Talk:American game show winnings records

Ken Jennings on The Howard Stern Show

Ken was a guest on the Howard Stern Show this year. A long running segment on the show is "Win Fred's Money" in which guest compete against Fred Norris. Ken won $5000 on that show which is televised on Howard Stern On Demand. Should we add $5000 to his winnings total?--96.49.243.17 (talk) 11:40, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

If the show is televised nationally, I see no reason why the $5,000 he won wouldn't count, as long as a reliable source is provided. --Bentvfan54321 (talk) 00:13, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

So it's a radio show, but I've got a YouTube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3qcVIRdtYI BoiledYam241 (talk) 03:58, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Andrew Kravis on "The Million Second Quiz"

Should Andrew Kravis, who won $2.6 million U.S. on the Million Second Quiz be included in the list of all-time American game show winners? WadeSimMiser (talk) 23:58, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

Erin Brodie on "For Love or For Money"

Erin Brodie won $1 million at her first time in the competition and again another $1 million. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.50.184.98 (talk) 17:53, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

This is something that has been pointed out before. There is a difference between typical game shows like Jeopardy! and Millionaire, and reality competitions like Survivor. I think that creating an article for winnings records on these shows would settle this dispute, so I'm open to suggestions and thoughts from others. --Bentvfan54321 (talk) 18:40, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

As it has been two months since this discussion began and nobody has replied, I'll go ahead and remove them from the list in a week, unless someone raises a concern before then. I will also note that there were no Survivor contestants on the list until Diaz-Twine's second $1,000,000 win, meaning the article did not include these contestants originally (many would have appeared on the list before it was shortened to the top ten). --Bentvfan54321 (talk) 01:54, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

As it has been eleven months since I first mentioned this and I have not gotten a single reply, I will remove Diaz-Twine and Mariano from the list, and add back Carpenter and Rose (with citations) back into the list. Again, if anyone disagrees, please do not hesitate to let me know. --Bentvfan54321 (talk) 19:18, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

You are right. I am the one who created this page and did not do so for reality shows to be included. These are GAME SHOWS. --ChrisP2K5 (talk) 17:15, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

The Wall (U.S. game show)

So ironically, this came to my mind watching the NBA Christmas Day game between the Cavs and Warriors, but LeBron's new game show The Wall just gave away $1.3 million…to a couple. I wanted to bring this up because the series becomes a regular thing soon and may well hand out more big money prizes (apparently up to $12 million is up for grabs?). I personally would be in favor of adding any couples who win enough to earn a spot in the top ten to the list but wanted to bring it up at the talk page first. $1.3 million is not an amount seen everyday so I think it deserves mentioning here in some capacity. Another possibility could be adding a second chart just for teams/couples. Thoughts? --Bcschneider53 (talk) 20:17, 25 December 2016 (UTC)

Inflation number seems wrong

Just noticed in the prose section, $1,000,000 in 2004 being "$130,000" today? Nomader (talk) 15:37, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

@Nomader: Thank you for noticing this; someone forgot a 0 in the template, so it was converting $100,000 into today's money. It's been corrected. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 15:56, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

Ed Toutant death (11/6/18)

Ed Toutant, who won a total of $1,871,401, has passed away from brain cancer. He will no longer be able to add money to his record. J4lambert (talk) 03:14, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

@J4lambert: Do you have a source? I just did a quick Google search and couldn't find anything... --Bcschneider53 (talk) 03:45, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

It's according to one of the tweets I found on BuzzerBlog's Twitter handle. [1] J4lambert (talk) 13:16, 7 November 2018 (UTC)

Obituary for Ed Toutant is now posted: [2]. J4lambert (talk) 14:25, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

Worldwide

is there a worldwide list Fanoflionking 17:23, 7 January 2019 (UTC) There is none. J4lambert (talk) 00:59, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

I currently making this list List of Highest amount won on a game show and would like people to come to helpFanoflionking 11:23, 28 July 2019 (UTC)

@Fanoflionking: I would suggest moving the title to "Worldwide game show winnings records" for consistency's sake. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 13:36, 28 July 2019 (UTC)

I moved it to Draft:Worldwide game show winnings records is there anything else can you come help edit it. Fanoflionking 13:47, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

