 21, 1990 (#45: Majed/Marie/Tom/Lillian/Richard/Adolph {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}; taped from WGN with commercials, audio is kinda tinny {gets a bit better as the show goes on}, "stuttery" video at a few points)
 * [Sharon Sharp notes that the show's given away $4,500,000 in grand prizes alone, then specifically says the show has had 45 episodes so far.]
 * July 28, 1990 (#46: Keith/Dorothy/Bertha {nameplate is "Bert"}/Lisa/Marvin/Harold {Car: Plymouth Laser RE - $14,500}; taped from WGN, with commercials)


 * August 4, 1990 (#47: Lisa/Debra/Gertrude/Don/Martha {nameplate is "Marty"}/Vonda {Car: Plymouth Laser Turbo - $14,500}; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Includes that night's Daily Game, Pick 4, and Lotto drawings after the show.]
 * August 11, 1990 (#48/Jeff's Finale?: Peggy/Edith/Richard/Andrew/Vincent/Florence {Car: Plymouth Laser Turbo - $14,500}, with Jeff giving Linda a rose for her birthday!; taped from WGN, with commercials)
 * [Lose A Turn still has a sad face; CAR space is still one piece. Also, if this was Jeff's last episode I didn't see any hints at it.]

Illinois Instant Riches (1994-98)
WGN/Syndicated, Weekly: July 9, 1994 - August 15, 1998

The first variation of Cash Tornado to get on the air, and the one that probably sticks the closest to it. The show was hosted by Mark Goodman, with Linda Kollmeyer and Bill Barber staying over from Fortune Hunt as hostess and announcer.

Note that Home Run, Touchdown, Fast Break, and Home Stretch are all different motifs of the same game. The first three were used during baseball, football, and basketball season respectively, while Home Stretch was only used on the show's trip to the Arlington Race Track in 1996.

This one actually kept Mark Goodson's name and logo at the end until sometime in '96, when it was replaced by Jonathan's.

"Knockout" bonus round (July 9, 1994-February 4, 1995)
 * 1994 (Force Field {Julie}, Touchdown {Maira}, Double Dollars {Bryant} {Part 2}; has some bits of commercials, video is a bit bright)
 * [Mark notes that this is the debut of Touchdown. By this point, the orange player in said game is worth $1,000; it originally paid out a pretty pathetic $1.]
 * December 31, 1994 (Force Field {Susan}, Touchdown {Claudia}, Double Dollars {Lois}, with a pretty obvious edit shortly after time expires in the bonus round; ends during closing plugs)

[On February 11, 1995, Knockout became one of the rotating games and Thunderball became the new bonus round, played similar to Avalanche on Cash Tornado. At the same time, a new game called Mismatch was added to the rotation.]

"Pot of Gold" bonus round (Summer? 1995-August 15, 1998)
 * November 25, 1995 (Vortex {Al}, Knockout {Tom}, Double Dollars {Wanda}, with returning champ Rudy {Week 3 - $66,000} {Parts 2, 3, and 4}; no intro, video skew at bottom of screen for most of show {but still very watchable})
 * [Vortex has its original payouts (starting point of $3,000, top prize of $72,000). Several mentions are made of Thanksgiving leftovers.]


 * 1995-98 (Next-to-last segment, with Bharatkumar? {$100,000!} vs. returning champ Paula {$115,000!} in Pot of Gold)

Mark Goodson logo changed to Jonathan's (began 1996); Wrecking Ball added to game rotation (began 8/10/97)
 * December 20?, 1997 (Wrecking Ball {Karen}, Vortex {Wilma}, Double Dollars {Emily}, with returning champ Bert {Week 2 - $35,000} {Part 2})
 * [Set decorated for Christmas, and the hosts' comments indicate it's upcoming. By this point, Vortex has its second and final set of payouts (starting point of $4,000, top prize of $96,000). At this point, Bill Barber is still announcer.]

Tony Russell becomes announcer (began 12/97 or sometime in '98)
 * August 15, 1998 (Finale: Vortex {Andrew}, Knockout {Jeff}, Double Dollars {Calene}, with returning champ Helen {Week 2 - $35,500}; hissy audio, but still very audible)

Illinois' Luckiest (1998-2000)
WGN/Syndicated, Weekly: August 22, 1998 - October 21, 2000

Same hosts as before, but the games were now played by three-player groups who were selected from a group of six contestants through an envelope-based survey question.

