Anybody from Michigan know this?

[beatlefreak84]

Hello all,

First off, it's good to know we have a new home.  It looks great, and I love the fact that almost nothing changed, except the location!  Good work Chris and Matt!

Anyway, on to the question:  I was having a little game show flashback last night and remembered something peculiar when my family and I took a trip to Michigan about 9-10 years ago:

We were up in the UP of Michigan, and, at the time, our cottage only received two channels via antenna, one of which was WLUC-6 (ABC at the time; it's now NBC).  Anyway, I seem to remember a lottery show called the \"Megabucks Giveaway\" that aired on that station; for some reason, despite the fact that I never saw the show anytime after that, I still remember what the set looked like and how to play the game (pretty cheap by lottery show standards; top prize was $50,000).

Anyway, my question is:  Does anybody else remember this show?  If so, could you possibly give me a brief synopsis again just to remind me how the show worked?  Since it aired in the UP, I don't know if the LP also received it; it was a pretty dinky show by lottery standards (we had $100,000 Fortune Hunt and Hoosier Millionaire on at the time back home!).

Thanks in advance,

Anthony DeLegge

[mmb5]

From 1989 until 2000, Michigan did have a game show wrapped around their big lottery drawing on Saturday nights at 7:30.  The show was produced by the NBC affiliate in Detroit, hosted by their weatherman Chuck Gadica (who says in his bio he was the second choice for the 1978 Tic Tac Dough) and syndicated throughout other stations in the state.  Over the years, it was known as Fame and Fortune, Megabucks Giveaway and Road to Riches in its last incarnation, usually to reflect the hot instant ticket at the time.

Like most lottery shows, everything was absolutely random.  The basic format would be that players would pick numbers off a board in an attempt to add up to some number without going over.  Whoever hit the target number first would go on to the bonus round to win some sort of jackpot ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 at various points of the run, depending on what key you selected.  There were four keys, one key got you the bigger prize while not picking the correct prize got you a lesser amount.

Players for the show were selected from people who received the word \"Finalist\" on a scratch ticket.  You mailed those in, and six lucky people would then come in for the next week's taping.   The demise of the show was probably due to the fact that most of the audience had died since the few times I watched it the average person in the audience was 90.  


--Mike

[GS Warehouse]

Dibs!!!

I not only remember Megabucks Giveaway, but I also remember its predecessor, Fame and Fortune, and its successor Road to Riches.  All three were essentially the same game, but each had its differences.

FAME AND FORTUNE (1989-1993):  In turn, six players select from one of the letters in the word \"fortune\".  Each letter revealed a dollar amount, ranging from +$300 to -$300.  On occasion, a bonus card would come up, and the player could leave the game and take a new car instead.  If a minus card reduced to player's total to zero at any time, they were eliminated from the game (and won a $500 consolation prize), but no score can ever exceed $1,000 or go below zero; if that happens, the player stays where they are.  The first player to reach $1,000 exactly wins $50,000; the others could trade their winnings for a spin of a wheel with cash amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000 and assorted prizes.

MEGABUCKS GIVEAWAY (1993-1996):  Gameplay was essentially the same, including the so-called \"Fortune Wall\", but there were still a lot of changes.  There were a set four rounds, and players sent back to zero could stay in the game.  The player with the most money at the end of the game without going over $1,000 goes on the bonus round; the others keep the cash they accumulated during game play (in fact, the negative amounts were eliminated late in the series, so you would be guaranteed $400).  The winner chose one of four keys, and if he/she chose of the one key that opened a safe, he/she would win $50,000; otherwise, he/she wins $5,000.  (BTW, there were again two bonus cards during the game, worth an extra key if they won the game).

ROAD TO RICHES (1996-2000):  As the show was produced in Detroit, the third and final incarnation took on a Motor City feel, as there are four game boards, one for each round.  Each game board consisted of seven modes of transportation, with dollar amounts behind each one, and the first three rounds had bonus cards.
Round 1: Boulevard of Bucks: Quick Cash bonus worth $100.
Round 2: Leisure Lane: Confetti Cash bonus worth $250.
Round 3: Easy Street: Bonus is a Caribbean cruise for two.
Round 4: Road to Riches: Dollar amounts now include $400 and $500.
This time, the winner can keep picking keys until he/she opens the safe; the sooner they find the hot key, the more he/she wins ($50K/$20K/$10K/$5K).

[JasonA1]

Mr. Wuthrich took the words right from me. I should mention, personally, that I watched the show throughout its entire run, and I enjoyed \"Fame and Fortune\" the most. \"Road to Riches\" was virtually excitement-less - lots of fanfare when Chuck would count out $100 in tens...which looked lame when we could flip channels and see the exciting \"Pot of Gold\" on \"Illinois Instant Riches\" over at WGN.

Just a few extra tidbits: Jim Harper currently of Magic FM in Detroit sub-hosted on occasion. The assistant was Aggie Usedley (sp). Near the end of the show, there would be a segment about new lottery tickets or what have you, then the drawing for future contestants. Apologies if this was mentioned: to enter, you needed to send in three losing lottery tickets.

In case of a tie, regular numbers (presumably 0-100) were loaded onto the board and those tied picked in turn. Highest number won.

