History Main / GameShowWinningsCap

In response to the seven figures available on big-money shows such as ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', many other game shows have offered seven-figure winnings. With the 1950s rigging far in the genre's past, and multiple $1,000,000 game show winnings in the 2000s, winnings caps are pretty much a ForgottenTrope.

* The Big Three networks imposed winnings caps on all network game shows, all in answer to the quiz show scandals:
** {{CBS}} imposed a cap on game show winnings. Initially, contestants on CBS-affiliated game shows were retired after winning $25,000, and could not keep any winnings over that limit (although sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s, a contestant could keep up to $10,000 more than the limit, for a $35,000 maximum payout). The cap increased to $50,000 in 1984, $75,000 by 1986, then $125,000 sometime in the 1990s. Come 2006, with ''ThePriceIsRight'' having long since been the only CBS original game show, the winnings cap was done away with entirely.
** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was ''ThreeOnAMatch'' (1971-74), which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973. Several game shows took full advantage of this, particularly the 1980s version of ''SaleOfTheCentury'' (which, accounting for top-end Cadillacs and opulent trips as prizes plus cash jackpots of $50,000 or more, could net a contestant well over $100,000) and ''Series/DreamHouse'' (which ran for 15 months during 1983-84, where a couple could [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin win a house]]; with the value of the house and other prizes added in, big winners came away with $125,000 or more during their stay).
*** The daytime ''WheelOfFortune'', although they didn't have the massive prize budget as the syndicated series, sometimes had weeks with increased budgets, with Porsches and yachts parked onstage in the years before the syndicated show premiered.
** {{ABC}} limited winnings to $30,000, although contestants were retired after winning $20,000. This cap was removed in 1984.

* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions didn't limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''TheJokersWild'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, there was a brief period where the shows imposed winnings caps (at the network owned-and-operated stations' insistence). There was no winnings limit at the time when Thom [=McKee=] (the most famous contestant on ''Tic Tac Dough'') appeared, and he went on to win $312,000 in cash and prizes.

* After contestant Michael Larson used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for $110,237, that show placed a $75,000 cap on winnings. In Fall 1984, contestants were retired after winning $50,000.
* ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' also used to limit contestants to $75,000 in winnings, with the balance donated to charity. The cap was gradually raised over time and abolished entirely in 2003. The removal of the winnings cap coincided with the removal of the five-day limit imposed on returning champions; since 2003, any ''Jeopardy!'' contestant can stay on as long as he or she keeps winning, and keep all money earned. The very next year, a certain young man named Ken Jennings took full advantage of this rule.
* Similarly, ''Wheel of Fortune'' placed a $100,000 cap (later $125,000 and still later, $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved unreachable. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the bonus round, which has only been won once so far.
* ''[[Series/BreakTheBank1985 Break The Bank]]'' (1985-86) limited the winnings to $75,000. Once the Master Puzzle format was instituted, breaking the Bank retired a winning couple immediately.
* A number of shows (examples: ''The $10,000/$20,000 Pyramid'', ''Now You See It'', and ''The Moneymaze'') retired a contestant who won its top prize, regardless of what it was (on ''Now You See It'', it could be as little as $5000).
* In the United Kingdom, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (which oversaw pretty much everything that wasn't TheBBC) imposed a £6,000 per-episode cap in 1982. There was a revival of ''The $64,000 Question'' (and yes, it was titled in dollars) which offered a top prize of £6,400, but since the prize was accumulated over several weeks, they got away with it. When the IBA was scrapped in 1992, pretty much the first act of its successor, the Independent Television Commission, was to remove the cap, though it was still a few years before the really big money shows started to turn up.
** Early ITV in the 1950s didn't have any limits on game show prizes. This meant that accounting for inflation, the top prize of the earlier British version ''The 64,000 Question'' of 64,000 sixpence (£1,600), later 64,000 shillings (£3,200), were worth considerably more in 1990 (at about £16,000 and £32,000) than the top prize of the then-new revival.

* ''[[BreakTheBank1985 Break The Bank]]'' (1985-86) limited the winnings to $75,000. Once the Master Puzzle format was instituted, breaking the Bank retired a winning couple immediately.

