I haven't seen CaSINO (count me blessed?). So, based on that, my idea for a revival mirrors everyone else's. Personally, I prefer a 2-out-of-3 match and a straddling format. But, if we have to go one match and one bonus per ep, here's how...
\ Game 1 and 2: $100; Game 3: $200; Game 4 and onward: $400 (depending on the budget, producer may feel free to multiply by 2, 2.5 or 5).
\ High/low questions: Keep them to 100-people and educated guesses. While an interesting concept, the 10-person audience polls slowed the pacing of CS86.
\ Time running out in mid-game: A series of buzzers sounds -- indicating the next question (whether the fourth or not) is sudden death. You might remember this is how the final match in the original CS finale had to end.
\ In case both players have the same amount of money when the match is over, both players are given another high/low question. Then, players secretly write down their answers. After the break, the answers are revealed. Player closer to the right number wins. (In case one player wrote down, say, 48 and the other 52 when the actual number of people say whatever is 50, edit out that question from the final product and play a new tie-break.)
\ Money cards: Similar to CS86 -- but player starts with $250 and is awarded $500 more when reaching the center row.
\ Car: The CS86 car games were interesting -- but also chewed up lots of show time (Between them, the 10-person polls, interviews Bob Eubanks would conduct with one out of the 10, then sometimes having to ask "Who's got control?" when getting back to the cards, is it any wonder why any 3rd game of a CS86 match was reduced to a one question sudden death affair?) So, let's take a cue from Britain's Play Your Cards Right; when a player reaches a pre-determined goal of money when reaching the big bet row, then calls that last card higher/lower correctly, player wins the car as a bonus.
