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10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals

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Game show cheating has been around almost as long as game shows themselves. It's not just contestants who cheat - sometimes producers rig the game for profit. Players will play, and cheaters will cheat. This phenomenon has been fairly common, with motives ranging from greed to altruism. Here are some notable examples of game show cheating, where contestants and producers have bent or broken the rules for fun and profit.

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  • 1
    Press Your Luck - Michael Larson

    Some think this is cheating; others think someone just figured out the system. In 1984, Michael Larson recorded episodes of "Press Your Luck" using his VCR.Press Your Luck appears in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Players figure exactly when to hit the buzzer for the biggest prizes on the "Big Board." Landon won $110,000 across 35 straight games. CBS tried to avoid paying Landon, but the network admitted Landon did not technically cheat.

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  • 2
    Pasapalabra - Adriana Abenia

    Pasapalabra appears in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Pasapalabra is a Spanish quiz show with a segment like "Name That Tune." The show often features celebrity guests, including model Adriana Abenia. Adriana performed well during this segment because she hid her cellphone with the Shazam app between her legs. Shazam identified the song the band played, and Adriana read the answers. The audience laughed, and the host applauded Adriana for her clever and bold cheating.

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  • 3
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - Charles Ingram

    UK Army Major Charles Ingram, a well-known game show cheater, made history by winning the full million-pound prize on the British show. Ingram planned with two others to win the money. Audience member Tecwen Whittock was one; he coughed when Ingram spoke the correct answer aloud. The Army stripped Ingram of his winnings and rank, and he faced criminal conviction for procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.and appears in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - Charles Ingram was criminally convicted of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.

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  • 4
    Wheel of Fortune

    Not all cheaters are contestants. In 2012, Wheel of Fortune was mentioned.Wheel of Fortune appears in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Wheel of Fortune made a move to cheat one Southern belle out of $1,400 using her accent. When Renee Durette said "Seven Swans A-Swimming," she said the last word "swimmin'," as she does in Florida. To everyone watching, Pat Sajak said Durette's answer was wrong. Durette did not hold a grudge against the show for cheating her out of her winnings, likely because of Southern hospitality.

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  • 5
    Super Password - Kerry Dee Ketchum

    What's in a name? Kerry Dee Ketchum's big cheat involved using the fake name "Patrick Quinn" for about $58,000 and five years in prison. When "Mr. Quinn" came for his winnings, police arrested him. A viewer recognized him on air and pointed to Quinn as Ketchum, who was wanted in three states for faking his wife's death to file an insurance claim.

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  • 6
    Twenty One - Herb Stempel

    This was the first big game show cheating scandal of the 1950s, and one of the more interesting. Herb Stempel was an average Joe with no chance to win. He won over and over, becoming a national sensation. The show's ratings climbed until another player took him down. Before that, Stempel won $69,500, which is $612,000 adjusted for inflation.

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  • 7
    Twenty One - Charles Van Doren

    Producers ended Herb Stempel's run by putting in an under-dog rival. Van Doren was scripted to beat Stempel on.Twenty One appears in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Van Doren took his place as a national sensation.

    He won $129,000. That is more than $1 million now, but producers only paid him $25,000, the same amount as Stempel. Van Doren became a bigger sensation than his predecessor, coveringThe show is called Time.The show is called Time.

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  • 8
    Million Dollar Money Drop

    In 2010, two contestants on Twenty One.Million Dollar Money Drop is in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Contestants lost $800,000. The show had contestants divide their million dollars among three trapdoors with question answers.

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  • 9
    Soul Train

    The "Scramble Board" was the only game-show part ofSoul Train is in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.Soul Train, but it was rigged from the start. Contestants got one minute to unscramble a name, always succeeding with surprising success. Only the host and contestants knew this. After the show, host Don Cornelius admitted the game was rigged so contestants would always win. Their reason: avoid making African American contestants look foolish on air.

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  • 10
    Millionaire Hot Seat - Khaled El-Katateny

    This seems more like being a good poker player than cheating.Millionaire Hot-Seat is in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.is an Australian quiz show. It does not copy Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is in the list of 10 True Game Show Cheating Scandals.. Khaled El-Katateny won $100,000. He claimed he did not know the answer to five questions. Instead, he said he found the correct answers by watching the host's face and body language while he spoke the answers. He also claimed he read the audience for clues. Producers laughed at his claim, but it is hard to see why someone would make it untrue.

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