Monopoly Millionaires' Club (TV game show)

Host/Executive Producer

Billy Gardell

At-Home Host

Todd Newton

Models

Paige Collings & Korrina Rico

Announcer

Joe Cipriano

Broadcast

Syndication: 3/28/2015-4/30/2016

Packagers

Entertain The Brutes/Hasbro Studios

Distributor

Scientific Games

Monopoly Millionaires' Club is a lottery game show based on the board game, Monopoly.

Gameplay

Holders of the game's scratch-off tickets (formerly winners of a 2nd Chance online drawing; as it began as a number draw game) will be selected at random from groups representing Monopoly playing pieces from the studio audience to come up onstage to play a series of Monopoly-style games (mostly based on properties and other spaces) for up to $100,000.

One player is designated a representative of a specific lottery section, five in all. That player will divide all non-endgame winnings between themselves and the other 38 people in that section.

Games

• Electric Company: The player faces a game board of 25 light bulbs and a display of ten switches, each of which lights up anywhere from 1-10 bulbs on the board. All bulbs are initially turned off, and the top right bulb is red. The first ten are worth $50 apiece, the next five add $100 to the total, #16 is worth an additional $4,000, #17-#21 each add $5,000, #22 and #23 are each worth $10,000, and #24 is worth the remaining $50,000. The player throws one switch at a time, lighting bulbs from left to right starting on the bottom row and working up to the top. S/he can stop at any time once the possibility of lighting the red light bulb (#25) is present, since lighting it will cause a blackout, end the game, and no money to be awarded. If every remaining switch will light the red bulb, the game ends early and the player receives the banked total.
  • NOTE: For the first six taped episodes of Season 1, the switches were all red and numbered from 1 to 10, while the amounts under the bulbs resembled the large display above them. For all other shows, the switches are color-coded and the displays now show the number of light bulbs lit, plus the amounts under the bulbs are easier to read.
• Ride the Rails: Ten different railroad names are listed, the first four of which are Monopoly railroads. Each railroad has a model train with a different number of green cash cars attached, from 1 to 10, plus a red caboose. The player chooses a railroad and watches as its train pulls into view, one car at a time. Each revealed car adds add money to the money meter and the player can hit the brakes by pressing a button at any time to bank the money earned for the exposed cash cars, but if the caboose comes out before the brake is pressed, all the money from that turn is lost. Once the player stops a train, it pulls fully into view to show the total number of cash cars attached to it. The player has four turns, with increasing cash car values of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000. If after four turns the money meter reaches $50,000, the bank is doubled to $100,000. Otherwise, s/he keeps the money the player did win.
• Block Party: The player faces a board of twelve cards numbered 1 through 12. Eight have colors representing the monopolies on the board and a dollar amount (Brown (replacing purple): $1,000/Light Blue: $2,000/Pink: $3,000/Orange: $4,000/Red: $5,000/Yellow: $6,000/Green: $10,000/Dark Blue: $20,000), three have strikes, and there's one card marked "Block Party" that will light up all properties on a chosen block (though sometimes it is necessary to light up the other half of the block when the first half is already lit). The player chooses one card at a time. Finding a monopoly lights it up on the board and adds its value to the bank. Finding the Block Party card allows the player to which side of the board to completely light up; the card(s) for those groups are then taken out of play. Uncovering the first strike did nothing but gave the player the option to stop after any turn and take the banked money. If two strikes are found, the current bank will be cut in half, and finding all three strikes ends the game and lost the money. Winning all eight monopolies augments the total to $100,000.