On \"Road to Riches\" gameboards included \"Easy Street\" and the last big-money board, the \"Road to Riches.\" Instead of F-O-R-T-U-N-E, players picked modes of transporation - horse, car, ship, etc.

Anything more I recall, I'll edit it in ;-p

-Jason

[Seth Thrasher]

Having watched this show from as far back as I can remember (Which is around 1990 or so) until the end of the run, I can say I remember this ep quite well.   Honestly, I always liked it.  

I'm still trying to figure out how we got a detroit NBC affiliate in Southern Kentucky though....

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' date=\'Jun 16 2003, 08:45 PM\'] ... lots of fanfare when Chuck would count out $100 in tens... [/quote]
 NITPICK ALERT: Chuck counted out the $100 in twenties.  But along that same vein, how about the graphic of raining cash when the Confetti Cash was hit?  Cheesy!

And Instant Riches/Illinois' Luckiest was my lottery show of choice, too.

[JasonA1]

NITPICK ALERT: Chuck counted out the $100 in twenties

A-ha. Understood. Now was the $250 counted out in fifties? Can't say I ever saw that won.

Tidbit number five-or-so: the final show was much like \"The Joker's Wild.\" All the set lights went out gradually leaving a spotlight on Chuck and Aggie.

-Jason

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' date=\'Jun 17 2003, 10:22 AM\'] Now was the $250 counted out in fifties? Can't say I ever saw that won. [/quote]
 It was counted out in fifties.  But if you think the Confetti Cash wasn't won often, the cruise went unwon about half the time!

Tidbit number pi: The 20s and 50s were not real money; they were Chuck bucks (with Gaidica's picture, not Woolery's).

Tidbit number five-or-so: the final show was much like \"The Joker's Wild.\" All the set lights went out gradually leaving a spotlight on Chuck and Aggie.

I hoped it see the finale, but WOTV pre-empted it that night for a Billy Graham crusade.  Talk about lousy timing.

[AndyG]

I saw the finale just on luck, I turned it to WDIV 4, and they were just mentioning that this would be the finale. Overall, it was a pretty good finale, the contestant won the 50k! IMO, it was kinda sad to see it go, because I had watched it every saturday for a long time. I don't remember Fame and Fortune too well, but Megabucks sticks in my head for being cheap in the bonus, don't know why.

[cyberjoek]

Nitpick: there was no instant ticket just for the show, you send in three non-winning instant tickets (to a Lansing addy about 1/4 mile from my old house).  At the end of each show they would show the drawing for the players for two weeks out, for the last two weeks the six names drawn would each get 100 instant tickets.
-Joe Kavanagh

[gsgalaxy82]

Just a few extra tidbits: Jim Harper currently of Magic FM in Detroit sub-hosted on occasion.

And then funny thing is, when he left WNIC for Magic, his replacement.....Chuck Gaidica! Chuck also frequently gave weather reports on WNIC as well, and Chuck still does the weather on WDIV.

David

[rugrats1]

While were speaking about Michigan Lottery's game shows, does anyone remember \"Michigame\"? That show aired in the late-1970s, and, as with the later lottery shows, originated from WWJ / WDIV in Detroit. My memory is very fuzzy on this game, other than the fact that the main game involved the letters \"MSL\" (for \"Michigan State Lottery\"), and it had a lotto-type lottery ticket tied in with the show.

[beatlefreak84]

Thanks to all of you for jogging my memory!  I'm glad that I wasn't just imagining things!  I also didn't know that there was a predecessor and a follower to \"Megabucks Giveaway!\"

Just to give you my experience with the show, I can remember seeing three episodes of it:  two with the negative dollar amounts and one with all positive dollar amounts (I used to have the latter on tape, but that tape has since disappeared!).  Out of all of these, one featured a $50,000 win (mainly because the contestant had two bonuses!).

The only reason I remember this?  Well, at the time, we could only receive three game shows on that TV:  J!, WOF, and \"Caesar's Challenge.\"  I discovered \"Megabucks\" by accident, and it became a highlight of my trips up there for the next three years until they changed the station so the UP didn't carry it (at least where we were!).

I also thought it was kinda strange when compared to much bigger lottery shows like \"Illinois Instant Riches\" and \"Hoosier Millionaire\" (even the former paled in comparison to the latter!), especially when I was seeing contestants on WOF walking away with more money than even the big $50,000 winner I saw on \"Megabucks!\"

It's a shame the show had to end, but even Illinois' lottery show took a dive, too!

Which brings up another question:  Besides \"Hoosier\" and \"The Big Spin,\" are there any other surviving lottery game shows around?

Anthony DeLegge

[BobbyLankford_83]

I remember Michigame,the Michigan Lottery's Thursday Night Lottery Show. I remember seeing it on WILX-TV NBC 10 Lansing at 7:30 on Thursdays. Michigan Lottery show lasted from I think July 1975-July 1978.

When the show began it first originate dout of WKBD-TV 50 in Detroit and it later moved to WWJ (later WDIV-TV) in Detroit.

I did see the updated version in the 1990's when I went on vacation in Michigan. I believe it too aired on WILX on Saturday and now Channel 10 runs WOF and J! repeats on Saturday nights.

[Gus]

Wow.

Let's see, March 6, 2005 - June 17, 2003 = 628 days. Is that a record for largest bump?