On January 29, 2000, the show was revamped to include a "proxy for groups" element, restore Vortex and Double Dollars to the game rotation, add Splashdown, and change the bonus round back to Pot of Gold – in other words, a variation of the third-era Instant Riches.

The only real detriment is Pinball, the bonus round of the original format. Pinball on a lottery game show isn't a bad idea, but the issue here was that said table was entirely CGI. It not only looked kinda ugly, but I don't think I'd trust a CGI pinball game to be entirely luck-based. The revamp shifted Pinball to the other end of the show, making it how the players were selected rather than how $100,000 could be won, which...wasn't a good idea either, frankly.

The lottery's 25th-Anniversary Special was done in 1999, and rather than borrowing from this show's first format actually seems to have paved the way for the second.

Original format (August 22, 1998-January 22, 2000)
 * June 1999 (The Illinois Lottery 25th-Anniversary Special: Rolling Thunder, Money Machine, Splashdown, with Pot of Gold as the endgame {alternate copy... thing, slightly shorter})
 * [Hosted by Linda Kollmeyer and Jeanne Sparrow, with Bill Laff? playing all three games as a proxy. Actually provides some foreshadowing on how Luckiest got revamped the following year.]

Revamped format (debuted 1/29/00)
 * January 29, 2000 (Splashdown, Vortex, Double Dollars; taped from WGN with commercials, low audio)
 * [Vortex uses its original Instant Riches payouts (starting point of $3,000, top prize of $72,000).]

Hoosier Millionaire (Indiana, 1989-2005/2014)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 28, 1989 - December 31, 2005

Syndicated Special: August 23 - 24, 2014

Another long-running game, originally hosted by Mark Patrick and Barbara Hobbs. On June 7, 2003, they were replaced by Cody Stark and Catt Sadler...but it seems Stark didn't really work out, as he was replaced on October 23, 2004 by series announcer Tony Lamont, who had also filled in for Mark and Cody at times.

Beginning in 1992, a Doubler square was added to the board; for at least part of 1998, it was sponsored by NAPA, which gave contestants gift certificates for picking the Doubler. From 1996-97, there were three bonus prizes on the board, including an RCA Home Package.

Originally, the bonus round had three green dollar signs and a red "no dollar sign" one, and the player had to find all three green signs to win the Million. By May 26, 1990, the green signs were replaced by $50,000, $100,000, and $1,000,000; the $50,000 became $200,000 in 1991, which was followed by the $100,000 becoming $150,000 in 1992. Starting on January 22, 1994, the player was offered $100,000 to leave without picking any boxes. The "no dollar sign", a leftover from the original bonus round format, was changed to a Stopper (same purpose, but now resembling the other graphics) in 1991 or '92.

Mark and Barbara returned for the 25th-Anniversary Special in 2014, which also served as a kind of finale. To help celebrate the milestone, the Lottery's YouTube channel uploaded a bunch of episodes from 1990-99.

Mark Patrick & Barbara Hobbs (1989-May 2003)

Second bonus round format (debuted by 5/26/90)
 * May 26, 1990 (Benjamin/Jeff/Bruce/Edith/Julie/Veneda)
 * [Intro begins with a clip of Vivi? winning the Million last week, the show's 17th millionaire.]
 * August 11, 1990 (Randy/Dan/Sylvia/Roy/Hal/Katherine; video issues from 1:39-49, ends during fee plugs)
 * [Has a second Millionaire Round for the finalist of a special event a few days earlier. Said finalist won $27,000, noted as being the record for preliminary round play.]
 * August 18, 1990 (DuWayne/Jessica/Rex/John/Irene/Gary)
 * September 8, 1990 (Chuck/Polly/Amil {he's 87!}/Sharron/Doris/Dolores, with the oldest contestant of the show's run up to this point!)
 * [Intro begins with a clip of Golda? winning the Million last week. Secondary prizes in bonus round are still $50,000 and $100,000.]

