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 July 1993, 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.

Shows are 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 what format they use. 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.

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

Considered by some to be the gold standard for lottery games, 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.

Despite the show's long run, it wasn't all that popular at the beginning, leading to low ratings for several stations and ending up on the brink of cancellation in January 1986. It ended up bouncing back, but it took some fighting to get there.

The Big Spin began with just the wheel (different from regular wheels in that a ping-pong ball rested at the bottom and landed in a spoke to award the money), the top prize changing several times for various reasons (basically, it went $2M-$3M-Jackpot-$2M-$3M; the Jackpot started at $3M and increased by $65,000 {later $25,000} per spin until won), then in 1992, as part of a slight format change (and a revamped set), the show added its first scratcher tie-in game "Whirl Win" (your standard wind tunnel filled with money). In February 1995, after the show changed hands from Alexander Media Services to Cal Image (producers of the short-lived Scramble), the Cash Tornado-style format debuted – a new qualifying game (Winner's Circle) to determine wheel spinners, more scratcher tie-in side games played for a bunch of different prizes (including a Ford Mustang and an actual house), and some players going right to the wheel via specific symbols on the show's scratcher ticket. In addition, the pachinko-based "Fantasy 5 Dream Machine" debuted, tying in to one of the terminal-based games; this would last for the remainder of the run. Mind you, these elements weren't locked to specific segments, and could be done multiple times in one show (the Winner's Circle and Dream Machine were especially prone to this).

Also, the wheel was replaced with a larger model featuring "DECISION" spaces (which offered the choice of $50,000 or another spin); the basic template would remain for the rest of the run.

In November 1998, the show revamped its set and replaced the Winner's Circle with a new qualifier, California Countdown...but this only lasted until the end of February 1999. Per this article, in March 1999 Jonathan Goodson Productions took over, with production moving from Sacramento to the now-former studios of then-PBS affiliate KCET in Los Angeles. Cal Image, whose contract to produce the show expired at the end of February, was...less than pleased; more specifically, they were pissed.

With the production change came several others: aside from the host (Jack Gallagher, generally considered to be the worst emcee of the show's run, was replaced by the well-established Pat Finn), the set was revamped again, California Countdown was replaced by California Gold (although it kept the light-up "CALIFORNIA" letters), the show was renamed Big Spin 2000 (it reverted to the standard title in January 2001), and the wheel was altered a bit to replace the "DECISION" and "DOUBLE" spaces (the latter of which had debuted with the Jackpot) with "TRIPLE" ones.

While The Big Spin was generally consistently good, for me there's two eras that don't stand up as well as the rest of the run:
 * From 1992-95 (including the two months of tryouts after Geoff left), the show had a preliminary game: players went up to a giant "scratcher" with a grid of numbered video screens and could either take $40,000, or pick three numbers; finding two "Spin" symbols allowed said player to spin the wheel, otherwise s/he ended up with $25,000. This apparently led to episodes where the wheel wasn't used at all...and when your show's called The Big Spin, you might want to have some big spinning involved; just saying.
 * For the show's last five years or so, the set became darker and smaller (based on the credits of a few shows, it seems production moved back to Sacramento), the theme changed to a pretty repetitive cue (although still not bad to listen to), California Gold was replaced with Aces High, and, oh, yeah, all the side games except the Dream Machine were removed. Granted, there weren't that many other side games left (Camelot's Riches and the Twice as Grand Prix/Weekly Payday Raceway), and as before, these elements weren't locked to specific segments (occasional shows featured three Dream Machines, followed by Aces High and the $3M Spin), but having the same three things to do in each show felt...kinda boring to me.

While they did get Randy West as announcer for that last part of the run, to my knowledge he was never really an on-camera presence, much like original announcer Charlie O'Donnell. (By comparison, second announcer Rich Hardaway had an on-camera role for at least the Anderson and Gallagher eras, while third announcer Jackie Taylor had one for pretty much her entire tenure and filled in for Maiquel at times.)

Despite the show's demise, the Lottery has retained the wheel – originally presumably used for untelevised episodes (anybody who qualified for the show post-cancellation through the remaining scratchers could opt to go this route), it sits in the lobby of the Lottery's Sacremento headquarters, and guests are invited to take a spin.

Chuck Woolery (September 14-November 18, 1985)
 * November 4, 1985 (Spinners: Rosemarie, Naomi, Jose, James, & Harry {Part 2, Part 3}; features something amazing that, at least as far as the available episodes go, only happened once)
 * 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, so a translator is brought in. Interestingly, "Spring Rain" (the Mind Readers/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)

Logo redone (began by 8/24/91)
 * August 24, 1991 (Spinners: Mary, Mike, Erwin, Hormizd, Mary Kay as a proxy for Arlene {Spin Pal: Joan}; has a few commercials, begins during Mary's interview, bad commercial edits in a few cases)
 * [Arlene had previously won $100,000 on the show.]

Set overhauled, "Scratcher" format and Whirl Wind debut (began 1992); Maiquel Suarez(-Alejo) becomes co-host (began 1993)
 * 1993-94 (First 50 seconds of an episode)

Larry Anderson (February 11, 1995-September 7, 1996; Cash Tornado-style format debuts at this point)
 * 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}, with Larry showing off a weird trick during the credits; taped from KRON with a few commercials, begins with a "24-Hour NewsCenter 4" update)

Jack Gallagher (September 14, 1996-February 27, 1999)
 * 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)
 * [Rich Hardaway is still announcer.]

Jackie Taylor becomes announcer (began 10?/98); set revamped, California Countdown replaces Winner's Circle as preliminary game, top prize increased to $3M (began 11/7?/98)
 * January 23, 1999 (Clip of Jackie plugging the Lottery's "$10 Billion for Our Schools" Sweepstakes, followed by Rudolfo playing the Dream Machine; has a partial commercial)
 * [Theme is still the same as it was on January 20, 1996; logo is still the same as it was on August 9, 1997.]