Female top ten winnings list

Rank	Name	Total winnings (in USD)	Show(s)	Notes
1	Ashlee Register	$1,795,000	Duel, $1,795,000	See above
2	Autumn Erhard	$1,030,340	Wheel of Fortune, $1,030,340	Erhard was the second $1,000,000 winner in the show's history; highest amount won by a woman on a syndicated game show.
3	Michelle Lowenstein	$1,026,080	Wheel of Fortune, $1,026,280	Lowenstein was the first $1,000,000 winner in the show's history.
4	Sarah Manchester	$1,017,940	Wheel of Fortune, $1,017,940
5	Nancy Christy	$1,000,000	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, $1,000,000	Christy was the second $1,000,000 winner on the syndicated version of Millionaire; she held the record for the highest amount of winnings by a woman until it was overtaken by Ashlee Register in December 2007.
	Jessica Robinson	$1,000,000	Deal or No Deal, $1,000,000	Robinson was the first $1,000,000 winner in Deal or No Deal's history; this occurred during the show's "Million Dollar Mission" specials.
	Tomorrow Rodriguez	$1,000,000	Deal or No Deal, $1,000,000
	Kathy Cox	$1,000,000	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, $1,000,000	Cox was the first top prize winner in the history of the 5th Grader franchise; her winnings were later rescinded due to financial difficulties.
	Katie Ohh	$1,000,000	The Winner Is, $1,000,000	The show that Ohh competed in, The Winner Is, is a music-based reality show which heavily uses elements that are much more common in game shows.
10	Lauren Griswold	$800,000	Greed, $800,000	Griswold was part of a team with fellow contestants David Juliano and Phyllis Harris; the team won a total of $2,000,000 on Super Greed, which offered a top prize of $4,000,000. She held the record for the highest amount of money won by a woman until it was overtaken by Nancy Christy in May 2003.

J4lambert (talk) 00:59, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

Hi, J4lambert, could you explain the purpose of this list? Men and women (usually) aren't separated or segregated in game show competitions so I see no need to make a distinction here. I would be open to expanding this list to the Top 25 though now that there have been several other contestants to win more than a million dollars on a game show. I will also note that Katie Ohh won $1,000,000 on The Winner Is; I personally would consider that a game show (The Singing Bee is a music show but considered a game show) since, despite it being a season long tournament, prize money can be won on a single program (as is the case for The American Bible Challenge or Pyramid). --Bcschneider53 (talk) 01:35, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

The purpose of this list is because there are just too few females who have won $1,000,000 or more on a game show. J4lambert (talk) 11:37, 15 May 2019 (UTC)

Ok, but is there a plan to incorporate that into the article somehow? I think the best way to include some of these women is to (within reason) expand the list a bit, not sure an entirely separate list is the best thing to do (especially if it's only here on the talk page). --Bcschneider53 (talk) 01:57, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

Table is now updated J4lambert (talk) 21:52, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

@J4lambert: Again, I see no reason why we should segregate them. If they're not usually separated in game show competition itself, why should they be here? Like I said, I'd be open to expanding the list a bit (perhaps top-20 or 25?) but I don't see the purpose of separation by gender. I'll ping AldezD for some thoughts too. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 18:39, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

Absolutely no reason to include WP:LISTCRUFT breaking it out by gender. Also, none of this information is referenced. The article already includes a top 10 list. AldezD (talk) 19:04, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

Clarity and improvement of article

​To whom it may concern when I write this article I meant it all when I want to improve the article's clarity and consistency, as seen here, but the next day I saw a user, AldezD, removed my edits. Then two anonymous users (not me, honestly) revert back or minor edited the article. I did not do it on good faith I came to Wikipedia was to improve the articles out of my interests. If there is any suggestion, let me and him know and we can discuss further, since it is a talk page. TVSGuy (talk) 08:28, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

​ Please reply if you seen this. TVSGuy (talk) 11:08, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

​ Your edits included unsourced changes to dates. I undid my edit but removed the italics and changed the section header "The $1,000,000 prize money phenomenon" to "Million Dollar Game Shows." AldezD (talk) 21:47, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

​ I see. I understand why my edits are gone but apparently there I know that Stouber's big episode was on October 14, not 28 as according to various sources, as well as other shows. I understand now and I glad I learn something. TVSGuy (talk) 04:09, 17 November 2020 (UTC)

​ "According to various sources" is the main issue why your edit was undone. You need to add sources which meet WP:V when you change dates. AldezD (talk) 14:34, 17 November 2020 (UTC)

​ I got it. Next time I should do so, but this case I was careless because I did not include it. I let it slide, you can delete the message now, but I'll remember you and your lesson; after all, it's learning. TVSGuy (talk) 12:15, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

​This would fall under "improvement", and actually goes into the back-history, rather than the list itself. I'm trying to recall the year (and I know that all references have been removed from YouTube) of the "$1,000,000 Joker's Wild Tournament" of the late 1970's. If we are to use the same basis we do with John Carpenter's $250,000 win on his second appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, then the winner of this tournament (and I forget the woman's name entirely, would be the largest game-show winner in the United States until Curtis Warren. I also forget how much she won on her main appearance on The Joker's Wild, but, for winning the tournament, she won $500,000 -- half for herself, half for "a nationally recognized charity". -- 47.34.135.71 (talk) 06:40, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

If she won half of $500k that's $250k, an amount far lower than the #10 current entry at $1.25 million cumulative winnings. This isn't a list of game show tournament winners and The Joker's Wild tournament has nothing to do with the additional $250k Carpenter later won. AldezD (talk) 18:43, 18 August 2021 (UTC)

To be fair to the IP, I think this would still be $500K under the current top ten list's standards. IMHO, it doesn't matter what Jennings, Rutter, or Carpenter did with their winnings. If they donated half to charity, bought a sports car, invested it, whatever, they still "won" it either way, which is why I think charity winnings should be acknowledged and ultimately included.

