Greed (game show)

Six contestants were asked a question with a numerical answer between 10–999. Each contestant locked-in their answers using a keypad in front of them. After all six contestants submitted a guess, the answer was revealed and the contestant with the guess farthest from the correct answer was eliminated. The surviving contestants were stationed at podiums based upon the closeness of their guess to the correct answer, with the contestant who had the closest guess becoming the team's captain. If two or more contestants gave the same guess or guesses that were of equal distance from the correct answer, the contestant who entered their guess before the other(s) received the higher ranking.

Beginning with the show's April 28, 2000 episode (the first episode of Super Greed) and continuing for the rest of the show's run, the qualifying round was eliminated, although some of the episodes that aired in June 2000 still featured the qualifying question. Five contestants were introduced and sent to their positions, which had been determined by a random drawing backstage.

The team then attempted to answer a series of eight questions worth successively higher amounts, from $25,000 up to $2,000,000 ($4,000,000 for Super Greed episodes).

Each of the first four questions had one correct answer to be chosen from several options (four for questions 1 and 2, five for questions 3 and 4). The host read the question and answers to one contestant, who would choose one of them. The captain could either accept that answer or replace it with a different one. If the final choice was correct, the team's winnings were increased to the value of that question; the captain could then choose to either quit the game or risk the money on the next question. If the captain quit after any of these four questions, the money was split evenly among all five team members. Giving/accepting a wrong answer ended the game and forfeited all winnings. The team member in the lowest position (farthest from the correct answer when a qualifying question was played) gave the answer to question 1, and each question after that was answered by the member in the next higher position.

The remaining four questions each had four correct answers to be chosen from several options, starting with six for question 5 and increasing by one for each question after that. The host would reveal the category of the upcoming question to the captain and offer a chance to end the game, with the prize money being split among the remaining players according to their shares. If the captain chose to continue, a "Terminator" round was played (see below) prior to the question being asked. The captain was given a "Freebie" prior to question 5 and could use it to eliminate a wrong answer from any one question.

For questions 5 through 7, answers were given by the players in the positions below the captain, one each from lowest to highest. With four or fewer players left in the game, the captain answered last, then (if necessary) chose to either give enough additional answers to make four or delegate the choices to other members. Once all the answers were in, the captain could change one of them if desired. Answers were revealed individually as correct or incorrect; if three correct answers were found, the host offered a buyout to quit the game. 10% of the question's value was offered on questions 5 and 6 ($20,000 and $50,000 ($100,000 on Super Greed episodes), respectively), to be split evenly among the remaining players, and the decision rested with the captain. On question 7, each individual team member could choose to take a buyout consisting of a Jaguar XK8 convertible and $25,000 cash (approximately $100,000 total value).

If the captain (questions 5 and 6) or at least one team member (question 7) chose to continue with the game, the fourth answer was revealed. If it was correct, the team split the cash award for that level's question. If an incorrect answer was revealed at any point, the game ended and the team left with nothing.

A Terminator challenge was played before each of questions 5 through 7. One contestant was chosen at random and given the option to challenge a teammate to a one-question showdown for their share of the team's collective winnings. If the selected contestant issued a challenge, he/she was given a guaranteed $10,000 to keep regardless of the result of the challenge or the overall game. If the selected contestant declined to issue a challenge, the team would remain as it was and the host would proceed to the next question.

The two contestants faced each other across podiums at center stage, and the host read a toss-up question. The first contestant to buzz-in and answer correctly eliminated the other contestant from the game and claimed their share of the collective winnings. If a contestant buzzed-in and provided an incorrect response or did not immediately respond, their opponent won by default. If the team captain was eliminated, the contestant who won the challenge became the new captain; otherwise, the challenge winner kept their original position within the team.

Contestants were originally required to wait for the question to be read completely before buzzing-in. Buzzing-in too early immediately eliminated the contestant, regardless of whether their answer was correct or incorrect. This was later changed to allow contestants to buzz-in at any time if they knew the answer, though the host would immediately stop reading the question at that point.

Prior to the $2 million question, each team member again individually decided to quit with their share of the team's collective winnings or continue playing. If any team members chose to continue, a question with nine possible answers was presented, of which four were correct.

In the only instance in which a contestant chose to play the $2 million question, the remaining contestant was given 30 seconds to select four answers and was warned that if four answers were not selected within the time limit, the game would end and the contestant would leave with nothing. Following the selection of answers, correct responses were revealed individually. None of the answers could be changed and no buyout was offered following the reveal of the third correct answer. If all four chosen answers were correct, the contestant (or team) won $2 million.

Daniel Avila was the only contestant to reach this level, risking $200,000 to go on and play for $2,200,000 (this was during Greed's climbing jackpot era) on the episode that aired November 18, 1999.[5] However, Avila missed the question based on a Yale University study about the four smells most recognizable to the human nose (peanut butter, coffee, Vicks Vaporub, and chocolate). Avila correctly guessed peanut butter, coffee, and Vicks Vaporub but incorrectly guessed tuna instead of chocolate, and left with nothing.[6]

In the first month of Greed's run, the top prize was worth $2 million plus an additional $50,000 for each game where the top prize was not won. As no team had reached the jackpot question and provided the necessary correct answers, the jackpot reached $2,550,000 in the first month. When the program became a permanent series, the top prize was changed to a flat $2,000,000. During the time where the jackpot could increase by $50,000 each episode, the program was called "Greed". When it became permanent, it was, from that point on, called Greed: The Series; that is, except for the time it was "Super Greed".

In February 2000, eight previous Greed contestants were brought back for a "Million Dollar Moment", with one taking place at the end of each of four episodes. The players were all players who got very close to the big $2 million question, but never made it. Two contestants faced off with a Terminator-style sudden-death question, and the winner was given a $1 million question with eight possible choices.

The contestant had 30 seconds to study the question, then 10 seconds to lock-in the four correct answers to win the money. Correct answers were revealed one at a time, and if all four were correct, the contestant won an additional $1 million. However, if any of the answers were wrong, the contestant won no additional money but kept any money won on previous episodes.

Curtis Warren became Greed's only Million Dollar Moment winner when he successfully answered a question about movies based on television shows on the episode that aired February 11, 2000.[7] Warren was the program's biggest winner with $1,410,000 and briefly held the title of biggest U.S. game show winner of all time; combined with an earlier six-figure winning streak on Sale of the Century in 1986 and an appearance on Win Ben Stein's Money, Warren's record winnings stood at $1,546,988.

Warren's record was beaten within a week as David Legler won $1,765,000 on NBC's Twenty One.[8] Warren has since been surpassed by others.

From April 28, 2000 to May 19, 2000, the show was known as Super Greed. The qualifying question was eliminated, and the values for the top three questions were doubled, making the eighth question worth a potential $4 million. The cash buyout on the sixth question was increased to $100,000, and any team that got this question right and continued past it was guaranteed $200,000 regardless of the outcome of the game.

Two teams reached the seventh question during this time. The first team (consisting of John Epperson and Lisa Stigers) was offered the same individual car/cash buyout as in the regular episodes, but with the cash portion increased to $75,000 (bringing the total value to $150,000), and all the remaining members elected to take the offer. The second team (consisting of Phyllis Harris, Lauren Griswold and David Juliano) was offered a $150,000 all-cash buyout to be split among the members; they chose to continue and won the $2 million prize.