Pat Finn (March 13, 1999-January 10, 2009)

Show renamed Big Spin 2000, California Gold replaces California Countdown as preliminary game, show moves to Los Angeles (began 3/13/99)
 * April 24?, 1999 (Fame & Fortune {Mariela/Rafael/Tessa}, Dream Machine {Kerry}, California Gold; 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, 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)
 * [Second part of California Gold still has the "gold dust" format. This was changed to the standard "gold nugget" format by May 29.]


 * 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)
 * August 31, 2002 (California Gold {with a pretty rare event}, Dream Machine #1 {Raul}, Dream Machine #2 {Patricia}, Dream Machine #3 {German}, $3M Spin {Traci}; has a partial commercial)
 * November 2, 2002 (California Gold, Dream Machine #1 {Bill}, Dream Machine #2 {Gary}, Weekly Payday Raceway {Lupe/Brenda/Maria; guaranteed to give away $2,080,000!}; has commercials, including a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? promo! {alternate copy, no commercials})


 * February 22, 2003 (California Gold #1, Dream Machine {Felicidad}, California Gold #2; has commercials)

California Gold replaced by Aces High (began 11/15/03); all side games except Dream Machine removed, final set/intro/theme debut, Randy West becomes announcer (began 2004)
 * June 17, 2006 (Clip of a $1,000,000 win!)


 * February 2, 2008 (Dream Machine #1 {David}, Dream Machine #2 {Eva}, Dream Machine #3 {Terri}, Aces High)
 * February 23, 2008 (Aces High, Dream Machine {Johnny}, $3M Spin {Michael})
 * March 15, 2008 (Intro, Dream Machine playing {Luz}, and credits)
 * [Date per the California Lottery's press release archive.]
 * 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 (1993)
Unaired Pilot: taped July 18, 1993 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 four 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 pretty much identical to that of the 1993 pilots, which had been taped on July 16-17.

A ticket for the taping calls the show Lottery Cash Explosion, which suggests that the name got changed because of the Ohio Lottery's Cash Explosion, which had been airing since 1987.


 * April 5, 1994 (Sales Presentation: Onstage players are Edna {Freefall}, Bettye {Grand Prix}, and ROGER DOBKOWITZ! {Force Field})
 * [The sales presentation begins with a montage of various Goodson shows (including Classic Concentration, despite being an NBC property), followed by a montage of clips from the pilot itself.]

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.

One other thing: while the show was in production, anybody who qualified for The Big Spin through either the show's remaining scratchers or the Fantasy 5 method (buying a $5 ticket earned an entry form for a draw to play the Dream Machine) had a choice: play on a non-televised episode of The Big Spin, or be a contestant on Make Me A Millionaire.

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.]

Post-series

This is where that "play on a non-televised episode" thing comes into play, due to the remaining "Make Me A Millionaire" scratchers that had three "TV SHOW" symbols. In this case, the set is much smaller and the games use lottery machines. Notably, while Lucky Penny still uses a car price, any winners actually get $30,000.


 * Taped 1/16/11 (Clips of a Lucky Penny playing, posted by a contestant's son)
 * [According to the uploader, this was "one of the final "Make me a Millionaire" episodes".]

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.

The show originally used the Cash Tornado format, with games taken from the Illinois Instant Riches style, complete with Pot of Gold (renamed Treasure Island, and played for $500,000). One of the games used here, Steeple Chase, would later be used on The Big Spin as Camelot's Riches and The Illinois Lottery 25th Anniversary Special as Rolling Thunder.

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.]
 * Early 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)

Originally remained the same until October 11, 1997, when Sony took over production and overhauled the show into a template later adapted for Make Me A Millionaire. From what I can tell, the game order was always the same:
 * Florida Diceway (a Dice Game variant with a catapult to roll the dice)
 * Break the Piggy Bank (became Safe Cracker on Make Me A Millionaire)
 * Florida's Famous (became California Cool on Make Me A Millionaire) or Crack the Code
 * Florida's Jackpot (a seven-card version of Acey-Deucey; the contestant got $5,000 for each right call, and winning awarded a jackpot that started at $50,000 and grew by $5,000 per week until won)

The contestant selection was altered as well: while still using a wheel, it also allowed for a player to win cash before playing the onstage game. The players' names were on the wheel, and it was spun to determine who was in the running for the money. After the wheel was spun, the co-host would throw balls into the center of the wheel; these balls landed on the names, but if a ball landed on a name selected for the money, they would win whatever cash was on offer. The spins before Game 3 had $1,000,000 available, hence the "Million-Dollar" part of the title.


 * April 27, 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)
 * [Date per this article from April 29 which notes the first five winners of Lottomobile III; the names given in the article match the ones given on this episode.]

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)
WSLS, 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 boxes 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.

When the show began, 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 about mid-1992, 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.

Jeff left the show voluntarily after the August 11, 1990 show (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.

As for the show, it underwent several changes after he left: the home player elements were ousted by the end of July 1991; Lose A Turn changed its icon to "TURN" in a slashed circle sometime after about mid-1992; and 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 "The New Celebrity Ding Dang Dong", hosted by Bob Eubanks. This shot of the game board suggests that Fortune Hunt was still using the "old" Car and Lose A Turn spaces.

(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 (1989-90)

When the show began, there was a space called Wipeout (denoted by a sad face) which, if picked, kicked that contestant from the game with $1,000. On October 14, 1989, this was replaced by Lose A Turn, which simply had "Lose a Turn" added below the face.

Also early on, a second decision square was added later in the game, offering a trip. This was removed sometime in December 1989, leaving just the car.

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 (ranging from $1,500 to $10,000). This was removed on April 14, 1990, increasing the front-game amounts to compensate.

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.


