That reminds me of an old video that Bob Harris, five-time Jeopardy! champ (back when that was a thing) and author of “Prisoner of Trebekistan”, posted many many years ago.
And regarding game show prize merchandise, in the 1980s, the winners on Wheel of Fortune “spent” their winnings on merchandise selected from a large turntable.
Brother definitely made sewing machines. I’m reacquainted with the unused one my wife owns every time we have moved over the last 30 years.
“Look at this studio – filled with fabulous prizes.” Remember the ceramic dalmatian?
After “purchasing” the desired prizes, there would usually also be some leftover money. “I’ll take the rest on account, Pat.”
I also remember reading about SNL episodes where the applause allowance wasn’t used up, so they had extra time, and would sneak little mini-skits in if this happened.
My first thought when I read Dewey’s post!
The impression we had was that if you still had enough money to afford something on the turntable, you had to “buy” it, no matter how stupid it was, even if that was a ceramic Dalmatian. At that point, you could take the remainder on a gift certificate to someplace like Service Merchandise. Otherwise I would have just taken a gift certificate for the whole amount.
(I know nothing of how this worked…but here’s my wishful thinking)
If they were nice (and if it wouldn’t violate some game show regulation) they could tell everyone off camera that it was just for show, but please spend all of the money while the cameras are rolling. Then, to keep things honest, after the show they could say “It might be inconvenient to carry the merchandise on your flight, so here’s a check for the full amount if you would prefer”.
They obviously told them in advance whatever it was they were allowed to do. I believe that for all game shows with physical prizes they are allowed to get the cash value, especially because winnings are taxed. Clearly if the contestant did choose a prize, a different one would be shipped to them. No one is expected to take a dishwasher on the plane or drive their new Mustang across the country. The producers don’t care if they want the prize. The show is being paid to advertise them.
Maybe for some game shows, but my co-worker had to take the two cars, fur coat, and whatever else he won on Let’s Make a Deal. He was either a poor college student at the time or a poor recent college graduate, and he had to sell one of the cars so he could pay income tax on his winnings. He kept the other car, gave the fur coat to his mother, and either gave away or sold all the smaller prizes.
There is no way that he couldn’t tell them that he didn’t want it and just left it there? They can’t make you take something. They would sometimes have joke prizes called zonks which were a live goat or something. Would they make you keep the goat?
Edit: I just googled about Let’s Make a Deal. They did indeed not do the cash value equivalent but you were allowed to refuse any prize.
I suppose he could have refused them. Honestly, it never occurred to me to ask, and I don’t know if it would have occurred to him to refuse. I know he wanted to keep one car, so he was going to incur at least some income tax liability, so perhaps his calculus was to keep it all and use the sale of the other car to break even with Uncle Sam. Then again, Tim wasn’t the brightest knife in the drawer, so he may not have understood the full tax implications until April 15 the following year, even if they explained it to him.
I bet that’s what happened. He took two cars so he could sell one to pay the tax burden. As you probably know, the prizes that you won were a surprise so it’s not like he selected the fur coat from a list of possibilities.
I wonder if they ever got a contestant who actually wanted the goat.
I remember from decades ago an article, I think in TV Guide, of one Let’s Make a Deal contestant who “won” a brick wall as the booby prize. He demanded that the wall be moved to his backyard and the rules of the game at the time didn’t make it clear that these prizes weren’t really being won. So the show had to give him a free brick wall.
Surely the rules on Let’s Make a Deal make clear that a Zonk is an indicator that you lost the game, not that you “won” hippo ballet lessons (one of today’s Zonks).
On the evening version of The Price is Right, some of the prizes are wildly expensive – like an Italian sports car that costs well into six figures. Winning one of those and being unable to liquidate it would utterly wreck me at tax time. How does the game show withhold the income tax on a prize like a car?
My guess? They don’t turn over the prize until you front the twenty percent withholding amount.
Unlike with casinos, witholding and taxes are not the show’s problem. IOW …
Here’s your shiny new Ferrari and your shiny new 1099-Misc for $300k. Sux to be you, Mr./Ms. Joe/Jane Average.
The show doesn’t withhold the same twenty percent as the casinos?