I’m just curious as to who out there, if anyone has ever been on a television gameshow? Which one? Did you win anything? And if so, how did it all get taken care of in terms of taxes and the such (like, if you won a car, did you suddenly have to pay the IRS a couple grand at the end of the year? If you win money, do they take it out of your winnings right then and there?).
Search for “Jeopardy” in the SDMB archives, and you’ll get several threads with accounts from contestants, including myself.
That’s just Jeopardy. What about other fantastic gameshows, like “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,” or “Hollywood Squares”?
Carmen Sandiego would have been fun…Price is Right would be awesome too…but, alas, I’ve never had the joy of being on either. 
I was on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” a few years ago, but was never quite fast enough in the fast-finger rounds, so I never made it to the hot seat, never answered any questions, and didn’t win a dime.
I was on one.
Made a complete ass of myself.
And I lost - big time.
Got some crappy parting gifts - Lee’s Press On Nails and some cheapo his and her watches.
Told few people I was on, and told no one when it was aired.
Tried out for two other games shows, and was once in the audience at Price Is Right (I didn’t get to come on down.)
I beleive it was EJSGirl who was on Win Ben Stein’s Money, soon after Kimmel left.
I was set to be on “You Dont Know Jack” when it was initially meant to launch, but that never happened. Then it was on a few years later as a short-lived Paul Rubens vehicle.
I was interviewed on the street by someone for the Straight Dope TV show.
I was on Jeopardy! two years ago, hence my Member Name.
California withholds 7% of your cash winnings. You (and the IRS) receive a 1099 form in the amount of your total winnings from Quadra Productions, the show’s production company.
I also made a quarterly payment to the IRS. If you owe the IRS too much when you file your 1040
I also had to pay Missouri state sales taxes on the Chevy Tahoe I won.
Does taking the Jeopardy! test and not being in the top 3 percentile count?
Both CG and I are regulars on the Paul Adams Show when it comes to town with the State Fair each October. We’ve won Texas Lotto teeshirts, hats, an umbrella or two and lotsa Lotto tickets and a few bucks off the winning Lotto tickets. But that’s about it. 
IDBB
I was on Jeopardy! in 1984, the second week it was on the air (the current version of the show with Alex Trebeck, that is).
I lost to the first five-time champion in her fifth game.
I am good enough to get on some shows, but alas, not good enough to win.
I was on The Joker’s Wild in the mid-eighties, again not winning.
I was in the pilot show of Trump Card, but it didn’t really count as it wasn’t aired. I did “win” that show, and was handed a huge oversize check by Donald Trump himself at the end of the show, but had to give it back!
Some ten years ago there was a show on one of the cable channels called Free-4-All, that pitted two teams of three people against each other. My wife and I and a friend went on, and we won the amazing sum of $1600 split between the three of us, plus a prize each (a labeler, a fax machine which I’m still using and something else).
My biggest coup was an internet based trivia knowledge game called Goldpocket that was played every Sunday a couple of years ago. We played every week, got close several times, and then finally won: $500,000.
Well, it sounds good, but this was split four ways, and instead of a 25 year payout we accepted a cash settlement of $150,000. My wife and I (we were two of the four) ended up with about $72,000, which left $50,000 - 55,000 after taxes.
I have a couple of friends, though, that are much better than me. One friend, Larry, won big on Wheel of Fortune (with Chuck Woolery) when he was in college. He was also on Jeopardy!, winning two games before being beaten by that same Five-Time-Champion who beat me, but in her first game. He later won $88,000 on a game show called The Challengers (with Dick Clark). He was one fourth of our Goldpocket team, and when on to be on Millionnaire. He was up to $250,000, but then lost most of that trying for the $500,000 question.
Another friend of mine, Mark, when he saw Larry win all that money on Challengers, thought he could do as well. Helping practice with us asking Larry questions before Challengers indicated that he did know more than your average bear. I agreed to help him prepare for the interview and to get on the show, and then to coach him to do well, in exchange for 10% of his winnings. He went on to be a five-time champion, winning over $80,000 (and yes, he did pay me my $8,000, which I think I may have forgotten to claim…)
I was on Jeopardy! in '94; lost to a five-time winner on day five, but was pretty darn consoled by my consolation prize of a trip to Ireland. I have to say it was about the most fun I’ve ever had with my clothes on!
Went to FAR too many tapings of the Price Is Right – the life goal of a young man of our acquaintance was to “Come on down!,” and since he worked for an airline, he could fly out to Lalaland for free and visit us and go to a taping. Daughter Whiterabbit and I used to flip a coin and the loser would have to go down there with him and spend untold hours of sitting on miserable metal benches in the heat waiting to go in the studio for one miserable hour. I am pleased to report, however, that while I was out of the country, James actually got called down, went up onstage, and won – a cabinet and a carpet, as I recall. Whiterabbit called me halfway around the world just to let me know we were officially Off the Hook from that point forward. I’m not sure which one of us was more relieved!
Troy, you are so sweet to remember that! I only wish I’d won!
I made it into the second round, but got beaten by a smartass! Who Ben then trounced, IIRC!
I got a pretty nice Yamaha keyboard as a “lovely parting gift” which my son loved. It was worth about $200. We also scored WBS’sM tee shirts.
How does one get on the new gameshows that seem to keep popping up yet one never heard of?
I would see if the Game Show Network has a website and try that.
Becuase I was on one show, I get calls periodically to be a contestant on new shows produced by the same group. I think the last call I got was about “Russian Roulette” when it was first taping. I didn’t go.
Back when I was in Grade 9, I was on a Canadian children’s show called Clips. I won my round, but the guy who won the third round had more points than I did, so he went on to the final round.
I won a basketball, a Nintendo Game caddy and two CDs (Quireboys and Lenny Kravitz). At the time, I did not have a basketball net, nor a Nintendo, nor a CD player. Great prizes, huh?
I was a mere two-time champion. I had 0% withheld, but (1) I’m a California resident (2) I probably won less money and (3) this was many years ago and the rules may have changed since then. I had the whole jackpot sitting in the bank until tax time, at which time I think I had to give up around a third of it.
I got a couch. I already had a couch. Oh, well, it’s a nice couch.
I also still have dozens of air fresheners shaped like pine trees.
I was selected to be a potential player on Tic Tac Dough. I drew #8 and was told I had a 50/50 chance of making up on stage, it depended on how fast each round was played. During taping of the day 4 show, contestant 6 did everything we were told not to do and as a result hogged up that taping and part of the day 5 taping. I was left sitting in chair #1 when taping wrapped. I did score some movie tickets and restaurant gift certificates.
During my high school years in the early/mid 1980s, I was on my school’s It’s Academic! team. It’s Academic was a high school quiz bowl-type show that aired in the Buffalo area. My team actuakly made it to the finals, but we lost by 40 points to West Seneca West. Bah.