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Host
Michael Burger
Announcer
Marc Summers
Taped
Late Night Lotto Logo
Unsold Pilot for Daily Syndication: 1987
Packagers
Reg Grundy Productions
Gaylord Production Co.

"Write this number down, 1-2-1-2-8-2-6-5-9-0-0. Start calling now because you at home could win $16,000 tonight on Late Night Lotto! And now, please welcome your host on Late Night Lotto, Michael Burger!"

Late Night Lotto was a proposed live game show for late-night syndication that ultimately never sold which had a mixed combination of Wheel of Fortune, Blockbusters & Password Plus/Super Password which in turn is similar to the unsold Goodson-produced game show pilot On a Roll. Per the trade ads below, the show was to debut on September 14, 1987.

Gameplay[]

Four contestants battled it out in a game of questions, answers and puzzles.

To start, the players were shown a Hangman-like puzzle with 12 letters missing. The answer to that puzzle talked about a person, place or thing. The object of the game was not necessarily to solve the puzzle, but to guess what it was talking about. To help the players, they were shown the 12 missing letters on a monitor off stage. To gain control of the puzzle, contestants had to buzz-in and answer a question, to which the answer started with the chosen letter. Answering the question correctly earned control, missing the question gave the opponents a chance to steal, and only two players could answer each question. If nobody answered the question correctly was thrown out and play went on from there. Either way, the chosen missing letter would be revealed in its spot. When controlling the puzzle, the player had to decide whether to guess the subject or choose another letter and go to another question. An incorrect solve had the controlling player be eliminated from the next question. Guessing the subject correctly won the round and money for it.

Three puzzles were played each show. In the first two rounds, the contestants chose the letters, while in the final round, the letters were chosen at random from a container. The first puzzle was worth $100, the second puzzle, $200 and the last puzzle, $300. The player with the most money won the game.

Home Viewer Contest[]

Supposedly, the home viewers got in on the fun by calling a telephone number. Each time a round was won, the viewer who chose the round's winner made the call and won $100, plus a chance to win the amount money shown in front of the player by answering a question correctly.

Bonus Round[]

The winning contestant went on to play the bonus round against a randomly selected home viewer for an increasing jackpot which started at $5,000 and grew by $1,000 per night until it was won.

To start, one last puzzle was shown but with the solution entirely blanked out, and the spaces were marked with numbers. The home viewer began by selecting three numbers to reveal and then being given the option to solve the puzzle. Then after that if there was no puzzle guess, play went back and forth for a total of 10 turns (five per player). The first player to guess the correct subject won the jackpot.

Trade Ads[]

YouTube Links[]

Clips of the Pilot
Full Pilot

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