"Lotto Tickets" bonus prize replaced by "TRIP"; $50,000 prize in bonus round upped to $200,000 (began by 7/13/91)
 * July 13, 1991 (Gary/Larry/Randy/Mary/Jerry/Helen)
 * July 20, 1991 (Hank/Rod/Cindy/Dale/Mattie/Ed)
 * [Stopper is still the red "no dollar sign".]

Doubler square added to front game, replacing a prize; Millionaire Round slightly altered: $100,000 prize upped to $150,000, standard "STOPPER" graphic debuts (began by 6/13/92)
 * June 13, 1992 (Michael/Eldon/Janet/Vicky/Jerry/Glen)
 * October 17, 1992 (#156: John/Cindi/Sherry/Linda/Cora/Scott)
 * [From Perdue University. Score displays have flip-cards for the thousands and ten-thousands digits.]

"Pot of gold" intro; logo becomes gold; set overhauled to a "squares" motif; player displays now all-electronic (debuted by 8/31/96; road shows still use the Vane displays)

Bonus Bonanza (Massachusetts, 1995-98)
Syndicated, Weekly: January, 1995 - March, 1998

Hosted by Brian Tracey and Dawn Hayes. Uses the Illinois Instant Riches theme, and the intro uses the tornado animation from Cash Tornado. The bonus round was Knockout.


 * 1996 (Vortex {June}, Danger Ball {James}, Freefall {John}, with a couple of unlikely events; taped from WCVB)
 * [Vortex uses the $3,000 starting point and $72,000 top prize.]

Fame & Fortune (1989-91)
WDIV/Syndicated, Weekly: January 28, 1989 - April 6, 1991

Hosted by Chuck Gaidica and Diane Sarnecky, this is an interesting twist on the then-standard "pick boxes for money" format: the players pick letters in the word "FORTUNE", receiving a positive or negative amount ranging from +$300 to -$300. First to reach $1,000 exactly gets $50,000, but dropping down to $0 takes that player out of the game with $500 as a consolation prize. If a chosen amount would take the player over $1,000 or under $0, it's ignored.

Also, one space on the board is a BONUS, which offers a car to that player at the cost of leaving the game. Any players left after someone wins the $50,000 play "Spin to Win" for up to $5,000.


 * March 25, 1989 (Ronald/Romeo/Bill/Robert/Gene/Bruce {playing for Rick, Debby, Charles, Gary, Carl, & Ziyad respectively}, with slides inserted upside-down in the "E"!; taped from WZZM?, with most commercials)
 * [Diane notes that it's Easter weekend. The lottery drawing at 9:54 gives the exact date.]

Megabucks Giveaway (1991-96)
WDIV, Weekly: April 13, 1991 - September 14, 1996

Still hosted by Chuck Gaidica, but now with Aggie Usedly assisting. The game itself is played a bit differently, from what I can tell: the players still pick from "FORTUNE" and the goal is still $1,000, but now the game has a set number of rounds. The winner gets $5,000 and a chance to unlock the on-set safe for $50,000.

The BONUS spaces now give that contestant an extra key choice in the bonus round, assuming s/he wins the game.


 * February 22, 1992 (Pauline/Delores/Gordon/Kim/Bob/Betty; begins shortly before final round)
 * [Tubewings: "Also, this was one of the last Zinger drawings, as Cash 5 debuted a few weeks afterwards."]

Make Me Rich! (2009-12)
Syndicated, Quarterly: October 16, 2009 - March 8, 2012 (approx. 9 episodes)

Hosted by Christopher Knight and Beth McLeod, although I'm not sure why it only aired once every three months. The episodes I know of are listed below (there's at least one more, probably two):


 * October 16, 2009 (Premiere)
 * February 10, 2010 (#2)
 * June 4, 2010 (#3)
 * October 1, 2010 (#4)
 * May 19, 2011
 * October 6, 2011
 * March 8, 2012 (Finale)

I'm not sure why the show was canned, but the Internet Archive's captures of the Lottery's website pinpoint exactly when it was decided – on April 2, 2012, all traces of the show were quietly removed sometime between 6:02 AM and 7:39 PM. The drop-down "Games" menu, which had five slots while the show was on (View All Games/2nd Chance Games/Promotions/Make Me Rich!/Retailer Finder), now had just four.

