$ale of the Century: Question about Tournaments

[JonSea31]

Couldn't have been very long, because they'd rolled out the WBMG just after Christmas and Don Morrow joined the show right after that.

If I were to hazard a guess, that 1988 tournament may have aired in February 1988, and it would make sense to air it then, since major ratings events happen during February sweeps.

I got my answer for the 1983 tournament, so all I need is to find out what happened in a ToC during the Winner's Board era.

[PYLdude]

And I think Helaine's total, by comparison, was less, wasn't it? Because she didn't hit the jackpot for a relatively big amount like Tim, Alice, and John did (it was I think $61k).

Helaine won $142,900; $64k jackpot. Alice won $141,400; $77k jackpot. Helaine spent up and won lots from the Fame Game board--Helaine's backroom bonanza was about $6,000 less than Alice's.

Well, I shall stand corrected then.

I always thought it was cool, though, that someone from my area won big.

[JonSea31]

Here is a montage of clips of big winners from $ale of the Century, and brief footage of Mort Camens' massive tournament win is seen towards the end of the clip:



If my math is correct, after having confirmed that Mort Camens won the $95,000 lot plus most likely other prizes during his run, and assuming that he bought the $50,000 cash prize for $510 in the semi-finals, and for him to have won a grand total of almost $250,000 at the end of the tournament, I would assume that a sportscar (supposedly worth about $50,000) plus $50,000 for winning the finals made up the remainder of his nearly $250,000 in loot.

[DJDustman]

The 1985 tournament had 18 players, and all played against each other until there were two players left. The two remaining players played a best 2 outta 3. Whoever won the tournament won a $25,000 Porsche and a $25,000 cash jackpot. This was a mix of Winner's Board and Shopping champs from 1984.

The 1987 International Invitational had champs from syndication and various winners from 1984 to 1986.

All the champions participating in the 1988 tournament, were all 1987 Winner's Board grand champions. They all have never played the Winner's Big Money Game, as Jim mentions in one of the semi-finals.

[JonSea31]

Thanks, DJDustman.  I have other questions regarding the tournaments:  On what dates (or months) did these tournaments occur during 1983 to 1988?

Also, was the Winner's Board played during the semi-finals and/or finals during the 1985 and/or 1987 tournaments (except for the episode where the ultimate winner was declared)?

[dale_grass]

More importantly Jon, during that period in some areas (maybe none) Sale and The People's Court were constantly jockeying for the same time slot.  Do you know what time Wapner was on?

[Thunder]

...$25,000 Porsche...

Sigh. We looked at one last month and it was $51,000.

/No sale.

[TLEberle]

Sigh. We looked at one last month and it was $51,000.

/No sale.

Since we're throwing numbers around, at what price would you have bought?

[Thunder]

Probably not at any price, honestly. The wife has a Mercedes AMG SLK32 but it's starting to finally have problems. The heated seats are failing, the retractable hardtop is starting to leak, we've replaced the Bose stereo and last month, the serpentine belt snapped.

Neither of us want to let it go, but we know it's just going downhill. We love a high-performance car, but the lowest-end Porsche didn't have enough features to sway us. We had to get to the $70K range to get what we wanted. It's hard for us to justify that kind of money right now.

[PYLdude]

Probably not at any price, honestly. The wife has a Mercedes AMG SLK32 but it's starting to finally have problems. The heated seats are failing, the retractable hardtop is starting to leak, we've replaced the Bose stereo and last month, the serpentine belt snapped.

Neither of us want to let it go, but we know it's just going downhill. We love a high-performance car, but the lowest-end Porsche didn't have enough features to sway us. We had to get to the $70K range to get what we wanted. It's hard for us to justify that kind of money right now.

If it's of any consequence, a coworker of mine had a BMW SUV (the model of which escapes me) that he finally had to get rid of because it was starting to go sour on him. When he went to the dealer for a replacement, he found himself in the same predicament- price was definitely an issue when it came to getting what he was looking for. And this guy was a Beemer guy, too. Had a few before the SUV. So he shopped around and found what he was needing in a Kia Sorento.

I don't know how keen you and the wife would be on trading down, but I figured I would pass that along.

[JonSea31]

I do remember watching the finale of the International Invitational Tournament last weekend, and if memory serves correctly, the ultimate winner was from Australia, and Jim Perry mentioned something about having won prizes on the Winner's Board previously (I would presume he did during the semi-finals and likely his first game in the finals).

That taken into consideration, i believe that 1987 Winner's Board Era tournament most likely had contestants playing the Winner's Board once during the semi-finals, and another one time when he/she won his/her first game in the finals.

But i'd like to ask, we're there more than nine contestants overall in the International Invitational Tournament?  The only contestants who represented the U.S. we know about are Tim Holleran and Alice Conkwright, both from the syndicated run.

[J.R.]

That, and the WBMG here is the original "solve five puzzles in 25 seconds" version, which was cut down to 4-in-20 later in the year (exactly when, I'm not sure; definitely by early September).

Out of curiosity: Did anyone ever stumble on a WBMG puzzle and still went on to win?

[TLEberle]

Out of curiosity: Did anyone ever stumble on a WBMG puzzle and still went on to win?

I think I'd remember seeing that and being floored by the comeback, so from the sample size I've seen, no.

[J.R.]

I think I'd remember seeing that and being floored by the comeback, so from the sample size I've seen, no.

That's what I suspected. Thanks!