 * Summer? 1989 (Seemingly a "teaser" promo for both the scratcher and the show)
 * [Jeff and Linda are present, as is the logo (albeit noticeably different) and part of the set. The game board itself seems to be structured the same, but the graphics used on the trilons look really different. This may suggest some kind of pilot presentation was done. Probably most notable is that the contestant area isn't present at all, and the POV shots don't really make sense given how the set is constructed here.]
 * September 8, 1989 (Two local news reports on the show's debut {including clips of a rehearsal game}, followed by a debut promo)
 * [The rehearsal game is Sharon/Riley/Kathy/Dave/Bob/Guy, all of whom appear to have been Lottery employees. "Sharon" in particular is Lottery Director Sharon Sharp, who eventually became a semi-regular on-air presence during the show's first year (much to Jeff's dismay, for reasons explained in the aforementioned 2015 interview).]


 * 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.]

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 to 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 replaces the Bonus Board (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)
 * [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 (200+ episodes, taped at WGN Studios in Chicago)

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 Fast Break, Home Run, and Touchdown are all different motifs of the same game, used during basketball, baseball, and football season respectively. A fourth motif, Home Stretch, was only used during the show's trip to the Arlington Race Track in 1996.

Unlike most of the early Cash Tornado-based shows, this one kept Mark Goodson's name and logo at the end until sometime in '96, when it was replaced by Jonathan's.

When the show debuted, the logo graphic had "Riche$" in red-and-white stripes, a pink border around the "Illinois Instant" sign, a fan-esque object at the top of the logo, and a green ribbon at the bottom. Sometime between late November 1995 and mid-December 1997, the logo was redone to remove the "fan", pink border, and ribbon, change "Riche$" to green-and-white stripes, and add a white border around the entire logo. This change also extended to the shirts worn by contestants.

Oh, and the theme? It's recycled from a couple of unsold Goodson pilots, specifically TKO and Body Talk.

"Knockout" bonus round (1994-95)
 * August? 1994 (Force Field {Julie}, Touchdown {Maira}, Double Dollars {Bryant}; has a Ticket Plug! {alternate copy, has some bits of commercials but video is a bit bright and a bit pixely})
 * [Mark notes that this is the first playing of Touchdown, replacing Home Run, explaining that "We used to have baseball players here, they're on strike, we got rid of 'em. Boom, they're gone! Now we got football players. Let's hope they don't go on strike sometime midseason." The MLB players' strike had started on 8/12/94 (four months into the season) and wouldn't end until 4/2/95, putting this no earlier than August 13.]
 * [By this point, the orange player in Home Run/Touchdown 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)

"Thunderball" bonus round (debuted 2/11/95)

Thunderball was played similar to Avalanche on Cash Tornado. Also at this point, Knockout became one of the rotating games and a new game called Mismatch was added to the rotation.

"Pot of Gold" bonus round (debuted Summer? 1995)
 * 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. Logo graphic is still the original style. Pot of Gold still has the current champ down near the starting position.]


 * 1995-97 (Next-to-last segment, with Bharatkumar {$100,000!} vs. returning champ Paula {Week 2 - $115,000!} in Pot of Gold)
 * [Logos on shirts are the original style. Pot of Gold has the current champ down near the starting position.]

Mark Goodson logo changed to Jonathan's (began 1996); Wrecking Ball added to game rotation (began 8/10/97); logo graphic redone (began by mid-12/97)
 * December 20?, 1997 (Wrecking Ball {Karen}, Vortex {Wilma}, Double Dollars {Emily}, with returning champ Bert {Week 2 - $35,000} {Part 2}; has a Ticket Plug!)
 * [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) and Pot of Gold has the current champ already at their proper position.]


 * February 7?, 1998 (Vortex {Renee}, Wrecking Ball {Linda}, Double Dollars {Jay as a proxy for S. Guevara}, with returning champ Chris {Week 2 - $45,000})
 * [Mark's voice is off, suggesting he was battling some sickness at this point. Lottery Update near the end of the show notes that the "Big Game" is adding Tuesday drawings to go along with the standard Friday ones; the Lottery's official history page for 1990-99 lists this as debuting 2/10/98. Bill Barber is still announcer.]

Tony Russell becomes announcer (began by 8/15/98)
 * 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.

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).]

The Illinois Lottery 25th Anniversary Special (1999)
WGN/Syndicated Special: June, 1999

Hosted by Linda Kollmeyer and Jeanne Sparrow, this special had 25 contestants competing for money. Each game was preceded by a playing of Pinball from Illinois' Luckiest: the players all picked which column they wanted to stand at, after which the CGI ball bounced down the CGI table (good lord, just use the Double Dollars/Free Fall machine or something) to determine which column of players Bill Lapp would play for as a proxy. The bonus round was a revamped, railroad-themed Pot of Gold, played pretty much the same way as it had been on Instant Riches.

As a result, the format isn't really based on the one Luckiest was using at the time, and indeed seems to have paved the way for the format change they eventually did in 2000.


 * June 1999 (Rolling Thunder, Money Machine, Splashdown, with Pot of Gold as the endgame {alternate copy... thing, slightly shorter})

Million Dollar Summer Finale (2007)
WGN Special: September 24, 2007

Hosted by Lou Canellis, this special was played by 16 people who sent in at least $30 worth of qualifying non-winning Lottery tickets. Over 16 weeks in Summer 2007, the contestants were picked for this special.

The special was somewhat bare-bones: the 16 players each picked a podium, and were then shown an amount above $50,000. Each player then decided whether to keep said amount or go for the Million, and everyone who opted to risk their money had their numbers placed in a Lottery hopper. The first number drawn won the Million for that player, while the rest left with $50,000.

As far as I know, no footage is online.

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

Syndicated Special: August 23 - 24, 2014

Another long-running "pick a number" game, originally hosted by Mark Patrick and Barbara Hobbs, with amounts ranging from $1,000-$10,000 in the front game.

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. Various other bonuses were also on the board – trips, RCA Home Entertainment packages, free Lotto Cash (the precursor to Hoosier Lotto) tickets, and the one constant bonus of 5,000 scratchers.

Originally, the Millionaire Board had three green dollar signs and a red "no dollar sign" one. The player received $50,000 for each of the first two green signs, and finding the third won the Million (the red sign ended the game). By May 19, 1990, the green signs were replaced by $50,000, $100,000, and $1,000,000, with the bailout option remaining if one of the two smaller amounts were found. 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.