Play It Again (2012-)
Syndicated, Annually: September 13, 2012 - Present

Also hosted by Christopher Knight, with some of the Make Me Rich set used as a backdrop. Billed as "the richest three minutes in television", three finalists drawn from non-winning Lottery tickets (done over the past year) roll virtual dice to get the highest total score; after Round 1, each player determines which dice (if any) to reroll, and the best score after Round 2 wins $1,000,000.

...Okay, I'll be honest, I didn't know about this one until May 2015, when I stumbled upon it while searching The Game Show Forum in an attempt to find out when Make Me Rich ended. After some poking around in the Lottery's website through the Internet Archive, here's what I've found:

The show started out as Instant RePlay, a second-chance drawing done on Make Me Rich. The current name debuted around December 16, 2011, which presumably was also when it became its own separate entity since the Lottery's listing for said drawing stopped namedropping Make Me Rich. Yeah, turns out it's pretty much replaced Make Me Rich, which itself seems to have gotten quietly canned with zero announcement.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of virtual dice in this kind of way, and I'm also not particularly fond of the show itself from a production standpoint because of it being annual. You spend all this time and effort in putting together a game show that's done once a year, and instead of making it a three-hour game-filled gala by Jonathan Goodson or Sande Stewart it's only  three damn minutes 90 damn seconds of rolling virtual dice for One Million Damn Dollars!

Really, this feels like a big frickin' waste. Sure, a quarterly schedule felt a bit weird for Make Me Rich, but at least that was actually a game show! How in the hell do you go from a quarterly half-hour game show to an annual three-minute one?! I don't even live in Michigan and I feel sorry for 'em, that this is the best their Lottery can do for a home-grown game show.

At least the state's involved with Monopoly Millionaires' Club, though, so there's a good consolation right there. :)


 * September 10, 2012 (Debut promo, showing a clip of Make Me Rich; thanks for rubbing salt in the wound you're twisting the knife around, guys)
 * September 13, 2012 (Premiere: Bob/Judy/Evelyn)
 * September 20, 2013 (#2: Ron/Sandy/Jim)
 * September 18, 2014 (Behind-the-scenes look at #3 {Gary/Kelly/John}, showing just how much time and effort goes into making a once-a-year three-minute game show)

Fun & Fortune (Missouri, 1996-2002)
Syndicated, Weekly: January 20, 1996 - July?, 2002 (taped through July 9, 2002)

Hosted by Rick Tamblyn and Penny Greene, although Geoff Edwards did the pilot (by all indication, his last game show).

NY Wired (New York, 1997-99)
Syndicated, Weekly: 1997 - 1999

Has a strong "internet"/computer theme throughout the intro and set. Oh, and here's an oddity: a lottery game show with a Q&A element! And not something like Florida's Famous/Maryland's Famous/California Cool, either – contestants are given a survey question and three possible answers, and guess which one is right. The standard Cash Tornado-style games come afterward, although it seems only two were played per show.

The show was originally hosted by Janice Huff, who was replaced sometime in the second half of 1998 (definitely after August 15) by Cheryl Washington.

Janice Huff (1997-98)

Cheryl Washington (1998-99)

Cash Explosion (Double Play) (1987-2006)
Syndicated, Weekly: February 7, 1987 - September 30, 2006

Debuted with the hosting tandem of Bob Grossi and Sharon Bicknell, with Paul Tapie replacing Grossi in 1988. The show went through several formats, and even a brief period in 2000 where Tapie was replaced by Mike Armstrong.

In 2004, Tapie and Bicknell were replaced by Leilani Barrett and Michelle Duda. As this period went on, the Ohio State Lottery noticed that ratings and ticket sales were sagging a bit, so they canned the show and replaced it with a series that...

Actually, I'll explain that later.

Bob Grossi & Sharon Bicknell (1987-88)

Paul Tapie & Sharon Bicknell (1988-2000/2000-04)
 * November 1996 (Close of a Thanksgiving show)
 * [From the "Match 3" bonus round era, which had begun by 3/30/96.]

