The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Kevin Prather on March 05, 2012, 01:31:58 PM
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I noticed when watching an old Wheel of Fortune today, a ring was offered as a wheel prize. However the prize was actually a Gucci gift certificate, and the ring was "something you might choose."
I imagine the reason for this is simple enough: a ring sounds more tantalizing than a gift certificate. What I'm wondering is was this at all common practice for game shows in the 70s and 80s? Did PiR ever do anything along these lines?
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I noticed when watching an old Wheel of Fortune today, a ring was offered as a wheel prize. However the prize was actually a Gucci gift certificate, and the ring was "something you might choose."
I imagine the reason for this is simple enough: a ring sounds more tantalizing than a gift certificate. What I'm wondering is was this at all common practice for game shows in the 70s and 80s? Did PiR ever do anything along these lines?
I remember that being a fairly standard practice at Wheel through the 80s- you just received a gift certificate for the value of a featured prize. Same went for some prizes in the shopping gallery. However, I don't remember any other game shows that adopted this practice- you got the announced prize(s), and that's it. You only received a gift certificate if that was the actual announced prize.
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The jewelry gift certificate was also standard on Sale of the Century: you'd be shown the lion's head pendant or blinged out watch, and that was the value of the gift card, but you could pick whatever you liked to that value.
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I noticed when watching an old Wheel of Fortune today, a ring was offered as a wheel prize. However the prize was actually a Gucci gift certificate, and the ring was "something you might choose."
I want to say I remember hearing a few game shows in the 80's & 90's in which they highlighted a specific prize(s) with something similar to the "something you might choose" line for items found in the Service Merchandise catalogs as well.
As far as the other famous game show catalog (Spiegel, Chicago 6-0-6-0-9), it seemed to be either a gift certificate for the catalog, or a specific item "...from the Spiegel catalog".
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I recall the Service Merchandise gift certificate thing as well. Not sure if that was from Wheel or other shows as well.
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I recall the Service Merchandise gift certificate thing as well. Not sure if that was from Wheel or other shows as well.
A lot of the prizes from Classic Concentration came from the Service Merchandise catalog in which the players received a gift certificate for.
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Then, of course, you get the other end of the spectrum, and players receiving the wrong prizes. I have heard stories of players winning vacations on game shows and getting a fleabag room or having lots of bad incidents befall them, or receiving broken and/or damaged prizes in the mail. But the strangest was in a story about game show winners in the Inquirer (so take it with several salt mines) that said that a contestant was once paid out his winnings in cold cuts because the production company ran out of money.
Brian~
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But the strangest was in a story about game show winners in the Inquirer (so take it with several salt mines) that said that a contestant was once paid out his winnings in cold cuts because the production company ran out of money.
Went on Pitfall, I guess?
/true or not, that's gotta be one of the weirdest things I've ever heard
//imagine winning the top prize on Pyramid and getting paid in pickle loaf
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Then, of course, you get the other end of the spectrum, and players receiving the wrong prizes. I have heard stories of players winning vacations on game shows and getting a fleabag room or having lots of bad incidents befall them, or receiving broken and/or damaged prizes in the mail. But the strangest was in a story about game show winners in the Inquirer (so take it with several salt mines) that said that a contestant was once paid out his winnings in cold cuts because the production company ran out of money.
Given the Enquirer's track record on some other things, I'd give them a chance, but I've never heard of this. Proof or Possibly Real?
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//imagine winning the top prize on Pyramid and getting paid in pickle loaf
Oh, man...that would SUCK! However, if it were olive loaf, hmmmmmmm...:)
JakeT
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But the strangest was in a story about game show winners in the Inquirer (so take it with several salt mines) that said that a contestant was once paid out his winnings in cold cuts because the production company ran out of money.
That wasn't the guy who won big on Tom Kennedy's show "50 Grand Salami", was it?
<ducking>
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That wasn't the guy who won big on Tom Kennedy's show "50 Grand Salami", was it?
<ducking>
I thought that was the name of the latest EpicMealTime video...
*ducks also*
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No, you're thinking of Let's Make a Deli...honest mistake though.
back the matters at hand, the same story (again, remember "Inquirer"), said that a player won a swimming pool and recieved the parts to it in several crates, when he broke them open, he found that once of them contained a tombstone (and I ain;t talking about a frozen pizza)
Brian~
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That wasn't the guy who won big on Tom Kennedy's show "50 Grand Salami", was it?
I thought that was the name of the latest EpicMealTime video...
No, you're thinking of Let's Make a Deli...honest mistake though.