On January 8, 2000, the show underwent a major revamp, coinciding with a return to original primary station WTTV (it had spent three years on rival station WNDY). The game was basically split in half, with three players per game and the winners doing the playoff. The endgame was revamped as well: nine spaces containing "$50,", "$100,", "$150,", "$250,", three "000"s, and two Stoppers; finding both Stoppers ended the round, while finding two "000"s on the first two pics won the Million. This revamp...didn't really work out, and so they changed back to the classic format in April 2002.

In 2003, Tribune bought WTTV, created a new contract with the Lottery, and moved Hoosier Millionaire to WXIN. Per this page, the partnership included Tribune plugging Hoosier Millionaire during WXIN's morning news show and throughout each day. In an effort to more obviously connect Tribune to the show, on May 31 the Lottery replaced Mark and Barbara with Cody Stark (a WXIN weatherman) and Catt Sadler (the station's entertainment reporter).

At the same time, the format was revamped. The front game remained intact, though with the money increasing slightly (all $1,000 spaces were removed, with $2,000 now the minimum and all players leaving with at least $6,000), higher-valued bonuses, and a player hitting the Double getting the option to use it at that moment or wait for a following turn. The endgame dropped the Millionaire Board in favor of a "Doubler" board, with three "Doubler" spaces, a "Tripler", and the Stoppers. The six high scores over 12 weeks completed in a playoff for the Million.

I'm kinda conflicted on this format. While it works out well from a money standpoint, making sure the Lottery didn't have the high risk of handing out a million dollars every freaking week, it also means viewers could skip months of shows just to get to the week they're playing for the Million...and that probably showed in the ratings.

Presumably in an effort to cut corners further, on October 23, 2004 Cody was replaced by longtime series announcer Tony Lamont, who had also filled in for Mark and Cody at times. I have no idea if somebody replaced Tony as announcer, or he and/or Catt shared duties in introducing each week's players.

Mark and Barbara returned for the 25th-Anniversary Special in 2014, which also served as a kind of finale as well as reinstating the classic format. 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 5/19/90)
 * May 26, 1990 (Benjamin/Jeff/Bruce/Edith/Julie/Veneda)
 * [Intro begins with a clip of Vivi? winning the Million last week.]
 * 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.]


 * January 30, 1993 (William S./Tony/Marie/William P./William F./Marvin)
 * March 20, 1993 (Joe/Susan/Brad/Hal/Brenda/Don, with Mark and Barbara getting a bunch of gifts from the contestants!)
 * [Hal is the show's fourth repeat contestant, having previously played on 8/11/90. Mark notes that there have been 75 Hoosier Millionaires thus far.]

"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)

Scream for Millions (Maryland, 1999)
WJZ/Syndicated Special: June 18, 1999

Hosted by Doug Davidson and Deidre Johnson, and played pretty much like Flamingo Fortune's second format. The major difference is that the 50 contestants here got on by sending in least $5 worth of non-winning Lottery tickets purchased between April 15 and May 27, followed by a set of three drawings to determine who would be on the show. The other major difference was that the Million was guaranteed to be given away, being a special and all.

The special was co-sponsored by Six Flags America, and was partly used to promote the amusement park's then-new location in Largo.

As far as I know, no footage is online.

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 7, 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."]

Road to Riches (1996-2000)
WDIV, Weekly: September 14, 1996 - September 9, 2000

Still hosted by Chuck and Aggie, but now with Beth McLeod filling in for the latter at times. Players still pick from a board of seven, but now said board comprises different modes of transportation (airplane, boat, train, horse, bicycle, bus, and car). As before, the first to $1,000 without going over (or closest to it when time runs out) plays the Vault Game for up to $50,000.

Per the state's official Lottery history page, the show was canned "due to a significant drop in audience ratings and the show becoming an ineffective marketing tool".

As far as I know, there's no footage online.

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 – probably because there's a lot of money guaranteed to be given away.

For whatever reason, the games aren't given names, but since they're mostly from other Cash Tornado-based shows I've used those names in the below listings. For the games that aren't from other shows, I've made up names based on how they're played.

Also, the audience isn't present for nearly all of the final game, and only come back in once the final contestant picks their first card. They say it's because "security is tight", but it's clearly so the audience doesn't know what the current high number is and hence can't tell the contestants.

Aside from the above and below, I know of four other episodes: February 10, 2010; June 4, 2010; May 19, 2011; and October 6, 2011. From what I gather, the show got a bit cheaper as time went on: the prizes were all cut in half, Grand Prix was tossed out entirely, and only three people (previously five) played Highest Number Wins.

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.


 * October 1, 2010 (#4: Grand Prix {Rita/Jani/J.P.}, Wrecking Ball {Athena/Aaron/Michael}, Freefall {Monika/Nameer/Aleandjro?}, High Hand {winners of Freefall}, Highest Number Wins {Beverly/Mia/Joseph/Jean/Beth} {Part 3, Part 4})


 * 2011? (Audience warmup by David Taylor {uploaded 8/8/12})
 * [Per Taylor, who uploaded this: "I was the audience warmup in Detroit for seven cycles of the show, with two 200+ audiences from 10am to 5pm. Lot's of fun, high energy, and great people!"]


 * March 8, 2012 (Finale: Wrecking Ball {Shirley/Joe?/Debbie}, Freefall {Daniel/Renee/David}, High Hand {winners of Freefall}, Highest Number Wins {Larry/Wanda/Joe}; taped from WNEM, audio/video is a bit off {alternate copy of final game, "shaky-cam" upload, and given this is shot by one of the players at what seems to be a bar there's also some talking over the footage})

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 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. And then it replaced Make Me Rich, which 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 money-all-over-the-place 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 (or is willing to do) for a home-grown game show.

At least the state was involved with Monopoly Millionaires' Club while it was on the air, but since that show's gone they're again left with...this.


 * September 10, 2012 (Debut promo, showing a clip of the Make Me Rich Finale; 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)
 * September 22, 2015 (Behind-the-scenes look at #4 {Kevin/Kathleen/Jeff}, again showing all the work that goes into this...thing)

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).