Of course, $500,000 is still nowhere close to enough to break into the top ten, so in this case, I don't see a need to include it here. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 01:12, 19 August 2021 (UTC)

It would be $500,000 under the current list's standards. But I'm talking, not either list, but the back-history. If we use that criteria, that woman, not McKee or even Shutterly, would be the USA record holder until, I think, Warren or Carpenter. --47.34.135.71 (talk) 21:52, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

She didn't win the tournament. The Joker's Wild#Tournament of Champions "Cassandra Dooley won $200,000 for second place, half of which went to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America."—Which still does not meet WP:V. Also, "The eventual winner received $500,000 ($250,000, paid $25,000 annually for 10 years, plus $250,000 to the charity of his or her choice)". Neither were the biggest winner "to that point" in history. AldezD (talk) 12:27, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

I think you're still confusing what I'm trying to go -- and I could've sworn it was an African American female (but if it wasn't, that's not relevant). Whoever won this tournament, under the criteria on which the list gives Carpenter the full $250,000 from his second Millionaire appearance, would've actually held the all-time record past Shutterly, because that person would not have only won the $500,000 for the tournament, but whatever he or she had won on The Joker's Wild previously -- so that's kind of where the backstory is a bit of an issue here. The usual convention is that charity winnings are not counted (nor are teams/couples, which takes care of another case), and that's why McKee was recognized as the record-holder for all those years until Shutterly. --47.34.135.71 (talk) 11:16, 7 September 2021 (UTC)

Make whatever edit you feel is necessary. Be sure to follow WP:V and WP:Citing Sources. AldezD (talk) 11:35, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

Can I make the edit with the previously linked (Joker's Wild ToC) Wikipedia article portion as source and it actually qualifies, or must I find a more direct source under those two policies? --47.34.135.71 (talk) 15:29, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

You can cite the same source the article in question cites, but you shouldn't simply cite another Wikipedia article and use it as a reference. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 17:25, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

Well, I can't edit it at all in my "semi-retired" state (forced into such because I didn't want to end up site-banned because of a massive argument I got in which was impacting other people as well at my location several years ago), because the entire article is protected, meaning no one can edit it without either an account or some degree of approval. I'll propose it here, though -- Since Sony or the successor to Barry-Enright has scrubbed most video record of Griffin's victory in the Tournament (much less his previous winnings, which would be needed for the article in the event we keep the full $1,250,000 for Carpenter), the easiest edit, to me, would be to have it consistent with the conventions which allow McKee to hold the record and "ret-con" Carpenter to $1,125,000, meaning Adam Rose's $1,153,908 from The Price is Right would then hold the #10 spot. (And, from the TPiR article on Wikipedia, that number is sourced properly.) --47.34.135.71 (talk) 05:52, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

What was your registered user ID? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:34, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

On the IP's talk page, it's reported as Starcade (talk · contribs), which was indef'd 10 years ago. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:00, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 October 2021

Matt Amodio should be in number 10. He exceeds Carpenter’s winnings with $1,267,801 2603:7080:7000:A13C:F961:198F:2C8:5633 (talk) 19:23, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 02:22, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 October 2021

Matt Amodio now has $1,350,801 2603:7080:7000:A13C:5D14:D596:498B:F659 (talk) 22:12, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 03:31, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 October 2021

Change "His total is the second-most all-time behind Jennings" to "His total number of wins is the second-most all-time behind Jennings". It's ambiguous whether "second-most" refers to games or money won. Dmasel (talk) 22:04, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

 Done Done, thanks for the suggestion. --Bcschneider53 (talk) 00:07, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 October 2021

Does Melissa Joan Hart now go to 20? 2603:7080:7000:A13C:A5DD:6165:730D:ACE4 (talk) 08:36, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

I don't know. In your edit request, please make it clear what changes you want to be made and please give reliable sources to support those changes. --Ferien (talk) 18:52, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

Celebrity inclusions?

I have noticed there have been several inclusions of celebrities in this list based on their performances on special episodes of various shows. I don’t believe these should be counted, because they’re not winning any of this money (it’s all going to charity). The page is “winnings records”, not “charitable donations records”. —-ChrisP2K5 (talk) 18:13, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

@ChrisP2K5: I disagree. It doesn't matter what a contestant, regardless of celebrity status, does with the money they've won on the show. If they choose to keep it all to themselves, if they give 10 percent to their friends and family, if they donate it all to charity...the money was still "won" through the playing of a "game show," no? Think we had this discussion several years ago regarding contestants such as Jennings and Rutter who have had Jeopardy! winnings that were donated to charity. That's my opinion on this, but let's see if anyone else chimes in.

(Also, thank you for taking this to the talk page first rather than just changing the standard right away.) --Bcschneider53 (talk) 03:18, 3 March 2023 (UTC)

Squid Game: The Challenge

I do believe that Mai Nguyen from Squid Game: The Challenge should be on this list. She won 4.56 million dollars in the show. Lakadium837 (talk) 13:44, 7 December 2023 (UTC)