I guess it beats scrounging around for loose change to buy lottery tickets.
According to a new USA Today report, a record amount of laid off parents are looking to make ends meet by appearing on television game shows. Producers from popular game shows, such “Wheel of Fortune” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” say the recession has forced many moms and dads to look for creative ways to feed their children. Parents, who would have never dreamed of applying for a spot on a game show, are now standing in long lines to secure a spot on game shows that could make them millionaires—-or at the very least earn them enough to pay the mortgage and insurance bills.
Remember Ken Jennings? He currently holds the title of top game-show money winner of all time. The father of two young children won 74 consecutive games and took home $2,520,700 on his record-breaking “Jeopardy” winning streak in 2004. He went on to win an additional $500,000 on the show’s “Ultimate Tournament of Champions” and another $500,000 on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” in 2008. Jennings had a day job when he raked in his winnings, but game show producers say people like the brainiac dad from Utah, are now in the minority.
According to the report, NBC’s popular game show “Deal or No Deal” has received a record number of applications from unemployed parents in the last six months. What’s more, producers say up to 20 percent of prospective players at summer casting calls in major U.S. cities had been recently laid off from their jobs versus about five percent in 2008. Many are stay-at-home dads, unemployed stockbrokers and laid-off factory workers.
The souring economy has also humbled some potential contestants. Game show producers say people are no longer looking to win big-ticket luxury items, such as dream vacations to exotic locales, beach houses or boats. Rather, they want to get their hands on cold hard cash in order to survive.
One “Wheel of Fortune” contestant admitted that he’d be happy to pocket $1,000, so he could help pay for his son’s braces.
Have you applied to be on a game show since the economy bottomed out?
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