 * 1996-2002 (Clips of Rick's hosting and interactions with several contestants, uploaded by Tamblyn himself)
 * April 22, 2000 (9 Ball {Mike/Thelma/Stacey}, Crazy 8s {Darren/Mike/Tim}, with returning champ Bob {Week 3 - $72,698!} {Part 2}; has commercials)
 * September 23, 2000 (#00-245 {taped 9/12/00}: 9 Ball {Alan/Shirley/Mary}, Crazy 8s {Shane/Nancy/Jim}, with returning champ Kathy {Week 3 - $62,382}; studio master with slate!)

NY Wired (New York, 1997-99)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 4, 1997 - June 13, 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 – three players are given a survey question posed to New Yorkers and three possible answers, and must buzz in and guess which answer was #1. First to three points plays one of your standard Cash Tornado-style games.

The second round, with the two remaining players, has the studio audience vote on one of two choices. The players take turns answering said questions, and first to three points (later two) plays another Cash Tornado-style game.

Any winnings are shared between the player and certain members of the audience, as well as a nominated school. Season 1 split the money between the player, audience, and school; Season 2 just gave the school $5,000.

Originally, the maximum payoff for each game was a Jackpot which started at $60,000 and increased by the amount earned in each game prior to a loss or bailout. Season 2 dropped the starting point to $25,000.

Janice Huff, the show's original host, was also WNBC's weather forecaster. She was replaced by WNYW on-air personality Cheryl Washington when the show moved to said station in 1998.

Janice Huff (1997-98)
 * November 1, 1997 (#5: Peter/Christine/John {Part 3}; Games: Niagara, Saratoga {Jackpot starts at $393,000}; taped from WNBC, with two commercials)
 * [One promo is for the debut of 4 Stories, tonight at 7:30. Per this page excerpting an article from November 3, said show debuted "Saturday night".]

Round 2 now played to two points (began by 8/15/98)
 * August 15, 1998 (Marcia/Ken/Mary; Games: Skyscraper, Niagara {Jackpot starts at $220,000}; part of intro and credits missing, audio/video slightly out-of-sync)
 * [One of Janice's last episodes.]

Cheryl Washington (1998-99)
 * September? 1998 (Cheryl's Debut: Ray/Judy/Edward {Part 3}; Games: Treasure Quest, Niagara {Jackpot starts at $25,000}; taped from WNYW)
 * [Partial promo at the beginning is for an all-new Ally McBeal, airing tomorrow night at 9pm. That show's second season began 9/14/98, but the promo doesn't use "season premiere", making this no earlier than 9/20 (and also indicates that NY Wired moved from Saturdays to Sundays with the shift to WNYW).]

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.

The set also changed several times as well, eventually ditching the trilons and light-up board in favor of a kinda lamer-looking all-digital layout. Regardless, Cash Explosion continued on. As the Barrett/Duda era went on, however, 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)

When the show debuted, it used a very different format with seven players competing to be the first up a "mountain". Each contestant in turn picked a card ranging from "-1" to "3", then moved that many spaces. Hitting the top by exact count awarded $50,000. There were also bonus spaces which, if landed on, gave that player the option to drop out of the game with a car (and if they did, all other bonus squares were voided).

Later on, things were altered so each player began with $1,000, with moves adding or taking away $50 (upped to $100 by January 9, 1988) per space. Reaching the top augmented the winner's total to $50,000, in which case any remaining players got the option to give up whatever money they ended the game with to spin a wheel for cash amounts ranging from $500-$5,000.

Original format, second iteration (began 1987, most likely); moving award/penalty upped to $100 (began by 1/9/88)

Paul Tapie & Sharon Bicknell (1988-2000/2000-04)

The standard format, which debuted in 1989, provided a nice twist on the then-standard "pick boxes for money" format: each player stopped the randomly flashing column (D, O, U, B, L, or E), then picked a row (P, L, A, or Y). Two "Double" squares were hidden on the board; finding one awards another turn for double stakes, if that pick was the other "Double", they'd get a third pick for quadruple stakes. After three sets of turns, the player in the lead got their score doubled and went on to the Championship Round. The bonus squares were retained, at first worth a car (originally also including the bailout option) but later changed to $25,000. The show also had, for most of the 1990s, a bonus of a college scholarship worth $20,000.

When the standard format debuted, the winners of the two preliminary games (and, usually, a returning champion) each spun wheels to come close to a number (drawn before the show) without going over, with the winner getting the bump to $50,000. The difference here was the addition of returning champs, where a second win doubled their total to $100,000 and a third win sent them away with a total of $200,000.

In 1992, the Showcase Showdown-esque endgame was replaced by the much, much less-fun-to-watch "Match 3": each player's name appeared three times on the 9-square board. The players took turns picking numbers, and the first person who had all three of their spaces revealed won the money.

Standard front-game format, Showcase Showdown-esque Championship Round (debuted 1989)
 * 1989 (Game 1: Bonnie/?/?/?; Game 2: Karen/Jerry/Jim/John {aka "J.R."}, with returning champ Tommy going for the $200,000 top prize!; montage, focused around John)
 * [Championship Round has the three colored wheels.]
 * Late 1989 (WOWK promo, with a bunch of clips)
 * [Clips include a few with the "three wheels" Championship Round. The Wheel of Fortune promo preceding this is pretty much all Season 7 (1989-90) clips.]


 * November? 1989 (Game 1: Sylvia/?/?/?; Game 2: Eric/Bill/Rodney/Michael {Part 2}, with returning champ Ken going for $100,000!; has commercials, begins at Game 2, ends shortly after Championship Round)
 * [Car: 1990 Pontiac Sunbird LE convertible ($17,650). Sharon notes that Bill was on the show last year. Championship Round has the single wheel that all three players spin. One commercial is for the "new" Disney/MGM Studios theme park (opened 5/1/89); another, right before Part 2 ends, is for a November "Truck Month" at a local Ford dealership.]

