Make Me a Millionaire
Encyclopedia
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. On July 9, five unaired episodes were uploaded to the California Lottery's official YouTube
page.
Contestants received a guaranteed minimum prize of $2,000, while the grand prize was a progressive jackpot of at least $1,000,000.
The following games were mostly based on the second format of the Florida Lottery
's Flamingo Fortune
.
The game appears similar to The Price Is Right
s pricing game Lucky Seven, but with the fundamental difference that Lucky Penny is purely a game of chance.
In the first round, each player begins with $2,000 and gets up to five turns to add to it. The players alternate in choosing from a set of ten safes. When chosen, a safe is opened to reveal its contents and remove it from further play. Seven of the safes have amounts ranging from $1,000 to $20,000. The other three are empty. Players accumulate values until one of the players has chosen two empty safes. That player leaves with half of his or her accumulated amount. The other player receives a $5,000 bonus and the option to leave with the accumulated winnings or go to the second round. In the second round, the player chooses one safe out of five. Three of those safes will double the player's winnings, but the other two will halve the winnings. Regardless of the outcome, each player receives 500 Make Me a Millionaire scratchers.
In the first round, the player wins $5,000 for each choice that reveals a true statement. The round begins with one play in which all five statements are true, ensuring a win. The game is reset with one false and four true statements, and the round continues until the player picks the false statement. At the end of the first round, the player's accumulated winnings may range from $5,000 to $25,000.
For the remaining rounds, the payoff is either a doubling (for a true statement) or halving (for a false statement) of the winnings, with one play per round; a false statement also ends the game. Round 2 has one false statement; another false statement is added in each successive round, so that there are only two true statements in round 4. A player who wins round 4 will have doubled the first-round winnings three times, resulting in total accumulated winnings ranging from $40,000 to $200,000.
The game begins by generating a random number from 1 to 50, which counts as the first winning number and awards the player $10,000. Each subsequent winning number awards them an additional $10,000. Play continues to get up to ten more winning numbers by guessing whether the next random number will be higher or lower than the previous winning number. Winning all eleven numbers (each number represents one letter of the word "millionaire") augments the earnings to the jackpot. After one wrong guess, the player must choose before each turn whether to leave with the accumulated earnings or continue to play (by saying the show's title). A second wrong guess ends the game and the player's earnings are halved (the $10,000 minimum is not halved). From the show's premiere through July 18, 2009, the player won only $10,000 when the game ended from a second wrong guess. Regardless of the outcome, the winner receives 1,000 Make Me a Millionaire scratchers (or a bonus prize).
and Milestone Entertainment for an initially anticipated four-year run, and featured Mark L. Walberg as host, with co-presenter Liz Hernandez. The show had the same four games throughout its one-and-a-half-year run. Twelve contestants were featured on each show, from whom seven were assigned randomly to play the games; the remaining five received $2,000 minimum cash or prizes. Contestants learned their assignments only as each game began, although only one of those contestant assignments was televised, and that was for the Millionaire game.
On May 4, 2010, the California Lottery announced that the show was being cancelled and would not be replaced. The last program was telecast on July 3. Money that had been allocated for production of the show will be used for prizes for the lottery's scratch-off games.
ticket. Future winners of the "Make Me a Millionaire" Scratchers games (honored until December 22, 2010), and Fantasy 5 Second Chance Draw coupons (accepted by mail if postmarked by December 31, 2010), still provided the opportunity to play the games and win prizes off-air.
When the show began, The Big Spin scratchers were also honored until those tickets expired. A $5 Fantasy 5 ticket still provided a coupon for a second-chance drawing, with the chance to win the new show's progressive jackpot instead of the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine's $150,000.
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....
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. On July 9, five unaired episodes were uploaded to the California Lottery's official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
page.
Contestants received a guaranteed minimum prize of $2,000, while the grand prize was a progressive jackpot of at least $1,000,000.
Games
The show had four random-play games, and did not retain the Big Wheel or Dream Machine from the show's predecessor. The games are described here in the order of their appearance in the show. Some other merchandise was also given away in addition to the stated prizes.The following games were mostly based on the second format of the Florida Lottery
Florida Lottery
The Florida Lottery is a government-run organization in Florida, USA. With numerous on-line and scratch-off games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games...