Leilani Barrett & Michelle Duda (2004-06)

Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich (2006-07)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 7, 2006 - September 29, 2007

Replacing a show that was on for nearly 20 years will inevitably get backlash, but it didn't exactly help that this show was bad – the format's confusing and cheap, the set's barely even a set and is cramped, the intro probably put off a lot of people with its really low-quality animation and lame lyrics, and host David McCreary was overexcited and overhyper to the point where he's clearly faking the whole time.

(Also, he didn't seem to know what was going on at times, but that's partly him being a noob host and partly the fact that the game is freaking complicated.)

So how was this received by the Ohio citizens? Badly. Negative reviews, extremely-low ratings, worse ticket sales than the late-era Cash Explosion, and a ton of hate mail sent to the Lottery pretty much demanding the good show to come back.

Cash Explosion Double Play (2007-)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 6, 2007 - Present

...And come back it did, although for whatever reason McCreary was still allowed to host; at least this time, Sharon Bicknell came back and was joined by Cherie McClain.

Oregon Lottery Jackpot Show (circa 1985)
Syndicated?, Weekly?: Circa 1985

Hosted by Leonard Nixon, and taped at KECH (which probably also aired it), a low-power UHF station at the time. The wheel has amounts of $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, and JACKPOT.

I stumbled upon this show while searching for episodes of The Big Spin, and I'm glad I did – not only is it seemingly pretty obscure, but it's also hilariously outdated and several audience members (including a contestant's daughter) look incredibly bored.


 * July 13, 1985 ("Spin 11 of the current game": Jackpot starts at $585,693; slate, intro segment, and Michael Kepler's spin segment only with onscreen text comments by Kepler)
 * [Kepler's text comments include the fact that when it shows his rooting section, the camera is almost always focused on the woman they evidently thought was his wife; yeah, turns out that's actually a friend of hers from college, and the wife is actually sitting to her right.]

The Oregon Lottery's Money Game (1988-90)
Syndicated, Weekly: September, 1988 - August, 1990

Hosted by Tom Parker and Karen Trumbo, it's your standard "pick boxes for money" front game with a Let's Make A Deal-esque bonus round: here's two doors, one containing $50,000; take $10,000, or pick a door?

...And is it just me, or does Tom sound a whole lot like Jim Peck?


 * March 4, 1989 (Dellarae/Walt/Rod/Jim/Ed, playing for Ron, Becky, Evelyn, Shirley, & Helen respectively {Part 3}; taped from KOIN, with commercials)
 * [Tom notes that last week was a "February closeout special". One promo is for a McDonald's contest, which notes that Splash Mountain will debut at Disneyland "this Summer" (said ride opened 7/17/89). Another promo is for tonight's episodes of Dolphin Cove and TV 101 on CBS.]

Wisconsin Lottery Money Game (1992?-2002?)
''Syndicated, Weekly: 1992? - 2002?''

Has a nice Wheel of Fortune-esque game board, which provides a welcome twist on the then-standard "pick a box for money" format: each player, in turn, hits their plunger to stop the flashing light on one row of "WISCONSIN LOTTERY MONEYGAME", then picks a letter from said row.

The show was originally hosted by Mark Johnson, with Lori Minetti (or Laurie Manetti; not sure on that) as hostess. At some point (definitely by November 3, 2001), Parker Drew became host, although I'm not sure whether he directly replaced Mark. In mid-2002, the show became Super Money Game with more games and less contestants.


 * October 1992 (Bob/Sheila/Joanne?/Robert?/Larry?; montage, mostly based around the first player)

Regional Shows
Shows aired in multiple states, albeit only those participating in said promotion.

Powerball: The Game Show (2000-02)
Syndicated, Weekly: October, 2000 - September 28, 2002

Another Jonathan Goodson show, this one with Bob Eubanks hosting. Season 1 had a racing motif, with the games worth miles, and the player with the most miles won $5,000; Season 2 simply played elimination games, with the last person standing in each winning $5,000. In both seasons, the week's winner played Zero Gravity.

Original format (2000-01 season)
 * November 18, 2000 (Powerball Express, Capsize, Home Stretch {Local Player: Mary Louise of West Virginia} {alternate copy of Zero Gravity playing})

Powerball Instant Millionaire (2002-04)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 5, 2002 - September 24, 2004

Now produced by Sande Stewart, with Todd Newton hosting. Started out with just Crazy Eights and High Rollers, but added Blackjack on October 4, 2003 (which seems to have been replaced by Wild Cards by March 12, 2004).


