I spent a day with GAMESHOW WINNERS

game shows programs in which contestants compete in the game by answering questions or solving puzzles for money or prizes the first television game show ever spelling bee aired in 1938 helping to establish the now well-known quiz show format after this show's remarkable success production of game shows rapidly increased and raised the stakes exponentially by offering cash prizes with the top winners in the 50s earning about 64 000 compared to the boom of the 1980s when winners were bringing home million dollar cash prizes my name is anthony padilla and today i'm going to be sitting down with some of the most iconic game show winners to learn what it's really like to win big money in front of millions of eyes on national television has this large influx of cash allowed these game show winners to enjoy blissfully comfortable lives or has the brief abundance of fame and fortune left them tormented with a gaping void in their heart [Music] hello ken hey anthony how you doing amber hello chris and chandler hey what's up man thank you so much for coming on here and teaching me about the world of iconic game show winners my pleasure that is my one specialty in life so i got you what do you guys consider yourselves uh game show winners uh very strategic geniuses good at being dumb and lucky i guess that's all we could really hope for in life right i usually say professional ex game show contestant a lucky [ __ ] honestly lucky [ __ ] what game show were you on and can you describe what what made your appearance there so iconic i fulfilled a lifelong dream i had tried out for jeopardy my favorite quiz show as a kid and i got a phone call uh inviting me to be on the show and they had just removed the limit on winners and i was on the show for six months in a row i was on the show for 75 straight games i was on the prices right when i was in college i watched that show religiously since i was like 10. so it was my dream to just go be in the audience so you had no idea going in that day that you might be pulled up to her to be on the show as a contestant i mean you can see in the clip i'm like is this real [Laughter] we're on mr beast's youtube channel game show and i had a really bad losing streak for about a year and a half you were the underdog that everyone was rooting for to win because you had been appearing on this game show over and over and over and over again losing every single time people always ask us they're like you've got to be scripting this chandler can't be that bad and we're like no you're like i am not going to lose 1.9 million on purpose no one does that before we learn more about the world of iconic game show winners i walked away with two and a half million dollars who knew doing janitorial work would eventually evolve into you literally owning a private island this is literally the most money i've ever heard of in my lifetime people around you want you to do some dumb ass thing i want to take a quick moment to mention that adam and eve is sponsoring this episode i'm really thankful for sponsors supporting this series so we can have the freedom to experiment and test our luck by taking risks with this channel anyway toys toys toys for 200 please this online retailer for erotic gifts donates 20 of profits to help fight the spread of hiv around the world what is adamandeve.com yep use codependildo on adamandeve.com to get 50 off one item plus free shipping in the us and canada that's huge all of you who took the time out of your day to use our very lovely code the last time they sponsored us encouraged adam and eve to come back and sponsor us again and basically what i'm saying is your help directly supports this series and it shows now back to learning about the world of iconic game show winners how did you react when you won it came down to the last question and they played the tense music and like when my answer was revealed i was just i remember this overwhelming rush of relief that no matter what happened now i was going to be like a jeopardy champion for the rest of my life you know and that was just after the one game not after the 74 other wins but nothing's as good as the first time because after that it really was just like well i already have my dream like i'm a jeopardy champion i can put that on my tombstone it was crazy i could not believe that but also in a weird way like i could believe that i felt like it was like i knew subconsciously like when i started watching the show 100 million years ago it was like it was meant to be so it was wild that it was happening but at the same time you were just fulfilling the prophecy that's what it felt like i was feeling the prophecy i ran away screamed and ripped my shirt in half and then i ran back and hugged uh it was jed that picked my name out of the box pure unadultered bliss also when you win something i don't know why it's like a natural reflex to just start running right unexplainable what did you win a trip to italy two vespas a year's supply of ice cream which is hilarious because that's my favorite food um a year's supply of ice cream what did you do with the year did you eat all the ice cream oh i ate it [Laughter] three to four hundred thousand dollar range maybe i i could be totally wrong i i can't remember exactly but it's somewhere around to a point where i'm just winning money and it's so much i don't even remember how about you chandler you got an island bro i got an island i bought this entire island i have 10 challenges and we have 10 people and the last one of you to leave this island keeps it i love that you can just so casually say that you want an island that you own an island now youngest island owner are you the youngest island owner maybe i don't know don't fact check it let's just keep saying it yep i walked away with two and a half million dollars they don't have lovely party gifts anymore they don't give you rice-a-roni or anything when you lose so i had to settle for a seven figure check that sucks just cold hard cash and just a lot of it is it also true that you are the highest earning game show contestant ever with over five million dollars in wins i think that's true because jeopardy uh you know invites people back for tournaments from time to time so i've been back on this show uh three or four times uh and i finished in the top two like each time did you have any secret