Why are you going to water down what we've been used to from Pyramid? Even if you take away the $500 per category bonus, playing for a combined $10K with a sweep is just anticlimactic. And anticlimactic finishes translate to bad television.
I think you misunderstood. If you reduce the starting bank to $5,000, and increase it with $5,000 for each 7-for-7, that makes a potential $20,000 try, and two of 'em in a show makes forty grand.
Second of all, regarding the tournament, why does it need to be so unnecessarily complicated? If someone goes up early in the tourney and no one else does, there's the anticlimax again.
What is "unnecessarily complicated" about "the player who completes our marquee event in the fastest time wins the jackpot"?
I think that it is terrific that GSN is finally devoting some money to their prize budget, as opposed to the days where you'd either win $500 or $5,000. I don't think that throwing money at every opportunity is going to make or break the show, and if you want to have a championship week, that this is certainly miles better than "hey, you were selected for our sweeps week of episodes so you're facing the mob for $100,000."
I notice that while you were right quick to take a big steamy dump all over my back-of-the-envelope ideas, you haven't put up anything yourself.