In response to the seven figures available on big-money shows such as ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', many other game shows have offered seven-figure winnings. With the 1950s rigging far in the genre's past, and multiple $1,000,000 game show winnings in the 2000s, winnings caps are pretty much a ForgottenTrope. Returning champion caps, however, are still present, as most remaining game shows are one-and-done. Further, contestants may not participate on more than one game show within a one-year period, or three in ten years.

** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was ''ThreeOnAMatch'' (1971-74), which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973. Several game shows took full advantage of this, particularly the 1980s version of ''SaleOfTheCentury'' (which, accounting for top-end Cadillacs and opulent trips as prizes plus cash jackpots of $50,000 or more, could net a contestant well over $100,000) and ''DreamHouse'' (which ran for 15 months during 1983-84, where a couple could [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin win a house]]; with the value of the house and other prizes added in, big winners came away with $125,000 or more during their stay).

* ''{{Jeopardy}}'' also used to limit contestants to $75,000 in winnings, with the balance donated to charity. The cap was gradually raised over time and abolished entirely in 2003. The removal of the winnings cap coincided with the removal of the five-day limit imposed on returning champions; since 2003, any ''Jeopardy!'' contestant can stay on as long as he or she keeps winning, and keep all money earned. The very next year, a certain young man named Ken Jennings took full advantage of this rule.

* After contestant Michael Larson used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for $110,237 (incidentally, just after CBS removed its cap), that show placed a $25,000 cap on winnings. In fall 1984, contestants were retired after winning $50,000.

* After contestant Michael Larson used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for $110,237 (incidentally, just after CBS removed its cap), that show placed a $75,000 cap on winnings. In fall 1984, contestants were retired after winning $50,000.

** {{CBS}} imposed a cap on game show winnings. Initially, contestants on CBS-affiliated game shows were retired after winning $25,000, and could not keep any winnings over that limit (although sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s, a contesant could keep up to $10,000 more than the limit, for a $35,000 maximum payout). The cap increased to $50,000 in 1984, $75,000 by 1986, then $125,000 sometime in the 1990s. Come 2006, with ''ThePriceIsRight'' having long since been the only CBS original game show, the winnings cap was done away with entirely.

** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was ''ThreeOnAMatch'' (1971-74), which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973. Several game shows took full advantage of this, particularly the 1980s version of ''SaleOfTheCentury'' (which -- accounting for top-end Cadillacs and opulent trips as prizes, and cash jackpots of $50,000 or more -- could net a contestant well more than $100,000 in winnings) and ''DreamHouse'' (which ran for 15 months, during 1983 and 1984, where a couple could [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literally win a house]]; with the value of the house and other prizes added in, big winners came away with $125,000 or more during their stay).
*** The daytime ''WheelOfFortune'', although they did not have the massive prize budget as the syndicated series, sometimes had weeks with increased budgets, with Porsches and yachts parked onstage in the years before the syndicated show premiered.

** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was ''ThreeOnAMatch'' (1971-74), which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973. Several game shows took full advantage of this, particularly the 1980s version of ''SaleOfTheCentury'' (which, accounting for top-end Cadillacs and opulent trips as prizes, and cash jackpots of $50,000 or more, could net a contestant well more than $100,000 in winnings). (The daytime ''WheelOfFortune'', although they did not have the massive prize budget as the syndicated series, sometimes had weeks with increased budgets, with Porsches and yachts parked onstage in the years before the syndicated show premiered.)

* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions didn't limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''TheJokersWild'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, there was a brief period where the show imposed winnings caps (at the network owned-and-operated stations' insistence). There was no winnings limit at the time when Tom McKee (the most famous contestant on ''TicTacDough'') appeared, and he went on to win $312,000 in cash and prizes.
* After contestant Michael Larson used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for $110,237 (incidentally, just after CBS removed its cap), that show placed a $75,000 cap on winnings. In Fall 1984, contestants were retired after winning $50,000.
* ''{{Jeopardy}}!'' also used to limit contestants to $75,000 in winnings, with the balance donated to charity. The cap was gradually raised over time and omitted entirely in 2003. The removal of the winnings cap coincided with the removal of the five-day limit imposed on returning champions; since 2003, any ''Jeopardy!'' contestant can stay on as long as he or she keeps winning, and keep all money earned. The very next year, a certain young man named Ken Jennings took full advantage of this rule.
* Similarly, ''WheelOfFortune'' placed a $100,000 cap (later $125,000 and still later, $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved unreachable. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the BonusRound, which has only been won once so far.
* ''[[BreakTheBank1985 Break The Bank]]'' (1985-86) limited the winnings to $75,000. Once the Master Puzzle format was instituted, breaking the Bank retired you immediately.
* In the UK, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (which oversaw pretty much everything that wasn't the BBC) imposed a £6,000 per-episode cap in 1982. There was a revival of ''The $64,000 Question'' (and yes, it was titled in dollars) which offered a top prize of £6,400, but since the prize was accumulated over several weeks, they got away with it. When the IBA was scrapped in 1992, pretty much the first act of its successor, Independent Television Commission, was to remove the cap, though it was still a few years before the really big money shows started to turn up.
** It's interesting to note that early ITV in the 1950s didn't have any limits on game show prizes. This meant that accounting for inflation, the top prize of the earlier British version ''The 64,000 Question'' of 64,000 sixpence (£1,600), later 64,000 shillings (£3,200), were worth considerably more in 1990 (at about £16,000 and £32,000) than the top prize of the then-new revival.
* Japan has a nationwide cap set at 2 million yen (currently just under US$25,000 / £15,000 as of April 2011) per person and 10 million yen total for a prize split between 5 or more players. As a result, even single-player shows like ''Millionaire'' have the contestant bring along 4 friends and/or family members with whom to split the prize.

** {{CBS}} imposed a cap on game show winnings. Initially, contestants on CBS-affiliated game shows were retired after winning $25,000, and could not keep any winnings over that limit. The cap increased to $75,000 over time, then $125,000. Come 2006, with ''ThePriceIsRight'' having long since been the only CBS original game show, the winnings cap was done away with entirely.
** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was ''ThreeOnAMatch'' (1971-74), which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973.

* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions didn't limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''TheJokersWild'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, these shows were still limited by network winnings caps.

* Similarly, ''WheelOfFortune'' placed a $125,000 cap (later $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved unreachable. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the BonusRound, which has only been won once so far.

In response to the seven figures available on big-money shows such as ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', many other game shows have offered seven-figure winnings. With the 1950s rigging far in the genre's past, and multiple $1,000,000 game show winnings in the 2000s, winnings caps are pretty much a DeadHorseTrope. Returning champion caps, however, are still present, as most remaining game shows are one-and-done. Further, contestants may not participate on more than one game show within a one-year period, or three in ten years.

* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions didn't limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''[=~The Joker's Wild~=]'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, these shows were still limited by network winnings caps.

* ''{{Jeopardy}}!'' also used to limit contestants to $75,000 in winnings, with the balance donated to charity. The cap was gradually raised over time and omitted entirely in 2003. The removal of the winnings cap coincided with the removal of the five-day limit imposed on returning champions; since 2003, any ''Jeopardy!'' contestant can stay on as long as he or she keeps winning, and keep all money earned.

In response to the seven figures available on big-money shows such as ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', many other game shows have offered seven-figure winnings. With the 1950s rigging far in the genre's past, and multiple $1,000,000 game show winnings in the 2000s, winnings caps are pretty much a DeadHorseTrope. Returning champion caps, however, are still present, as most remaining game shows are one-and-done. Also, a contestant may not participate on more than one game show within a one-year period, or three in ten years.