strategy to to win or just to last longer on the show one thing that's really important to me is the rhythm of alex's voice like the way you meet the clues is is what determines when you buzz having grown up with him just reading tens of thousands of clues to me because he's had the job for 38 years yeah like i can just i know that rhythm just in my head like like my own heartbeat or something can you imitate the rhythm of his voice is it like blah blah blah blah blah blah what do you think it is about mr beast's show that sets it apart from other game shows it really feels like the viewer is like going through the challenge themselves like you're you're part of the video you're hanging out with us you know anybody could compete in it like when you watch jeopardy like you'll see some questions and you'll just have no absolute clue but you said you watch it and you're like i could sit in a circle for 25 hours if the prize was 30 grand you know what i mean have you ever thought about this show as a game show it's a game show but it's like a new genre of game show i feel like it's transcended beyond just people who like to watch game shows it's it's a combination of like reality tv and then like you know like survivor but then also a combination of jeopardy and the combination of price is right it's like a little bit of all the best aspects of every other game show out there wrapped into one while feeling accessible like anyone could be a part of it someday what a beautiful spoken sentence well thank you do you remember what the casting process was like for the show the tickets are free i didn't know that which was great because i had no money so free tickets but you do have to show up at like four a.m you wait in line for like ever and on your way in there's this guy who's like i didn't know what he was doing but in hindsight i'm like oh he must have been like reading the audience because they'd be like so how excited are you to go in and people be like woo or whatever and i like basically started to cry and i was like so you didn't know you were being cast when you were being cast yeah they basically are like hey you know what do you want you know the show blah blah blah and then they just kind of seat you inside he was doing janitor work for us and jimmy wanted to do a challenge video and we needed four people and he was like chandler do you want to try and and do it and that was chandler's like really you were doing janitorial work before you were just swooped into a challenge yeah i was like set up clean up shop so who knew doing janitorial work would eventually evolve into you literally owning a private island that's a great click bait like article title from janitor to island how quickly after meeting someone do you end up talking about your win i try not to do it do you avoid bringing that up because you don't want to feel like you're gloating i think on some level you know really any normal person can like can know stuff you just have to try and be interested and and pay attention like i don't sit at home reading the encyclopedia but like if somebody mentions something in a conversation i don't know like i just i leap at it like a shark because i'm right because i'm just wired that way i guess i guess i'm just curious about everything like if someone mentions a subject that i don't know about the easy impulse is to say like oh that's hockey i don't like hockey i'm more of a baseball guy i think it's more interesting if you're like oh hockey that's the one i don't really know about like tell me how that works you're kind of naturally curious about everything if i'm interested in something it just happens to stick i thought about that a lot as a kid i was like how can i remember 151 pokemon names but i can't remember the the capitals to every state because i just didn't care about it like the memory works just fine if you could find some way to trick yourself in to be interested in a thing do you have any tips to trick yourself into being interested about things i think stories help you know people are we're prone to stories we like narratives and uh and that's how you remember stuff not as a series of flash cards how has your life changed since this massive win to get like all that cash i was like oh this is literally the most money i've ever heard of in my lifetime so was it was it life changing oh i studied abroad i literally lived in switzerland for six months and like traveled the world with it i mean i went everywhere i spent every single penny um in six months but it was worth it but i did get a lot of chances just to try stuff somebody asked if i wanted to to write a book and i was like sure i'll try writing a book and so i get to do stuff that i'm interested in and i really the greatest gift for me was just the time like i i wasn't at the office from nine to five when my kids were little right and and that was huge so i didn't miss them growing up i got to go to the the third grade recorder concert and it was great like i owe it all to alex trebek like i was i was a i was an okay dad just because of of jeopardy shout out to alex trebek i know you're gonna be watching this episode actually i don't but you should was your confidence level boosted after winning that was one of the first real big moments in my life where i was like oh my god like you can actually attract literally anything even if it's um really insane like i'm gonna run this game show that i've always watched it was factually part of your confidence and your charisma that got you recognized out there before you went in which got you called up on stage and then just having the confidence to do it actually ended up resulting in it happening i mean that just was one of the moments that really made me like wow you can actually do anything even if it sounds crazy yeah like at first i was like i don't even know if i'm if i'm good at this game and it happens every time i go back on the show i'm like well i'm a little older i've forgotten a lot of stuff i'm probably just brain doing what it used to it really is good to learn about yourself that you're that you're good at something because like i think my assumption was that i wasn't good at stuff and so i didn't try stuff it's helped me i think since jeopardy to to maybe assume i i can try something or at least i won't know till i try has the attention and fame from your wins and appearance