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View Full Version : "Millionaire" was open Friday -- AND I WON IT!!



tod
02-08-2003, 01:14 PM
Please allow me a minute to gloat: I was in the Hot Seat at "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire -- Play It!" at DCA at the one o'clock show and I am pleased to report that I managed to NOT get a stack of questions that involved songs sung by Britney Spears or the word "bloviate" (I had never even won a shirt before in three trips to the Hot Seat, and my wife and son both have) and
*I*
W*O*N
T*H*E
M*I*L*L*I*O*N
P*O*I*N*T*S!!!!!

Among the questions I managed to get right were identifying a "turnstile"; divining whch of the following animals is not a marsupial -- kangaroo, possum, something I don't remember and grasshopper; identifying Rollie Fingers as a baseball player; identifying the author of the book "The Corrections"; telling how much butter is in one standard stick; identifying the first woman to serve in both the House of Representatives and the Senate; telling which of these four signs -- Leo, Cancer, Capricorn, or Libra -- is an air sign; and, for the big finish, telling which of four people did NOT appear in the 1970 original cast of the Broadway show "Follies."

They brought my son on stage from his Ring Of Fire seat and we posed for the cameras before they took me backstage and loaded me down with a TON of paraphernalia -- that leather jacket has to weigh ten pounds, and you could kill somebody with the million-point medallion, plus the pins and the hat and the shirt and a little sign that says "Million Point Cruise Winner" -- which I took to my car at once rather than schlep it around all day.

Have faith my friends -- It can be done!!

--T
============
Cross-Wits contestant, 1976
Jeopardy! 1-day champion, 1978
Card Sharks PA/Researcher 1980-1981
Jeopardy! research staff, 1985-1990
The Challengers Research Director 1990-1991
WWTBAM-PI @ DCA, four Hot Seat appearances, one complete embarrassment, two hats and a handful of pins & lanyards, and as for number four -- I'm goin' to the Bahamas!

MouseWife
02-08-2003, 01:17 PM
Wahoo!!!

Congratulations!! Hey, take more than a minute to gloat, this is great!!

Have a blast!

Morrigoon
02-08-2003, 02:39 PM
:eek: W O W :eek:

Congratulations! :)

LibraryGirl
02-08-2003, 02:47 PM
:D KUDOS !!! :D Congratulations!!

Enjoy the cruise !!

DisneyFan25863
02-08-2003, 04:33 PM
Not that many people have won that! Thats A M A Z I N I N G!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS: Any extra spots left for the cruise? :)

FoodLover
02-08-2003, 05:00 PM
That's incredibly cool! Congrats, and enjoy the cruise! :D

[ - kyo - ]
02-08-2003, 05:48 PM
Congratulations! That's cool. I hope you have fun on your Disney Cruise.

Laffite
02-08-2003, 08:47 PM
I vomit with envy...

...err, I mean, CONGRAT man. That's really awesome!!! :)

BTT
02-08-2003, 10:19 PM
Well from one winner to another...a big congratulations. Did you keep any of the confetti? That was one thing not in the prize package that I got a handful of before walking out the door.

I've been trying to win it a second time, but I can't get quite there (as far as 250,000 once, and 125,000 a couple other times). Now that I've done NY, I need a trip to the Bahamas. Have fun!

Ben T.

rexfarms
02-08-2003, 11:07 PM
Wow you are very smart if you got that far. I doubt I could do it. Have fun. Who are you planning to take? Who ever it will be, I am sure they will have a great time. :)

PurpleDove33
02-09-2003, 12:23 AM
CONGRADULATIONS!!! Were you at the first show? I was at the show after that one, because they were talking about how the trip was just won and they wanted to give away another one. They also mentioned that only one lifeline was used. If that was you, AWESOME. Enjoy the cruise. Maybe when March 3 comes around I will get the cruise too. I was only five questions away. When I found out that was the new prize, I actually called to find out if they were wheelchair accessable and they said yes. So I am hoping to do it too. When you get back, you will have to give us a report on your trip.

tod
02-09-2003, 07:27 AM
Originally posted by PurpleDove33
CONGRADULATIONS!!! Were you at the first show? I was at the show after that one, because they were talking about how the trip was just won and they wanted to give away another one. They also mentioned that only one lifeline was used. If that was you, AWESOME. Enjoy the cruise. Maybe when March 3 comes around I will get the cruise too. I was only five questions away. When I found out that was the new prize, I actually called to find out if they were wheelchair accessable and they said yes. So I am hoping to do it too. When you get back, you will have to give us a report on your trip.

I won at the second show (1 pm) and then I sat right behind you -- as it happens -- in the low-rise section at the 2 pm show because the first million-point medallion was defective and they had to get me another. I picked that section because it was convenient for the CM. Also my son wanted to try again. (He got on at 3pm when I was stowing the stuff in the car. Didn't win the million, though. Yet.) If I'd known you were there I would have introduced myself.

Fortunately, I knew almost everything they threw at me -- or could puzzle it out -- so I didn't need all the lifelines. (I took a 50:50 on the butter question because I had it down to two and hoped one of them would drop out. Didn't work.)

And BTT -- yes, I have two long strips of purple confetti. I envy you the "21" win. I tried to get on there but I think my grey hair worked against me.

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone.

--T
P.S. Lafitte -- I came thisclose to doing the same thing!!
;)

tabacco
02-09-2003, 12:31 PM
Ahem... if you need anyone to take on the cruise, I'm available! :)

RStar
02-11-2003, 04:58 PM
Tod!! Cool!!

Congrats! I'd be happy just to get in that seat at all!

I was happy to get in the Ring of Fire with my mom and aunt!;)

YellowMan
02-11-2003, 05:05 PM
Dreams really do come true!....or something like that.

Anyway, this is one of the coolest stories I have ever read on a message board. Winning that thing must have been so much fun. Here I can't even get into the hot seat and you've been in multiple times and even won. But seriously, congratulations! That is one serious accomplishment!

MonorailMan
02-11-2003, 05:57 PM
<- Yet another non- hot seater. I've been trying for over a year! :eek: :(

RStar
02-12-2003, 09:22 AM
Yeah MM, I don't know what's better, to still be in school as yourself and have all that info still fresh, or to be older like me, and have more experience and lived through more of the stuff they ask questions about.


Either way, it doesn't help us much. The only way we can get in the seat is to punch the keys in random order as fast as possible, and hope they are right. Is there realy a best order to press the A B C D buttons?

I've only been in the top ten twice (and played only about 6 or 8 times). It would be luck that they would ask questions I know, or I guess right. I'd be lucky to make it to 32,000. Most likely I'd only walk out winning the 1,000 points. And that would be enough for me. But you never know......

avromark
02-17-2003, 12:15 PM
Congratulations,

now if they only gave away cars to international visitors for getting ONE question on americana right :)

tod
02-18-2003, 08:07 AM
Originally posted by RStar
Yeah MM, I don't know what's better, to still be in school as yourself and have all that info still fresh, or to be older like me, and have more experience and lived through more of the stuff they ask questions about.

Either way, it doesn't help us much. The only way we can get in the seat is to punch the keys in random order as fast as possible, and hope they are right. Is there realy a best order to press the A B C D buttons?

My feeling is it's better -- that is, more effective -- to have lived through it. Those memories stay with you: The stuff you learn tends to drift away unless you put it in use.

And IMO, the best -- again, most effective -- way to get in the Hot Seat is to get the second-round and third-round questions right. A bit of knowledge in the later rounds will overcome the reflexes of those who are younger and faster but don't have the depth of knowledge.

--T

RStar
02-18-2003, 03:14 PM
Good points, Tod.

Thanks again.