"Match 3" Championship Round (debuted 2/92); set becomes black and white with purple on the game board and squares all around (began by the end of 1994)
 * November 1996 (Close of a Thanksgiving show)
 * 1998? (Game 1: Tim/Sabra/?/?; Game 2: ?/?/?/?; first 30 seconds of Game 1)
 * May 9, 1998 (Game 1: Brian/Perl/Michael/Jerry; Game 2: Carol/Ethel/Mary Ann/Gregg, with returning champ Albert going for $100,000!; has commercials, ends just after Championship Round segment)
 * [Bob Becker fills in as announcer.]
 * October 12, 2002 (Intro, with lots of clips!)

Leilani Barrett & Michelle Duda (2004-06)

With Paul and Sharon gone, the show fell somewhat in quality (Mike Klauss calls this duo "Leilani Voice" and "Michelle Hair", and I can't say I disagree), although by all indication it remained popular.

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.

Old front-game and Match 3 boards (2007-09)

The show's return also resulted in a new set...which rather obviously copied from the then-current Jeopardy! set.

Front-game board increased to 36 spaces, three cash bonuses added to "Match 3" board (began 10/3/09)

The "Double Play" suffix was dropped at this point, bringing several changes: the board was increased to 36 spaces, which basically meant it added three more columns to the board and used C-A-S-H and E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N for the rows and column headers respectively. Also, the number of special spaces was upped from three to nine, adding two $10,000 bonuses and four more Double squares (prior to the format change, there was only one bonus square worth $25,000); further, finding a Double now results in the player picking a letter from one of the columns, getting an amount from $2,000-$5,000 which is then doubled.

At the same time, Match 3 was redone somewhat: three cash bonuses were added (two $10,000 and one $5,000), making a new total of 12 spaces; finding a bonus gives that player said cash and ends their turn. More importantly, champions could now stay on until defeated – as before, winning once augmented your money to $50,000, the second added another $50,000, and the third added $100,000 (not including any bonuses picked up along the way). Big difference is, every win after this added another $100,000 to your total.

Match 3 renamed "Cash Challenge" (began 2012)

"Game Changer" spaces added to Round 3 (began 6/28/14)

The Oklahoma Lottery Game Show (2007-08)
KOCB, Weekly?: October 13, 2007 - October 4, 2008

Hosted by Brad Morris and Amber Dickinson, this Sande Stewart show was somewhat similar to Stewart's previous Lottery game show Fun & Fortune – especially since the latter's Crazy 8s became the former's Lucky 8s, although the board in this case had just 18 spaces.

As far as I know, no footage is online.

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

Hosted by Leonard Nixon, and taped at KECH (which 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. Per this article, on August 17, 1985 the show began doing Spin Pal drawings.

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.]

Pennsylvania Lottery 25th Anniversary Game Show (1997)
Syndicated Special: March 8, 1997

Hosted by Dick Clark and Gigi Gordon, this one-time Jonathan Goodson show was pretty much identical to Illinois Instant Riches, with the bonus of vintage Lottery promos being aired during the special.

As far as I know, no footage is online.

Wisconsin Lottery Money Game (1989?-2003)
''Syndicated, Weekly: 1989? - December, 2003''

Originally had 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 Laurie Manetti 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.

From what I can tell, per this forum post, the show ended due to bad timeslots.

Mark Johnson & Laurie Manetti
 * 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 7, 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, The Home Stretch {Part 2}; Local Player: Mary Louise of WV {alternate copy of Zero Gravity playing})

Powerball Instant Millionaire (2002-04)
Syndicated, Weekly: October 5, 2002 - September 24, 2004 (104 episodes, taped through June 30, 2004)

Now produced by Sande Stewart, with Todd Newton hosting. From what I've found, the episode numbering continues from Powerball: The Game Show, as the first and last episodes were #301 and #452 respectively.

Season 1 (2002-03)

For all episodes this season, only two games were played per show: Crazy 8s and High Rollers.


 * Late 2002 (Louisana Lottery promo for the scratcher, second-chance drawings, and game show, with Todd Newton!)


 * Taped 2/03 (Clip of a male contestant {$8,868} going for the Million! {alternate copy, more complete but is a "shaky-cam" upload with low audio})
 * [captainmarvel99, on the shorter video: "I WAS THERE !! I was also a contestant on Powerball Millionaire and was in the audience waiting for my episode to tape [...] Filmed at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas in February 2003.﻿"]

Season 2 (began 10/4/03)

Added Blackjack, although it seems to have been replaced by Wild Cards by March 12, 2004.


 * 2004 (Full last segment, with Carol {$3,688} going for the Million!)

Monopoly Millionaires' Club (2015-16)
Syndicated, Weekly: March 28, 2015 - March 19, 2016 (32 episodes, taped at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino {Season 1}/Bally's Las Vegas hotel {Season 2}, both in Las Vegas)

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), despite that hurdle the show's good and to not much surprise uses the Cash Tornado style of proceedings with at least eight games in the rotation (all played for $100,000); notably, nearly all of said games use physical props, and I can't fault a show in 2015 for doing that.

Billy Gardell is fine as a first-time host, although Todd Newton being relegated to the side games (at least three in the rotation, all played for $10,000) just feels off to me. The credits list Todd as co-host, but co-hosts tend to be on the same set.

Thing is, 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). 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, 2015, but these were quietly pulled (along with their website page on the show and any mentions of GSN on the show's website) because of a rule against airing lottery shows in states that don't have their own lottery (such as Nevada) as well as in states whose lotteries aren't participating in regional programs like this (such as Virginia).

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.