on the show uh affected your life in any way i mean we get noticed a lot but it's not that like it's a bad thing for me i just feel bad for the people with me like my wife and her family right they're convenience like yeah went around exactly because they just have to sit around and watch it happen and i know that's probably so awkward for them right they didn't sign up for it was you they signed that before i got recognized in the grocery store once was someone like are you the girl that won prices right dead ass i was like maybe two months after it like appeared and this random woman was like excuse me did you win the prizes right and i was like oh my god yes and she was like that's so cute me and my husband i thought it was the cutest you were so great like congratulations i was like i am a celebrity there was no turning back that moment paparazzi life is forever sacrificed to the media do you feel a lot of pressure to live up to your title as greatest jeopardy player of all time i do and for a long time you know i'd get asked back on the show for tournaments and for like three or four times in a row i finished second and i was always like ah you know it doesn't even you know most people would be overjoyed to finish second and in my case i just feel like somebody took me down you know somebody was gunning for me particularly and they got me you know i couldn't quite get there well so much of your time on jeopardy was about being number one so i can see how how anything less than that could feel like you were knocked down a peg but i'm a competitive person you know and i and i wanted to win some of those that i that i was close to um so when i was on in the spring and they had their greatest of all time tournament and i ended up winning and uh and i just realized i couldn't top it you know like that's as good as it gets and i decided i think i'm done you're officially retired i'm hanging up my jersey i i just don't see how i could beat it and i and i know in my head i am getting dumber every day you know did you have a plan for what you'd spend your your winnings on pay off whatever i got to pay off i used to build my first house though you bought your first house well we built it actually you built your first house with your wins out there yeah just me only me amber and neo were you out there building it yourself at all no no i'm not very skilled with woodwork or anything they don't always go hand in hand not always sometimes yeah sometimes ask jesus it still doesn't seem real like i was winning and winning and the number below my face would kind of get wider yeah but it didn't seem it just seemed like a video game score you know it didn't actually seem like dollars you could spend and then one day after the show alex wanted to do a thing and he pulled like a a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me after the show and it was like a seven figure check oh my god and i'm just like what i don't even what do i do with this i've got to go change my pants and play two more games so i had to like hand this million dollar check to my buddy you always think what if i had a million dollars and then like you do the math and you're like oh you actually can't live on interest from that like you're gonna have to have a job ken so the money was just kind of boringly invested for the kids so you're telling me that you reinvested the money and saved it for your future and your kids and your family rather than buying a yacht isn't that awful i'm a terrible role model like i know you're joking a little bit like people did get disappointed really people were actually disappointed yeah people around you want you to do some dumb ass things you know that's what i found when i was on letterman the guest ahead of me was alec baldwin and i remember him like in the makeup chair next to me he's like good for you good for you winning all that money here's what you do don't give a penny of it away spend it all on yourself just buy jet skis like riley jupi wants to know how much of the show was rigged or staged or if it truly is just based on luck and skill all that time that you see us where it says three day that we've been in a challenge for three days that is three days i was away from my wife and kids a lot of people think it takes us 15 to 30 minutes to film because that's how long the video is but literally if we're there for 72 hours we're there for 72 years yeah yeah and i was actually in an episode too and i won some money my team won some money with this uh airsoft balloon battle royale thing and i can confirm it's real that money actually did make it into my bank account i was surprised i was convinced that it wasn't gonna actually happen i was like there's no way jimmy's gonna actually send this money like i'm his friend there's no reason he actually does need to send it to me i just had a good time but then it just popped in there i was like holy that's how it used to be we used to get do videos where we give away money to people and people get this isn't real i don't believe you and we'd have to take 20 minutes to explain to them how it's real and now we're like here's 50 grand and they're like yeah thank you now there's no question though because the show has kind of proven itself because exactly if it was fake everyone would be coming out about it now if we wouldn't be what we are it feels big literally 100 of it was real when i say i was a random [ __ ] from the audience like i was from the audience when i won the like 500 dollars for like getting the exact right price and he gives you money like cash yeah i took it and put it in my pocket and then they were like no he's like we're gonna like send you a check so like you don't get to just bring home the cash yeah they're like that's just a prop yeah i was like no that's true people assume jeopardy must be rigged in some ways like one time i was wearing a tie that kind of strobed on camera like it had that fritzy fuzzy look yeah and they were like oh just go to this um this mirror and change your tie and so i went to the upstage to this one mirror but it was like the same mirror where alex adjusts his tie yeah and people freaked out they're like no ken can't be at that mirror that's alex's mirror what if there had been clues on the on alex's podium like it was a huge like nuclear emergency that i was adjusting my tie in the wrong mirror because they really