Cash Explosion
Encyclopedia
Cash Explosion, known as Cash Explosion Double Play from 1989 until 2006, is an official Ohio Lottery
Ohio Lottery
The Ohio Lottery is run by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Its games include Pick 3 and Pick 4 , Rolling Cash 5, Ten-OH!, Keno, Classic Lotto, Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch tickets. The marketing slogan is "Take a chance on education. Odds are, you'll have fun!" In 1973, the creation of the...

 TV game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

, which is broadcast on television stations throughout Ohio. The show originated in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 and is now taped by Mills James Productions
Mills James
Mills James is a creative media production company based in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio that creates and produces broadcast programming and documentaries, corporate and institutional video and film projects, infomercials, television commercials, web and interactive projects and corporate meetings...

 in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

.

Cash Explosion originally aired from February 7, 1987 to September 30, 2006, at which point the Ohio Lottery replaced it with Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich
Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich
Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich was an Ohio Lottery TV game show, produced in Columbus and broadcast on twelve television stations in Ohio. It debuted on October 7, 2006 and ran until September 29, 2007, replacing for that period of time the Ohio Lottery's Cash Explosion Double Play...

. However, slumping ticket sales and poor ratings prompted the return of the Cash Explosion format a year later, on October 6, 2007, and it has remained on the air since. Cash Explosion is the second longest-running state lottery based game show (behind California's The Big Spin
The Big Spin
The Big Spin is the California Lottery's first television game show. Originally a Fred Tatashore production, it was later an Alexander Media Services production, followed by a production of Cal Image, and then finally a Jonathan Goodson Production....

, which ended its run on January 10, 2009, after 23 years and 1,213 episodes). As of July 3, 2010, Cash Explosion is the only weekly lottery game show airing in the U.S. (after the cancellation of California's Make Me a Millionaire
Make Me a Millionaire
Make Me a Millionaire is the second television game show of the California Lottery, having replaced The Big Spin on January 17, 2009. Originally contracted for a four-year run, the Lottery cancelled the show after eighteen months, with its last episode telecast on July 3, 2010...

), and one of only two lottery game shows still producing new episodes (the other being Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

's Make Me Rich
Make Me Rich
Make Me Rich is a Michigan Lottery game show filmed in Detroit, hosted by Brady Bunch star Christopher Knight and co-hosted by Beth McLeod. The show is produced by Jonathan Goodson. Unlike other lottery game shows, the program airs on a quarterly schedule instead of weekly...

).

Hosts

Bob Grossi (then a weather anchor at WBNS-10TV
WBNS-TV
WBNS-TV, channel 10, is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The station is an affiliate of the CBS Television Network and is owned by the Dispatch Broadcast Group, a subsidiary of the Columbus Dispatch, along with WBNS radio...

 in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

) was the original host, and was replaced in 1988 by Paul Tapié. Tapié lasted until 2000, when Mike Armstrong took over. After a few months, Armstrong was replaced, again by Tapié, who stayed until February 2004. Sharon Bicknell was the co-host from the beginning until February 2004. Michelle Duda and Leilani Barrett took over as hosts in February 2004, and remained through the end of the first run. Regular lottery drawers Karen Harris (who has since retired) and Bob Becker substituted on various occasions. John E. Douglas (Cleveland) has the longest run as the "off stage announcer" from 1987 until 2006.

Following its October 2007 return, David McCreary, who had previously hosted Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich, became the new host with Bicknell returning, and newcomer Cherie McClain also joining the cast.

Barb McCann was Cash Explosion's Special Correspondent from 2007–2008. McCann won a contest during the run of Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich in which viewers voted on their favorite co-host among those auditioning.

First round

Seven contestants, each of whom submitted a Cash Explosion ticket with three matching "ENTRY" symbols, competed in a race to reach the top of an eleven step pyramid in order to win $50,000. The losing contestants were each given $1,000.

Each contestant had a box of cards in front of them, numbered -2 to 3, with no 0 cards. On their turn each contestant drew a card, then moved up or down the pyramid by the number of spaces indicated. The first person to land on the final square by exact count won $50,000. If a contestant returned to the start line at any point in the game, or if they drew two negative value cards consecutively, they were eliminated from the game.

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

Toward the end of this format, each contestant was staked $1,000. For each legitimate move up or down the track, the contestant won/lost $50 (i.e., a "2" was worth $100 in addition to moving up the track 2 spaces; a "-2" decreased their score by $100). Still later, moving up or down was worth $100 per move. Reaching the goal augmented the contestant's total to $50,000, while the others could keep their cash or trade it away for a spin of the wheel in the second round. Those eliminated by penalty still received $1,000 just for playing.