You know, these punny wordplay threads really pastrami.
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I'm going to kill the thread by not attempting a joke ;D
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I'm going to kill the thread by not attempting a joke ;D
Geez, now I totally understand Palmer's complaint against you.
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I'm going to kill the thread by not attempting a joke ;D
Geez, now I totally understand Palmer's complaint against you.
Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
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Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
You could cut the irony with a knife.
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Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
For what? For not being as funny as he thinks he is? We'd have three members.
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Some of you guys take the Interwebs much too seriously. And your opinions as well.
Humor is funny like that.
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Then, of course, you get the other end of the spectrum, and players receiving the wrong prizes. I have heard stories of players winning vacations on game shows and getting a fleabag room or having lots of bad incidents befall them, or receiving broken and/or damaged prizes in the mail. But the strangest was in a story about game show winners in the Inquirer (so take it with several salt mines) that said that a contestant was once paid out his winnings in cold cuts because the production company ran out of money.
At least they got the prizes - there was a mid-1990s syndicated game show called Sports Snapshot that had players compete for sports memorabilia, and viewers could call in to purchase some as well; it turned out that quite a few contestants never got their prizes.
As for "prizes not exactly as announced," how about the "$75,000 treasury bond" which turned out to be the total amount of the payments over 30(?) years plus the par value, which was about half that? (It's sort of like giving somebody $25,000 and saying that they won $50,000 if they put it in the bank and collected interest. Of course, nowadays it could take quite a long time to double your money in a bank account...)
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As for "prizes not exactly as announced," how about the "$75,000 treasury bond" which turned out to be the total amount of the payments over 30(?) years plus the par value, which was about half that?
Um, that is in fact the exact definition of a treasury bond. So how about no.
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What show offered a $75,000 treasury bond?
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What show offered a $75,000 treasury bond?
I think Wheel might have done it in the bonus game at one point.
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I think Wheel might have done it in the bonus game at one point.
Wasn't that a staple of the early 90s? I saw a lot of annuities and bonds on offer when GSN ran the 94-95 season.
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What show offered a $75,000 treasury bond?
I think Wheel might have done it in the bonus game at one point.
I have several episodes of Wheel from the early 90s where they offered annuities, and I was going to guess (but have no proof) that they also offered treasury bonds as well during that period.
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I'm going to kill the thread by not attempting a joke ;D
Approves. (http://"http://www.limepic.com/img/missionaccomplished.jpg")
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Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
You could cut the irony with a knife.
Oh sure, when in doubt take potshots at me, it always works.
Getting really old.
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Oh sure, when in doubt take potshots at me, it always works.
No doubt, I assure you.
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Oh sure, when in doubt take potshots at me, it always works.
No doubt, I assure you.
Not getting any less old either.
Seriously, I get you hate me. Doesn't mean I don't have rights to opinions, does it?
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Seriously, I get you hate me. Doesn't mean I don't have rights to opinions, does it?
Sure you do. And I have the right to point out irony when I see it.
And no, I don't hate you. I don't hate people.
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And no, I don't hate you. I don't hate people.
Alright, I feel a little better...although I'm afraid to ask what you do hate.
/yeah, I sure veered this off topic, eh?
//I return you to your regular scheduled...prize thing
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What show offered a $75,000 treasury bond?
I think Wheel might have done it in the bonus game at one point.
The annuity was a mainstay bonus prize from the late 80s to the mid-90s. I remember them offering an annuity valued at $100K at one point.
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Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
You could cut the irony with a knife.
Oh sure, when in doubt take potshots at me, it always works.
Getting really old.
I see how this works now...Party A gets dumped on by Party B, so Party A dumps on Party C. Soon the whole place turns into a alphabet soup of dumping.
Reminds me of elementary school playground, except we're all adults. Which really does make the goings on funny in a sad way. Like hobo clowns at a 3 year old's birthday party.
May I suggest as a friend peer that we all take a break from the potshots? The people who are moderated are moderated and with good reason, and those who don't contribute aren't here. The world is much bigger than our own little bubbles, and I'd like to think we all add something to this place whether it is recognized, appreciated or neither. With this being the interwebs, people really don't know who they are interacting with and what their greater contributions are. I propose we enjoy each other, the genre and site despite our disagreements?
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Having googled Treasury Bonds and Annuities, I'm not seeing a lot of differences between the two. I'm not a financial advisor, though. Anyone care to explain the difference for us? From a contestant's perspective does one offer a significant advantage over another? Obviously from the show's perspective, they get to offer a nominally bigger prize. How would prize taxes work on these?