take security so seriously like like that mirror somehow holds alex trebek's knowledge and just by looking at your own reflection through it you're going to acquire that yeah if you break the mirror alex suddenly like turns into a 110 year old man or something jenny ray wants to know how much in taxes you had to pay on your prizes there's no special rule for for game show winnings like it's that's just as if you'd want it in vegas so basically you just end up paying as if your job had paid you two and a half million dollars that year you can't deduct expenses because it's not really your job damn but what about the to and from the jeopardy game right what about the encyclopedia i bought right whatever the highest tax bracket is that year that's what you pay but they don't deduct any of it which could be like 20 to 30 percent of the overall price right yeah i think that year the highest tax bracket was low 30s maybe um so so yeah that you got to keep that in mind it's um you don't get to you can't spend every cent senior cloaker wants to know if anyone in your life kind of tried to become closer friends with you after you won in total i probably won like maybe 15 000 like when i came away from it all maybe like 15 000 like cash so i mean you know in l.a that's what one month rent sadly but true when we first started blowing up like i had a lot of people from like my original high school like yo like if you ever want to hang out like i'd be down to be in a video and stuff like that and like it it really like you got to watch out and see who's just really trying to be your friend and who just wants to climb the ladder and get noticed they're like hey if you ever want to hang out i'd love to win a couple hundred grand that would be that would be if you ever had 100 grand just in a briefcase on the floor like i'll take it thank you pyrovita wants to know how long the i'm a winner feeling lasted or did that did that wear off pretty quickly it does i mean on jeopardy after the show ends you know there's a there's kind of that awkward chat with you and alex as the credit roll credits roll but then as soon as they clear uh like you've got like as fast as you can get a new outfit on you go back and do another game oh right and then you're you're immediately in the mindset of i don't know if i'm going to win or not right like you you can celebrate for like 30 seconds and then it's like okay we gotta go uh potty break put on a new jacket and then as soon as alex gets a new suit on we're just going to go again and then alex pretends it's a new day he'll be like on yesterday's program you know right right but it was it wasn't yesterday it was like 10 minutes ago yeah so you really have no time to celebrate at all what is it about being a game show winner that's brought you the most joy the money [Laughter] i mean sometimes it's true that was a priceless experience but um yeah thank you thank you i didn't rehearse this what do you think the biggest misconception is about game show winners that they're not like us it's not true at all it's just really just paying attention to what happens in daily life like reading the back of a cereal box or something you see on a billboard or a you know a mention on a tv show i mean you can you can learn something new every hour of every day every moment is an opportunity to absorb knowledge you don't have to go out and like specially make some time to stress yourself out and and learn quick tallest mountain mount everest 25 000 feet quick largest land mammal uh the african elephant quick the meaning of life tipped 20 or more those people work hard wrong there is no meaning to life i actually have a parting gift for you it's a best interviewer shirt just like the one you see me modeling so beautifully today which you could get at dildoshop.com but for you i will ship this to you for free hell yeah thank you i feel like i won a game show again all right you got five seconds to shout out to promote anything you want directly in the camera go i guess if you want to check out my youtube channel that isn't me winning the price is right amber scholl boom shout out to mr beast gaming subscribe also register to vote i'm ken jennings on twitter check out my new trivia game half truth that i did with richard garfield of magic the gathering or my podcast omnibus subscribe to anthony padilla george wants you to do it for george it'll make me so happy maybe you two will win a game show if you subscribe thank you so much ken i feel like i understand the world of being a legendary iconic game show winner just a little bit more oh this was a lot of fun anthony thanks for having me i'm flattered after spending the day with these iconic game show winners i've come to understand how this type of success while overwhelmingly positive could be a double-edged sword not everyone anticipates winning massive amounts of money on a game show in their lifetime but these winners have done so humbly and graciously which speaks to their character more than anything see you later bye guys like press [Music] i was doing a show on the game show network where it turned out the fastest way to do the buzzer was to kind of hold it in your lap and go and and they told us to stop because you've got three people clutching at their crotch and doing like this and they were like yeah we we can't have you doing that that's not gonna that's not gonna pass censorship they're gonna like pixelate it or something

Channel: AnthonyPadilla

Views: 1,281,527

Keywords: anthony padilla, padilla, anthony, smosh anthony, anthony padilla smosh, i spent a day with, interview

Id: HrsqiGXDz5Y

Length: 24min 19sec (1459 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 24 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/WeHaSaulFan]

That’s an enjoyable watch. The way it is set up put you in the middle of this, but there’s plenty of Ken, interspersed with other game show winners, throughout the video, from start to finish. Thanks for sharing this, OP!

[u/lifesizedmap]

I'm curious how many contestants actually do spend most or all their winnings on something stupid, like a jet ski. I'd imagine that's way more prevalent on other games shows than on Jeopardy, where the contestants generally seem more sober minded.

[u/chuckymcgee]

"Quick Ken, tallest mountain!"

"Mount Everest 25,000 feet"

25,000? Man Ken retired when he needed to. /s