Second round

The contestants who had not been eliminated during the course of the game, whether by choice (with the bonus squares) or by penalty, were eligible to trade their winnings and spin a wheel containing various amounts of cash (originally cash and/or prizes). The odds of spinning something worth more than $1,000 were high, so contestants often spun the wheel.

Cash Explosion Double Play (1989–2009)

Four people competed in the Semi-Final Game. The contestants faced a 24-space game board with six columns of four rows. The columns were labeled D-O-U-B-L-E and the rows labeled P-L-A-Y. On a contestant's turn, the columns randomly flashed and the contestant pressed their button to stop the lights on a column, then picked one of the four rows in that column, winning whatever money was behind the space represented by that combination.

The values on the board ranged from $1,000 and $3,200. Also on the board were two spaces marked "Double". If chosen, the contestant received another turn and whatever they land on was doubled; if the second pick was a "Double", the player received a third turn, quadrupling the money found. The third special square was a "Bonus" card, which not only contained a money amount, but also a bonus prize (originally a new car, later $25,000). Originally the contestant had to choose whether he or she wanted the bonus (dropping out of further play if they took it) or the money. Under this rule, the show gained national coverage in 1990 when contestant Pamela Richards turned down a $17,600 Honda Accord because she was union. However, by 1993 contestants were simply awarded both the cash award and the car.

From 2000–2004, a second bonus prize was added to the board featuring four years of prepaid tuition at any four-year college or university in Ohio, along with extra cash added to make the prize worth $20,000. This was later replaced with Ohio Lottery tickets attached to a dollar amount. In all cases, like the standard Bonus card, the prize value was not added to the score, but the additional dollar amount hidden behind the bonus card was.

The contestant in the lead after each had three turns won the game, had their score doubled (excluding bonuses), and advanced to the Championship Game. All other contestants left the game with whatever they had won.

In the event of a tie for the lead after three rounds, a tiebreaker round was played. Originally, the tying contestants each picked a playing card from a set of eight, with the highest value card winning. These were later replaced by cash amounts from $100–$800, again with the highest amount winning.

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

2009–present

On October 3, 2009, the board was increased to 36 spaces, and now consists of nine columns of four rows. The columns are now labeled E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N and the rows labeled C-A-S-H. The cash amounts now range from $1,500 to $5,000.

The number of special spaces has also increased from three to nine, with two $10,000 cash bonus squares, one $25,000 bonus square and six double squares. Every time a contestant hits a double square, as before, they get an extra turn. However, after finding a Double card the contestant randomly stops on one of the letters in E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N above the gameboard revealing a dollar amount between $2,000 and $5,000 which is then doubled and added to their score.

The tiebreaker round has four amounts hidden behind the letters "CASH".

1989–1993

The two Semi-Final winners faced off against the returning champion. To begin, a target number between 10 and 17 was selected from a randomizer. The contestants then spun a wheel containing numbers from 1 to 9 and an additional space marked "Double", attempting to come as close to the target number without going over. If two or three contestants tied, each contestant picked a playing card from a set of eight. The contestant with the highest card won. Originally, the players spun the same wheel. Later, this was changed to three individual wheels, one for each player.

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

1993–present

From 1993–2009, the three contestants names were each hidden three times behind a gameboard with nine squares total. The contestants took turns selecting squares, uncovering the names behind them. The person whose name was uncovered three times first won the game and the right to return the following week, with the same payout structure for returning champions used from 1989–1993.

Beginning October 3, 2009, three cash bonuses totaling $25,000 (two $10,000 spaces and one $5,000 space) were added to the championship gameboard which now features a total of twelve spaces. If a contestant selects a bonus space they win that amount of money and control passes to the next contestant in line. Additionally, contestants no longer retire after winning their third game. First-time champions still win a total of $50,000, two-time winners $100,000, and three-time winners $200,000 (bonuses not included). However, a champion wins an additional $100,000 for every subsequent week they win thereafter. Champions can remain on the show until defeated, with no monetary limits or maximum number of appearances; under this format, the highest amount awarded was $420,000, which was reached by Larry Heth on the December 4, 2010 episode, when he was defeated during his record-breaking sixth appearance on the show.

Cancellation and return

The show was replaced in October 2006 with Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich
Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich
Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich was an Ohio Lottery TV game show, produced in Columbus and broadcast on twelve television stations in Ohio. It debuted on October 7, 2006 and ran until September 29, 2007, replacing for that period of time the Ohio Lottery's Cash Explosion Double Play...

. However, due to disappointing ratings for that program, the Ohio Lottery announced the show would be replaced by a new version of Cash Explosion on October 6, 2007
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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