's Flamingo Fortune
Flamingo Fortune
Flamingo Fortune is an American game show for the Florida Lottery that aired from 1995-1999. It was originally produced by Mark Goodson Productions, at the time also producing game shows for state lotteries alongside his regular game shows...
.
Lucky Penny
Lucky Penny gives to each of three players a prize of either $2,000 in cash or a car. Each player begins with ten "penny" tokens and gets four turns to generate a random number from 1 to 9 that matches or comes close to a target number; the target number in each turn is a different digit in the price of the car. At each turn, the difference between a player's random number and the target number is the number of pennies that the player loses; matching the target number exactly wins back two of the previously lost pennies (a player cannot have more than ten pennies). At the end of the game, each player with at least one penny left wins the car. With no pennies, a player gets $2,000.The game appears similar to The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
s pricing game Lucky Seven, but with the fundamental difference that Lucky Penny is purely a game of chance.
Safe Cracker
In Safe Cracker, two players compete for up to $92,000 in cash. The game offers two rounds, but only the first-round winner gets the option of continuing to the second round.In the first round, each player begins with $2,000 and gets up to five turns to add to it. The players alternate in choosing from a set of ten safes. When chosen, a safe is opened to reveal its contents and remove it from further play. Seven of the safes have amounts ranging from $1,000 to $20,000. The other three are empty. Players accumulate values until one of the players has chosen two empty safes. That player leaves with half of his or her accumulated amount. The other player receives a $5,000 bonus and the option to leave with the accumulated winnings or go to the second round. In the second round, the player chooses one safe out of five. Three of those safes will double the player's winnings, but the other two will halve the winnings. Regardless of the outcome, each player receives 500 Make Me a Millionaire scratchers.
California Cool
California Cool is a one-player game with up to four rounds and cash prizes ranging from $5,000 to $200,000. In each round, the player picks a number from one to five, to reveal a statement about California. The player gains money only when the choice reveals a true statement. After each round, the player may leave with the accumulated winnings or continue to the next round.In the first round, the player wins $5,000 for each choice that reveals a true statement. The round begins with one play in which all five statements are true, ensuring a win. The game is reset with one false and four true statements, and the round continues until the player picks the false statement. At the end of the first round, the player's accumulated winnings may range from $5,000 to $25,000.
For the remaining rounds, the payoff is either a doubling (for a true statement) or halving (for a false statement) of the winnings, with one play per round; a false statement also ends the game. Round 2 has one false statement; another false statement is added in each successive round, so that there are only two true statements in round 4. A player who wins round 4 will have doubled the first-round winnings three times, resulting in total accumulated winnings ranging from $40,000 to $200,000.
Millionaire
All six contestants who have not been in a game yet appear on stage, and the host calls the name of the one person who gets to play the last game. The remaining five each receive $2,000 and 500 Make Me a Millionaire scratchers. Millionaire pays a minimum of $10,000 with a jackpot starting at $1,000,000 and increasing by $200,000 each time it is not won.The game begins by generating a random number from 1 to 50, which counts as the first winning number and awards the player $10,000. Each subsequent winning number awards them an additional $10,000. Play continues to get up to ten more winning numbers by guessing whether the next random number will be higher or lower than the previous winning number. Winning all eleven numbers (each number represents one letter of the word "millionaire") augments the earnings to the jackpot. After one wrong guess, the player must choose before each turn whether to leave with the accumulated earnings or continue to play (by saying the show's title). A second wrong guess ends the game and the player's earnings are halved (the $10,000 minimum is not halved). From the show's premiere through July 18, 2009, the player won only $10,000 when the game ended from a second wrong guess. Regardless of the outcome, the winner receives 1,000 Make Me a Millionaire scratchers (or a bonus prize).