• No Vacancy: The object of the game is for the player to try and fill a three-floor hotel that has seven rooms per floor. Five limos are presented per turn, each of which has anywhere from one to five passengers to be placed on one of the three hotel floors. The player chooses one and must book all the passengers on the same floor, one passenger per room. Each floor's rooms are worth money and each floor has a different value. The money is multiplied by the number of guests checked-in. The rooms on the bottom floor are worth $1,000, $2,000 per person on the middle floor and $3,000 per person on the top. Filling up all 21 spaces exactly wins the $100,000, but overbooking any level ends the game. Once each floor has at least three filled rooms, the player can stop after any turn and take the banked money.
• Advance to Boardwalk: One of the show's models stands at one end of a 14-space path, holding a giant token that corresponds to the player's audience section. The player rolls a giant die to determine how far the model moves. The objective is to make it 14 spaces down the board (the first space is worth $1,000 with each space worth $1,000 more than the last, up to $13,000; these amounts are cumulative) to Boardwalk without re-rolling any numbers. Rolling numbers that will put him/her beyond "Boardwalk" will not be counted against them. The player is given one "Roll Again" token, which allows the contestant to repeat one number and continue, but the 2nd repeat ends the game and loses the money. Making it to "Boardwalk" wins the $100,000. In the event that the contestant is unable to reach "Boardwalk" exactly because the number(s) needed to get there were already rolled, it's an automatic bailout.
• Park-It: There are 10 colored cars on either side of the game board, which was a parking garage with five levels of parking spaces. Each car worth a different dollar amount from $1,000 to $10,000 in $1,000 increments. The object of the game is to park five cars on each of the five levels in order from low to high and win the $100,000. The player chooses one car at a time, its value is revealed and added to the bank, and he/she must decide where to park it. A lower-value car may never be parked above a higher-valued one. Successfully filling the entire garage wins the $100,000, but if the player cannot legally park a chosen car (in other words if the chosen car doesn't fit), the game ends and he/she loses everything. After any turn, the player may stop and take the banked money.
• Community Chest: Ten community chests are presented, each filled with dollar amounts ranging from $500-$5,000. On each turn, the player picks one chest; once its amount is revealed, the values of all remaining chests are doubled (up to the maximum of $100,000). After an amount is revealed, the player can either stop and keep the money, or give it back and pick another chest. However, if the player's next pick is less than the amount given back, the game ends and all money is lost. Ties are broken in the player's favor.
  • For Season 2, the amounts range from $0 to $6,000, and the goal is to bank a total of at least $50,000 in four turns. As before, the chest values double after each turn; following the third turn, the player can either stop and keep the banked total or pick a fourth chest. If the final bank is at least $50,000, the player wins $100,000; if not, he/she loses everything.
• Bank Buster: Before the player is a bank vault to which its door is secured with six locks on it and 12 keys to unlock the locks. Each pair of keys has a dollar amount ($6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $9,000, $10,000, and $20,000). The contestant picks off keys one at a time and one of the models inserts it into the vault's key slot to determine the lock it matches. Each time an amount is revealed, it is added to the bank and a lock is unlocked. But if at anytime the contestant uncovers a match (an amount previously revealed), the lock gets relocked, the amount gets taken out of the bank and becomes out of play. Making two matches/relocking two locks ends the game and loses all the money. So, after any turn, the player can stop and take the banked money. Unlocking five locks by revealing five unmatched amounts wins the $100,000.