 * 2003 (Clip of a male contestant going for the Million!)
 * 2004 (Clip of a female contestant going for the Million!)

Monopoly Millionaires' Club (2015-)
Syndicated, Weekly: March 28, 2015 - Present

Based on the lottery draw game that was so frickin' complicated it needed a 10-minute video to explain (and which was discontinued due to low ticket sales but replaced by a set of scratchers). Billy Gardell is fine as a first-time host, but Todd Newton being relegated to the at-home games (which feel really tacked on) just feels off.

Don't get me wrong, the show's good and to not much surprise uses the Cash Tornado style of proceedings with at least eight games in the rotation (plus, hey, can't fault a show in 2015 using physical props for its games), but I don't think Scott St. John should've been involved – he also did the American Deal or No Deal, and as a result this show feels like one I'd expect from the networks (note: this isn't a good thing). Oh, and one user of a forum I frequent pointed out "So that's what happens when a lottery game show gets casted." Also, the intro spoils nearly everything that's gonna happen, and as such any links will be cued up to start as Gardell says the show's title because hey, I don't think other people like to be spoiled at the starting gate either.

GSN was scheduled to air the show on Tuesday mornings beginning March 31, but these were quietly pulled (along with their website page on the show and any mentions of GSN on the show's website) due to a rule against airing lottery shows in states that don't have their own lottery as well as states whose lotteries aren't participating in regional programs like this.

One other little thing that I think is worth noting: whether intentionally or not, the $1,000,000 game is a souped-up version of the same thing from Merv Griffin's take on Monopoly, although not letting the contestant roll the dice by hand doesn't feel right. Also notable is that no games are "locked" to certain parts of the show, providing some variety in the lineups.

After the January 2015 tapings (the first six taped episodes), things were altered a bit: the Electric Company switches became color-coded (originally all-red), while the method of determining who plays for the Million is thankfully less drawn out.

For whatever reason, Season 2 chopped the show down to a half-hour with only three games played (not including the $1,000,000 game). Several of the games were altered to fit the new runtime, but overall the show feels too quick and abrupt.

Hour-long format (Season 1)

All-red Electric Company switches; massively drawn-out method of determining who plays for the Million
 * March 28, 2015 (#101/Premiere: Waltriessa {Electric Company}, Brock {Ride the Rails}, Kendall {Block Party}, Tom {No Vacancy}, Travis {Advance to Boardwalk}; Local Players: Charlotte of VA {Cash Register}, Nicole of RI {Money Bags})
 * [Taped 1/2015. I originally had No Vacancy listed as Monopoly Hotel since that's what Billy calls the building, but hey...]


 * April 4, 2015 (#102: Gail {Park-It}, Kai {Block Party}, Tony {Community Chest}, Jeff {Advance to Boardwalk}, Theresa {Ride the Rails}; Local Players: Nelson of FL {Cash Register}, Kimberly of IN {Money Bags})
 * [Taped 1/2015. Shortly after this episode was uploaded to the official YouTube channel, the video titles were changed to reflect the Monday/Tuesday airdates ("March 30/31", "April 6/7", etc.) rather than the episode numbers, presumably to not call out the fact that at least a few subsequent episodes were going to be airing out of taping order. Yeah...by doing that, you kinda called yourselves out already; just saying.]


 * April 11, 2015 (Lee {No Vacancy}, Lori {Electric Company}, Cheryse {Advance to Boardwalk}, Judi as a proxy for Carol {Ride the Rails}, Chris {Block Party}; Local Players: Emily of TN {Cash Register}, Sheila of MN {Hotels})
 * [Taped 1/2015. Has a moment that would've been far more interesting and unexpected if they hadn't spoiled it since the intro of the first episode!]