Jackpot Winners
| Player Name | Airdate (Show Number) | Jackpot Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Josefina Sineriz | 3/21/09 (1x10) | $2.8 Million |
| Natalie Marston | 8/22/09 (1x32) | $5.2 Million |
| Queen Mateo | 9/12/09 (1x35) | $1.4 Million |
| Brian Blades | 10/17/09 (1x40) | $1.8 Million |
| Kevin Lu | 1/23/10 (2x02) | $3.6 Million |
| Leslie Marpuri | 2/20/10 (2x06) | $1.6 Million |
| Edison Javier | 5/8/10 (2x17) | $3 Million |
| Barbara Cody | Unaired (2x26) | $2.6 Million |
Broadcast history
The first show was recorded on December 14, 2008 and broadcast on January 17, 2009. It aired weekly on Saturdays, in the early evening, at a time specific to each local station. The show was produced by 3Ball ProductionsJ.D. Roth
James David Weinroth , better known as J.D. Roth, is an American television personality, actor, children's game show host, a voice-over performer on many television programs, and a television producer of reality shows. Roth is currently the announcer and co-creator of the reality show The Biggest...
and Milestone Entertainment for an initially anticipated four-year run, and featured Mark L. Walberg as host, with co-presenter Liz Hernandez. The show had the same four games throughout its one-and-a-half-year run. Twelve contestants were featured on each show, from whom seven were assigned randomly to play the games; the remaining five received $2,000 minimum cash or prizes. Contestants learned their assignments only as each game began, although only one of those contestant assignments was televised, and that was for the Millionaire game.
On May 4, 2010, the California Lottery announced that the show was being cancelled and would not be replaced. The last program was telecast on July 3. Money that had been allocated for production of the show will be used for prizes for the lottery's scratch-off games.
Getting on the show
Contestants got on the show by mailing in a winning "Make Me a Millionaire" scratch-offScratchcard
A scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...
ticket. Future winners of the "Make Me a Millionaire" Scratchers games (honored until December 22, 2010), and Fantasy 5 Second Chance Draw coupons (accepted by mail if postmarked by December 31, 2010), still provided the opportunity to play the games and win prizes off-air.
When the show began, The Big Spin scratchers were also honored until those tickets expired. A $5 Fantasy 5 ticket still provided a coupon for a second-chance drawing, with the chance to win the new show's progressive jackpot instead of the Fantasy 5 Dream Machine's $150,000.
Stations
The show aired weekly on Saturdays, in the early evening, at a time specific to each local station.- BakersfieldBakersfield, CaliforniaBakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
- KBFXKBFX-CAKBFX-CD Channel 58 is a Class A low-power digital television station serving Bakersfield, California. It is a Fox affiliate which used to broadcast on analog channel 58.-Digital television:The analog signal went off the air in August 2010... - El Centro, CAEl Centro, CaliforniaEl Centro is a city in and county seat of Imperial County, the largest city in the Imperial Valley and the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban area and principal city of the El Centro metropolitan area which encompasses all of Imperial County. El Centro is also...
/Yuma, AZYuma, ArizonaYuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
- KYMA - EurekaEureka, CaliforniaEureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
- KIEM - FresnoFresno, CaliforniaFresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
- KSEEKSEEKSEE is the NBC affiliated television station in Fresno, California, broadcasting on digital channel 38. KSEE is owned and operated by Granite Broadcasting Corporation. Granite owns and operates eight network-affiliated television stations nationwide... - Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- KCALKCAL-TVKCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital... - MontereyMonterey, CaliforniaThe City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
/SalinasSalinas, CaliforniaSalinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
- KIONKION-TVKION-TV is a full-power television station in Salinas, California, broadcasting on digital channel 32 as a CBS affiliate. The stations continues to use UHF channel 46 as its virtual channel through the use of PSIP. KION-TV shows local news, weather, and sports programming, as well as syndicated... - ReddingRedding, CaliforniaRedding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
/ChicoChico, CaliforniaChico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
- KRVU - SacramentoSacramentoSacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
- KTXLKTXLKTXL, channel 40, is a Fox Broadcasting Company-affiliated television station in Sacramento, California, owned by the Tribune Company. Its studios and offices are located in South Sacramento, and its transmitter is near Walnut Grove, California.-History:... - San Diego - XETVXETVXETV is a television station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, serving as the CW Television Network affiliate for the San Diego, California area across the international border in the United States...
- San Francisco - KRON
- Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
/San Luis ObispoSan Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
/Santa MariaSanta Maria, CaliforniaSanta Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
- KSBY
External links
- Make Me a Millionaire FAQ, California State Lottery