Go For a Million

The finale of each show, where one player gives up his/her winnings (including the half shared with the audience section) for a chance to win up to $1,000,000 in cash and prizes. Only the player willing to give up the most money plays this game; all others keep their winnings.

On the first six taped episodes of Season 1, the contestants stood on the board with the order going from low to high. Each player had the option to surrender their (and their section's) winnings to play. If more than one player chose to surrender, the one with the higher total got to play.

For the rest of the series, the contestants remain seated in their sections with the order going from high to low, and Billy asks each section's representative for a verbal response.

In both cases, the winnings of those who don't get a chance to play are safe. If there was a tie for winnings, a randomizer was used to determine who actually played the endgame. If none of the contestants who won money choose to play, then the ones with no winnings become eligible.

Like in the 1990 endgame, the objective is to go once around the board. The dice are rolled on a shaker table called the "Monopoly Rock-and-Roller," which the player stops by pressing a button. As before, five rolls of the dice are provided and doubles award an extra roll, but, like the board game, rolling three doubles in a row will send the player to Jail and end the game with no winnings. All properties award cash as shown below.

Brown:

• Baltic Ave.: $2,000

Light Blue:

• Oriental Ave.: $2,500
• Vermont Ave.: $3,000
• Connecticut Ave.: $4,000

Magenta:

• St. Charles Place: $5,000
• States Ave.: $6,000
• Virginia Ave.: $7,000

Orange:

• St. James Place: $8,000
• Tennessee Ave.: $9,000
• New York Ave.: $10,000

Red:

• Kentucky Ave.: $12,000
• Indiana Ave.: $13,000
• Illinois Ave.: $14,000

Yellow:

• Atlantic Ave.: $15,000
• Ventnor Ave.: $16,000
• Marvin Gardens: $17,000

Green:

• Pacific Ave.: $18,000
• North Carolina Ave.: $19,000
• Pennsylvania Ave.: $20,000

Dark Blue:

• Park Place: $30,000
• Boardwalk: $40,000

Other spaces award various prizes or start mini-games:

• Railroads: For Season 1, each railroad awards a different trip. In Season 2, each railroad gives a choice of three tunnels, two with trips and one with "Lose a Roll."
• Electric Company: Player's electric bills are paid for one year.
• Water Works: Player chooses one of four faucets, each awarding a different water-related prize (hot tub, jet ski, trip to Hawaii, etc.)
• Chance/Community Chest: Player chooses one of four cards that can award bonuses or penalties. On the side between "Go to Jail" and GO, one "Advance to GO" and one "Go to Jail" are in each set of four.
• Just Visiting: For Season 1, the player wins a trip. For Season 2, the player chooses one of two jail cells, receiving either a trip or "Lose a Roll."
• Free Parking: Four parking meters are presented, three of which have automotive-themed prizes (a new car, a year's worth of free gasoline, etc.). For Season 1, the fourth meter was "expired" (a dud), while Season 2 changed this to "Lose a Roll."
• Income Tax: Awards cash or an extra roll.
• Luxury Tax: For Season 1, the player chooses one of two ring boxes; one box cuts the cash total in half, and the other takes it away. In Season 2, the space cuts the cash total in half and ends the game immediately. Prizes are not affected under either set of rules.
• Go to Jail: Ends the game and takes away all cash and prizes (as does rolling three doubles in a row or drawing a "Go to Jail" card from Chance or Community Chest).

If the player hits "Lose a Roll" at any point, it is taken out of play at all other spaces for which it is a possible result.

If the player chooses to stop, or runs out of rolls without reaching GO or going to Jail, he/she splits the cash total with the audience section and keeps the prizes. Passing GO awards $200,000 (split with the section), while landing exactly on GO awards $1,000,000 to the player and an Audience Jackpot to the section ($300,000 in episodes 6 and 14, $200,000 in all others). Upon winning the million, the models present the contestant with a diamond-encrusted Rich Uncle Pennybags/Mr. Monopoly Top Hat. Four people won the million.

At-Home Element

In addition to the studio game, co-host Todd Newton plays a game with a player from one of the MMC states, all with a top prize of $10,000. Two such games are played per episode in Season 1, and one in Season 2.

• Cash Register: The player is spotted $1 and picks two of six keys on a cash register. Three keys each add one zero to the total, while the other three each add two zeroes. The player wins the final resulting amount, a minimum of $100.
• Money Bags: The player picks two bags from a set of nine, one containing $0 and two each containing $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. If the amounts in the two bags match, the player wins $10,000; if not, he/she wins their sum.
• Hotels: The player chooses two of four blueprints, each hiding a certain number of hotels, and wins $10,000 for finding five altogether. Otherwise, he/she wins $250 per hotel. Four blueprints were used in Season 1, each with a different number of hotels from zero to three; a fifth blueprint, also with one hotel, was added for Season 2.

Studio

• Season 1: The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Season 2: Bally's Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

Inventors

• Kevin Belinkoff
• Todd P. Levitt
• Steve Saferin of Scientific Games Property

Trivia

The Monopoly Millionaires' Club drawings have been discontinued due to low ticket sales, though it was revived as a $5 scratch-off card.

See Also

• Monopoly (TV game show)
  
• Monopoly Millionaire's Club

Links

• Official Site
  
• YouTube Channel
  
• Facebook Page