Other Countries
Because it's my namespace, plus there's a few good ones out there. :) Note that for the time being, this doesn't include:
 * The National Lottery games in the UK, partly because most of 'em were pretty much just quizzes with Lottery sponsorship (1 vs. 100, Break the Safe, etc.) but also because several (including said Break the Safe) really, really sucked.
 * Ireland's lottery games, such as the long-running Winning Streak. This said, I'm aware of one (The Big Money Game) which had a clear Goodson influence, mainly since the bonus round is Vortex.

...Although I'm looking into it. :)

Cash Bonanza (Australia, 2001)
Nine Network, Weekly: 2001 (taped at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland)

A Wild West-themed show hosted by Larry Emdur, who does his usual good job. Uses the Cash Tornado format, with a guaranteed $100,000 prize at the end. Unfortunately, per one YouTube comment on the below video, one reason the show didn't last long was because they played the same games at the same points in each show, with no variation; reminds me of Make Me A Millionaire, to be honest.

Game 1 is pretty much Grand Prix, Game 2 is electronic Rock-Paper-Scissors (what happens if each player picks a different symbol isn't explained, although it seems like that'd be a stalemate...or edited out), and Game 3 is Plinko-er, pachinko.


 * March 3, 2001 (Allen/Tracey/Margaret {Gold Diggers Derby}, Margaret Q./Kevin/Nicole {Double Quick-Draw}, Angie/Gloria/Judy {Drop the Silver Dollar}; Bonus Round Home Player: Geoff of Burleigh Waters; has commercials, including a Sale of the Century promo!)
 * [This isn't really related to anything, but it's something I noticed: the advert at 14:49 is for Rexona, an antiperspirant that pretty much puts forth "If you use our product, you can pass lie detector tests that don't check for anything other than finger sweat!"]

Wintario (Canada, 1975-90)
Global, Thursdays: May 15, 1975 - January 4, 1990 (647 episodes; originally bi-weekly, became weekly on November 29, 1979)

Traveled across Ontario, doing live draws at more places than I could count and by all indication had a lot of fun along the way, but ended because...well, I'll let the uploader of the below footage explain:

"Wintario should not have ended this way. The OLC now under a new board of directors wanted Wintario killed as they saw the game as a tory-led party game. Truth be told, the new government of Ontario used lottery money for whatever they wanted to. No longer would there be a lottery grant program and lottery funds would go into a general revenue fund. That is why Wintario could no longer travel."

There's a bit more to it, but I'll save that for when I get to the Finale. Suffice it to say that the last show, despite nearly 15 years and over 600 episodes, ended up being more about who and what was replacing Wintario than Wintario itself.

Fred Davis & Charlie Farquharson (May 15-August?, 1975)
 * May 15, 1975 (Premiere: From the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto {Part 3, Part 4})
 * [For whatever reason, the next eight Wintario draws weren't televised.]

Fred Davis & Faye Dance (October 2, 1975-August? 1980)

Bi-weekly schedule (1975-79)
 * March 1, 1979 (#100!: Hour-long episode from Bancroft {Part 3, Part 4}; first half and credits only)


 * August 16, 1979 (#112: From Winona, home of the Ontario Peach Festival {Part 3, Part 4})

Weekly schedule (began 11/29/79)
 * November 29, 1979 (#120: Debut of the weekly airings and standard format, from the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto! {Part 3, Part 4})


 * March 6, 1980 (#134: From Exhibition Place in Toronto, during Quarterama 1980 {Part 3, Part 4})
 * May 1, 1980 (#142: From Northern Secondary School in Toronto {Part 3, Part 4})

Faye Dance, interim period (August?-October 16, 1980)
 * September 18, 1980 (#162: From the Madoc & District Recreation Centre in Madoc, with Greg Beresford co-hosting {Part 3}; no fourth video, despite the titles)
 * [Greg's first show!]
 * October 9, 1980 (#165: From Midland, with Art Austin co-hosting...and he sucks {Part 3})

Faye Dance & Greg Beresford (October 23, 1980-January 4, 1990)

1981
 * August 13, 1981 (#209: From the Metro Toronto Zoo in...well, guess :P {Part 3, Part 4})
 * October 15, 1981 (#218: From Englehart {Part 3, Part 4})


 * December 24, 1981 (#228: Hour-long Christmas show from Scarborough! {Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7})


 * December 31, 1981 (#229: Hour-long New Year's show from Scarborough! {Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6})