A NOTE ON THE UPLOADS:
 * Season 1: The first two episodes were uploaded by the official YouTube channel under their show numbers, but shortly after #102 was put up the titles were changed to reflect the Monday/Tuesday airdates ("March 30/31", "April 6/7", etc.), presumably to not call out the fact that at least a few subsequent episodes were going to be airing out of taping order (and by doing so called themselves out). In late May or early June 2015, they were renamed again to reflect the weekend airdates ("March 28/29", "April 4/5", etc.), and starting around June 20 were renamed again to reflect their Summertime airings.
 * Season 2: Most of the season's episodes were renamed to reflect their repeat airings.
 * The first five episodes (September 12-October 10) were rerun between November 28 and December 26, 2015. This was followed by the November 7 and 21 shows on January 2 and 23, 2016.
 * The October 17 show was reaired on February 6, the October 24-31 shows were reshown March 26-April 2, the November 14 show was reshown on April 9, and the January 9, 16, and 30 shows were reaired from April 16-30.
 * Also of note: the February 20, 2016 show was originally uploaded with the title "EP. 128", indicating that they considered the entire run to be one season. I'm...not sure how to feel about that.

Season 1 (March 28-June 13 [September 5], 2015)

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), the money amounts below the bulbs were now printed signs (previously lights), and the red bulb now had "BlackOut" below it (previously blank); Community Chest got numbers on the front of its podiums; and the method of determining who plays for the Million was thankfully less drawn out.

Originally, "GO For A Million" began with those who won money at center stage. Starting with the lowest winner, Billy asked each player whether s/he wanted to play the bonus game, to which the lights below them flashed "GO" or "NO". The player who was willing to risk the most played the bonus game, and in the event of a tie a random selection was done to determine who would play (read: the "GO" moved from player to player for a bit). This was changed at the same time as the above alterations to have Billy start with the biggest winner and ask each player (now sitting at their sections) whether they want to go for the Million, with the players responding verbally.

Original Electric Company setup; massively drawn-out method of determining who plays for the Million
 * March 28, 2015 (#101/Premiere: Waltriessa as a proxy for Pawan {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; reran 6/20/15.]


 * 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; reran 6/27/15.]
 * 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; reran 7/4/15. 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!]
 * April 18, 2015 (Patricia as a proxy for Cherry {Park-It}, Nelson as a proxy for Nilda {Block Party}, Jack {Community Chest}, Paula {Electric Company}, Bill {No Vacancy}; Local Players: Kerry of NH {Cash Register}, John of FL {Hotels})
 * [Taped 1/2015; reran 7/11/15.]


 * May 2, 2015 (Bacilio {No Vacancy}, Keshauna {Electric Company}, Nancy {Park-It}, Bob {Advance to Boardwalk}, Kevin {Community Chest}; Local Players: William of MN {Cash Register}, Eileen of PA {Money Bags})
 * [Taped 1/2015; reran 7/25/15.]
 * May 9, 2015 (Lisa {Ride the Rails}, Timothy {Block Party}, Matthew as a proxy for Phillip {Community Chest}, Susan {Electric Company}, Tracy {Park It}; Local Players: Fred of MD {Cash Register}, Timberley of TN {Money Bags})
 * [Taped 1/2015; reran 8/1/15. Electric Company still has its original appearance; Community Chest still has no numbers on its podiums; still has the original method to determine who goes for the Million.]

Electric Company visually altered (see above); much faster method of determining who plays for the Million
 * April 25, 2015 (Crystal {No Vacancy}, Dante (Bank Buster}, Rick {Park-It}, Walter {Electric Company}, Carlyle {Community Chest}; Local Players: Stephen of MO {Money Bags}, Janet of NJ {Hotels})
 * [Taped 2/2015; reran 7/18/15.]


 * May 16, 2015 (Joe {Ride the Rails}, Lottie {Advance to Boardwalk}, a different Joe {No Vacancy}, Pam {Bank Buster}, Charles {Park It}; Local Players: Tammy of PA {Money Bags}, Sherman of DC {Cash Register})
 * [Reran 8/8/15.]
 * May 23, 2015 (Gary {Park It}, Karen {Bank Buster}, Judy {Ride the Rails}, Tim {Community Chest}, Nina as a proxy for Daniel {No Vacancy}; Local Players: Jeremy of ME {Hotels}, Cherly of FL {Money Bags})
 * [Reran 8/15/15.]

Season 2 (September 12, 2015-March 19 [April 30], 2016)

With a new season came a shorter runtime (from 60 to 30 minutes), which in turn caused various format changes: only three main games were played per show (not counting the bonus round), all slightly altered to be a bit faster-paced. Most notably, Community Chest's goal was altered to accumulating $50,000 to get the $100,000, with the highest base amount being $6,000.

The bonus game was also altered in a few ways: Free Parking now has a "lose a roll" fourth meter instead of an "EXPIRED" one, while Luxury Tax ends the game and halves your bankroll (previously, it only took half or all of your stash, which if you still had a roll left didn't exactly matter). In other words, the "once around the board" objective is now a bit harder.

Overall, even though it's getting the same runtime and number of games as many of the Cash Tornado-based shows before it, the show now feels a bit too quick and abrupt. This is probably because of the increase in commercial time since the 1990s.

While MMC was shopped around for daily syndication at NATPE 2016 (which would've made it, by all indication, the first US lottery game show to go daily), on February 9 it was announced that not only would those plans not be going forward, the show as a whole was canned with the last episode to air on April 30. Sagging ticket sales led to several states dropping the promotion, "making continuing the game, and thus the TV show, economically unsustainable." Yeah, turns out the last episode actually aired on March 19, with the last six weeks of the run being (surprise, surprise) repeats.

2015

Repeats aired from November 28 through December 26.

2016

Repeats aired on January 2 and 23, February 6, and March 26 through April 30.

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: March 3 - July 7, 2001 (19 episodes, taped at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland)

I'm pretty sure this one's a novelty: namely, Cash Tornado with a Wild West theme, hosted by Larry Emdur. Much like Powerball: The Game Show, Cash Bonanza was a joint effort between the five then-current Australian Lotteries, the Nine Network, and Grundy Television; indeed, an article during the show's run noted that it was "only" the second time Lotteries from different jurisdictions came together for a TV show based on an instant ticket, namedropping Powerball as the first.

One big drawback is that, like Make Me A Millionaire, the same games were played at the same points in each show with no variation – Game 1 is Gold Diggers Derby, pretty much a reskinned Grand Prix; Game 2, Double Quick-Draw, 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, Drop the Silver Dollar, is Plinko-er, pachinko.