* The Big Three networks imposed winnings caps on all network game shows, all in answer to the quiz show scandals:
** {{CBS}} imposed a cap on game show winnings. Initially, contestants on CBS-affiliated game shows were retired after winning $25,000, and could not keep any winnings over that limit. The cap increased to $75,000 over time, then $125,000. Come 2006, with ''ThePriceIsRight'' having long since been the only CBS original game show, the winnings cap was done away with entirely.
** {{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings. An exception to this was the 1970s game show ''ThreeOnAMatch'', which eradicated championship limits entirely in mid-1973.
** {{ABC}} limited winnings to $30,000, although contestants were retired after winning $20,000. This cap was removed in 1984.
* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions did not limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''[=~The Joker's Wild~=]'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, these shows were still limited by network winnings caps.
* After contestant Michael Larson used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for $110,237 (incidentally, just after CBS removed its cap), that show placed a $75,000 cap on winnings. In Fall 1984, contestants were retired after winning $50,000.
* ''{{Jeopardy}}!'' also used to limit contestants to $75,000 in winnings, with the balance donated to charity. The cap was gradually raised over time and omitted entirely in 2003. The removal of the winnings cap coincided with the removal of the five-day limit imposed on returning champions; since 2003, any ''Jeopardy!'' contestant can stay on as long as he or she keeps winning, and keep all money earned.
* Similarly, ''WheelOfFortune'' placed a $125,000 cap (later $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved unreachable. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the BonusRound, which has only been won once so far.
* ''[[BreakTheBank1985 Break The Bank]]'' (the 1980s game show) limited the winnings to $75,000 in its first few months.
* In the UK, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (which oversaw pretty much everything that wasn't the BBC) imposed a £6,000 per-episode cap in 1982. There was a revival of ''The $64,000 Question'' (and yes, it was titled in dollars) which offered a top prize of £6,400, but since the prize was accumulated over several weeks, they got away with it. When the IBA was scrapped in 1992, pretty much the first act of its successor, Independent Television Commission, was to remove the cap, though it was still a few years before the really big money shows started to turn up.
** It's interesting to note that early ITV in the 1950s didn't have any limits on game show prizes. This meant that accounting for inflation the top prize of the earlier British version ''The 64,000 Question'' of 64,000 sixpence (£1,600) then later 64,000 shillings (£3,200) were worth considerably more in 1990 (at about £16,000 and £32,000) than the top prize of the then new revival.

In response to the seven figures available on big-money shows such as ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', many other game shows have offered seven-figure winnings. With the 1950s rigging far in the genre's past, and multiple $1,000,000 game show winnings in the 2000s, winnings caps are pretty much a DeadHorseTrope. Returning champion caps, however, are still present, as most remaining game shows are one-and-done.

* Considering that they were the ones who rigged game shows in the first place, JackBarry and Dan Enright Productions did not limit returning champions on their flagship shows ''TicTacDough'' and ''[=~The Joker's Wild~=]]'' — you could literally stay on as long as you kept winning. However, these shows were still limited by network winnings caps.

* Similarly, ''WheelOfFortune'' placed a $125,000 cap (later $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved BeyondTheImpossible. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the BonusRound, which has only been won once so far.

Way back in the earlier days of television in TheFifties, a man named Herb Stempel competed on the GameShow ''TwentyOne''. After it was discovered that he intentionally lost to Charles van Doren, the entire game show industry was [[GenreKiller nearly brought down]]. Although the genre regained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, many shows from that point onward had to endure a series of standards and practices to prove that they were on the up-and-up. Among these limitations was the GameShowWinningsCap, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a limit to the amount of money that a game show contestant can win and/or how long he or she can stay as returning champion.

*The Big Three networks imposed winnings caps on all network game shows, all in answer to the quiz show scandals:
**{{CBS}} imposed a cap on game show winnings. Initially, contestants on CBS-affiliated game shows were retired after winning $25,000, and could not keep any winnings over that limit. The cap increased to $75,000 over time, then $125,000. Come 2006, with ''ThePriceIsRight'' having long since been the only CBS original game show, the winnings cap was done away with entirely.
**{{NBC}} put a limit on the number of games a returning champion could play, but did not cap winnings.
**{{ABC}} limited winnings to $30,000, although contestants were retired after winning $20,000. This cap was removed in 1984.
*After contestant Michael Larsen used his LoopholeAbuse of the game to hit up ''PressYourLuck'' for upwards of $110,000 (incidentally, just after CBS removed its cap), that show placed a $75,000 cap on winnings.

*Similarly, ''WheelOfFortune'' placed a $125,000 cap (later $200,000) on winnings during the early 1990s, which is also the point that the show switched from one-and-done to allowing champions to stay on for up to three days. The winnings cap stayed at $200,000 when the show reverted to one-and-done contestants, but even with the addition of a $100,000 prize in the BonusRound in 2002, the $200,000 cap proved unreachable. ''Wheel'' eliminated the cap in 2008 with the addition of a $1,000,000 prize in the BonusRound, which has only been won once so far.
*''[[BreakTheBank1985 Break the Bank]]'' (the 1985 game show) limited the winnings to $75,000 in the show's first few months.

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