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Having googled Treasury Bonds and Annuities, I'm not seeing a lot of differences between the two. I'm not a financial advisor, though. Anyone care to explain the difference for us?
The most glaringly obvious one (and honestly I'm not sure how you could have missed it) is that an annuity pays out its principal over the course of the maturation period, while a bond might pay nominal interest over the course of it, but doesn't pay out the full principal until maturity. (I think you can cash it out early, but then of course you don't get the full principal.)
From a contestant's perspective does one offer a significant advantage over another?
Like any income, it would depends on the contestant's plans for the cash. Assuming the production spent the same amount up-front on both prizes, the bond is likely going to pay out more money over the course of the maturation period than the annuity is; it's just gonna pay the mass majority of it at the end. (So for example, and this is an example based on absolutely no current market information and merely a pulled-out-of-my-ass illustration: the production spends $20K and for that $20K they can either get a $40K annuity or a $50K bond.) So if the contestant plans to run out and buy hookers and blow with it right away, they're probably gonna want the annuity. If they are saving for retirement and THEN plan to buy hookers and blow, they'll probably want the bond.
How would prize taxes work on these?
Guessing, but I would imagine it's taxed at the amount that the production spent on it (which of course is a fraction of its actual value at maturity) and then the gub'ment gets to double-dip when you eventually cash it out (or as the amounts roll in in the case of the annuity). Basically, the exact same as if you were taxed on your income and then spent it on a bond or an annuity, except in that case you would probably get the deduction for the initial outlay, whereas in this case the production likely does since they were the ones who bought it for you.
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re: Bonds vs. Annuities
A bond is a debt obligation of someone (for a treasury bond, the United States Government) that has a stated par value and a stated coupon interest rate. Bondholders lend money to a borrower and in return receive periodic (usually twice a year) interest payments based on the par value and coupon interest rates. At the maturity date of the bond, the bondholder also receives the par value of the bond (assuming the entity hasn't defaulted). There are other types of bonds (zero coupon, etc.) but my description covers most bonds.
An annuity is where someone typically makes an upfront payment to receive periodic (often annual...hence the name) payments of a fixed amount for a set number of years. There is no ending principal payment like with a bond.
I hope that is helpful.
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If they are saving for retirement and THEN plan to buy hookers and blow, they'll probably want the bond.
Great...now I have a mental image of my grandmother that I'll never be able to unsee. Thanks a lot.
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Some of you guys take the Interwebs much too seriously. And your opinions as well.
Humor is funny like that.
Here, here, home skillet!!!
And just how is my buddy from GSC4 anyway? Haven't yakked with you in 10 years at least! :)
JakeT
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Some of you guys take the Interwebs much too seriously. And your opinions as well.
Humor is funny like that.
Here, here, home skillet!!!
And just how is my buddy from GSC4 anyway? Haven't yakked with you in 10 years at least! :)
JakeT
Yo! I've wondered where you went to. I'm pretty much the same, but different. Just shot you an email.
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Some of you guys take the Interwebs much too seriously. And your opinions as well.
Humor is funny like that.
Here, here, home skillet!!!
And just how is my buddy from GSC4 anyway? Haven't yakked with you in 10 years at least! :)
JakeT
Yo! I've wondered where you went to. I'm pretty much the same, but different. Just shot you an email.
And yet I've been here all along. What I find ironic is that I'm pretty much different, but the same...hmmmmm...that's a real nut scratcher! :)
(I'll hit ya back in email later!)
JakeT
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Seriously, guys, if Mr. Holland Lacking an Opus isn't modded...why?
You could cut the irony with a knife.
Oh sure, when in doubt take potshots at me, it always works.
Getting really old.
I see how this works now...Party A gets dumped on by Party B, so Party A dumps on Party C. Soon the whole place turns into a alphabet soup of dumping.
You have it backwards. Party A is me, Party B is you, Party C is Kevin- so since Kevin is talking about me, it's C dumping on A.
chris, seriously, you don't need to be the forum comedian. You come off, at least in my HO, as trying too hard. And that's not really good, considering that most, if not all, of what you contribute is those attempts.
I really shouldn't be as hard on you, I admit, but I just feel weird reading what you say. It's a "what's he gonna do this time" and not necessarily in a good get people talking vibe. I would say dial it back a bit, talk more topically, and things would be cooler. Not saying listen to me, but it might help to at least consider.
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Remind me again when I've dumped on you? Or anyone else? I truly am interested so I can apologize.
Also - not trying to be the forum comedian. Just being the same me that has been around the game show parts of the internet since 1992.
I do appreciate your constructive feedback.