The final game has the biggest onstage winner of the night competing against a home viewer playing via phone: the studio player picks from a video wall of celebs to determine who will pick first, after which the two players alternate picking celebs until somebody finds the one who's holding the $100,000 check. It's kinda like the Sale of the Century Fame Game board (the celebs all hide prizes or cash) mixed with how the celebs appeared on Scattergories (pretaped videos played back at the proper moments).

I'm not 100% sure why the show ended, although it was reported that the Lotteries, Nine, and Grundy had a 19-week commitment and opted not to extend it. Per a comment by Tubewings on the full episode upload below, one reason was the aforementioned "same games at the same points every week" thing; the lack of variety (and this is my speculation, not his) probably led to lower ratings and ticket sales, hence why the show wasn't renewed.

Still, it's nonetheless a pretty unique way to go about your standard Cash Tornado-style business, and Larry's great as always.


 * March 3, 2001 (Premiere: 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!)
 * [The opening comments by Larry and the announcer seem to suggest this is the debut, plus an article I found notes that the debut "was to air" February 24, suggesting it was pushed back a week. Also, 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!"]
 * Early July 2001 (Promo for the "Series Final", aka "the Finale", airing on Saturday)

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. Episodes were generally 30 minutes long, but they sometimes did hour-long shows.

The show 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})

1982
 * February 11, 1982 (#235: Hour-long "Jumbo Bonus Draws" episode from Brampton, with the introduction of the show's mascot "Winnie the Wintario Bear" {Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7})
 * [Has a very expectant Faye.]

1983
 * February 10, 1983 (#287: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode, from North Hastings High School in Bancroft {Parts 3, 4, and 5})
 * May 11, 1983 (#300!: From the Hearst Recreation Centre in...well, guess :P {Part 3})


 * June 23, 1983 (#306: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode, from the Oakes Garden Theatre at Niagra Falls {Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6})

1984
 * March 1, 1984 (#342: From Cloyne, an audience member wins $100,000 – and she's only 13!; clip only)
 * [Faye notes that she's been with the show for eight-and-a-half years.]


 * April 12, 1984 (#348: From the St. Lawrence College, in Cornwall {Part 3, Part 4}; raw feed from Global, with predraw!)
 * [The set here is pretty much the final structure, although it was repainted several times over the next five-and-a-half years.]
 * April 26, 1984 (#350: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode from the Minaki Lodge, near Kenora {Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7})


 * May 17, 1984 (#353: From Sudbury's Science North {Part 3})
 * [Dated "March 17, 1984" by the uploader. Per said uploader, "Notice how the Win Fall is no longer on the show. The Win fall came back weeks later after Wintario players demanded their two-digit Win Fall number back."]
 * June 14, 1984 (#357: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode from the M-S Chee-Chee-Maun Ferry, docked at Tobermory {Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6})


 * July 5, 1984 (#360: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode from Windsor, to close out the International Freedom Festival {Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7}; raw feed from Global!)
 * July 26, 1984 (#363: Hour-long "Yours to Discover Ontario" episode, from the Mike Rodden Arena in Mattawa {Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6})


 * August 16, 1984 (#366: The pre-draw show, from Lansdowne Park in Ottawa)
 * September 13, 1984 (#370: A portion of Greg's audience warmup, from the Woodville & District Community Centre in Woodville)
 * December 20, 1984 (#384: Special Christmas show, from the Westin Hotel in Toronto! {Part 3, Part 4})

1985
 * January 3, 1985 (From Picton, a bit of a mistake by one of the Lottery staffers; clip only)
 * May 30, 1985 (#407: From the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, celebrating "10 Winning Years" of the Ontario Lottery Corporation! {Parts 3, 4, and 5})


 * August 15, 1985 (From the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto; first segment only)
 * December 12, 1985 (#435: Special hour-long "Wintario & Grand Prix Sweeps" show, from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre! {Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6})
 * [This kind of special was done every six months or so.]

1986
 * March 20, 1986 (#449: From Etobicoke, Toronto {Parts 3, 4, and 5}; includes the pre-draw show!)
 * [Still has the "old" intro and 1984 set design.]


 * September 25, 1986 (#467: From Creemore, a live draw rehearsal with no audience and some fun moments!)
 * [Listed as #476 by the uploader (I suspect the numbers were just transposed). By this point, the final intro and theme have been introduced, as well as the rainbow set.]
 * October 2, 1986 (#468: From Minden, a live draw rehearsal with no audience and some fun moments!)

1987
 * March 12, 1987 (#500!: From the Campbellford District High School in...well, guess :P {Part 3})


 * May 7, 1987 (#508: From the Hensall & District Community Centre, with Sandy Hoyt filling in for Greg {Part 3})
 * July 9, 1987 (#517: From Marineland, at Niagra Falls {Part 3})

1988
 * March 17, 1988 (#553: From Cannington; hosts' opening podium comments and first draw only)

1989-90
 * June 1, 1989 (#616: From the Ontario Agricultural Museum in Milton {Part 3, Part 4})


 * October 4, 1989 (#634: From Dunnville {Part 3})
 * October 11, 1989 (#635: From Manitouwadge {Part 3})
 * October 25, 1989 (#637: From the Bowmanville High School in...well, guess. :P {Part 3})
 * [Week 1 of the "Wintario Aloha Bonus Draws".]


 * January 4, 1990 (#647/Finale: From Sault Ste. Marie, with the Ontario Lottery Corporation president showing up to make the end of the show all about him {Part 3})
 * [The OLC president's first appearance is pre-taped, consisting of some pretty clearly edited remarks and him basically singing the praises of Wintarios replacement, Ontario Lottery Live. The hosts of said new show then appear in a pre-taped message, and come off as extremely' fake in the process. Per the uploader, "This final draw from "The Soo" totally missed the mark on the impact Wintario really had on Ontario and its people. The end of the show was more about OLC's president than about Wintario, or Faye or Greg."]