While you were enjoying NBC's encore presentation of Outrageous Game Show Moments 4 on 9-6-2003, I was writing up this summary of the Powerball Instant Millionaire program that preceded it on WLWT in Cincinnati -- which had some pretty outrageous moments as well. So, without any further delay, let’s get started with our first game on this show:

“Representing West Virginia, Murl Atkins…”

“Representing New Hampshire, Don Stark…”

“Representing Washington, D.C., Mary Ellen Coffee.”

Murl is the manager of a delivery service, and what would he do if he won the $1 million on tonight’s show?

“Get out of business.”

Don has an old house built in 1790 that he wants to restore with his winnings, and I have an old house built in 1905 with leaks around the windows that have to be fixed. And Mary Ellen (who is actually a “border jumper” from Rockville, Maryland) says that with her winnings, she would like to see the Chicago Cubs win the World Series – but Todd comments, “We’re only giving away $1 million, Mary Ellen!”

Mary Ellen, though, had tough luck in the “Crazy Eights” game, failing to even add to her $1,000 minimum prize for being on the show. Murl, however, pulled out a few good cards and went home to West Virginia with $1,300, while Don goes to the semi-final game with $8,878.

Time now for the “High Rollers” game with these players:

“Representing Kentucky, Ray Kidd…”

“Representing South Carolina, John Kylie…”

“Representing Kansas, Betty Kell.”

(Ray Kidd, John Kylie, and Betty Kell – the Three Ks. Might make a nice country-western music trio except that three young ladies with that group name have already appeared on WLWT's old Midwestern Hayride show in the 1960s. Oh, well.)

The game turns out to be a wild one, and I'll tell you about it right after the break.

Welcome bach to Powerball Instant Millionaire, and our first contestant for Game #2 is Ray Kidd, who is from the tiny town of Kings Mountain, Kentucky. “You’ve got some good barbecue going this time of year,” comments Todd, and Ray responds, “There’s 18 people there and one of them passed away, so we got 17.”

“So about that barbecue?” asks Todd.

“Rained out,” replies Ray. (So has been much of the summer in the Greater Cincinnati area, I might add.)

Our second contestant for Game #2 is John Kylie, who is from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – where, interestingly, Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White also said she was from on the WOF program that aired earlier that evening in Cincinnati. He tells everyone, “It’s just a beautiful day in North Myrtle Beach.”

“How do you know?”, replies Todd. “You’re in Las Vegas!”

With that, a quick interview of our third contestant for this game, Betty Kell, who is from Junction City, Kansas. “How are things in Junction City?”, asks Todd.

“I don’t know – I’m not there,” she replies.

(As Bert Parks used to say, we’re a little late, so good night, folks! No, wait, we have a game to play!)

It’s “High Rollers.” Twenty stacks of chips on a game board, each one connected to a possible two-dice combination roll. There are ten 7s, which count against the players, and one each of the rolls 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, which add to both a player’s winnings and the game’s prize pot.

Ray makes the first pick from the board: “Number 3, Don.”

(Don? Anyway, it’s a 3, which adds $100 to Ray’s $1,000 consolation prize and $1,003 to the game’s initial $1,000 prize pot, bringing it up to $2,003.)

Ray could have made another selection from the board, but instead passes his turn to John in an effort to avoid getting any of the board’s 7s. John picks chip stack No. 7, which gets him a seven and his first strike, three of which would eliminate him from the game.

Betty is next up, and picks chip stack No. 13 – which, unlucky for her, is a 7.

Back to Ray: “Let’s go with Number 11, Don” – and at this point, Todd comments, “I don’t know who Don is, but you keep talking to him.”

The selection turns out to be a 9, and Todd comments, “Thank you, Don, whoever you are!”

$3.012 is now in the prize pot, and Ray decides to make another selection: “Number 14” (and no accompanying name!).

“Okay, Don, Number 14 please,” replies Todd – but it’s a 7, giving Ray his first strike.

John picks chip stack No. 8 and gets a 10, adding another $1,010 to the prize pot to bring it up to $4,022. He’ll win it all if he makes a selection that brings the last two numbers in the prize pot’s value to 40 or higher, but that will take at least two more good picks from the board.

John decides to pass his turn to Betty, who picks chip stack No. 20 – which uncovers a 7, giving Betty her second strike.

Ray is back up: “Give me the Number 1.” – which gives him a No. 2 and a No. 5 on the dice for his second strike.

John picks chip stack No. 12, and also gets a 7 on the dice. Now everyone has two strikes.

Eleven selections left on the board, and only four of them are strikes. Betty picks chip stack No. 19 and gets one of them, sending her back home to Kansas with only her $1,000 minimum consolation prize.

Ray picks chip stack No. 18 and gets a 5 to bring the prize pot up to $5,027. Just nine selections left on the board, with only three of them strikes. However, he must make at least two good picks to win the game.

Ray decides to go for it and picks chip stack No. 5 – but it’s a 7, giving him his third strike to send him home to Kentucky with $1,300 and making John the winner of $5,027 by default.

John Kylie is now in the show’s semi-final game, and so is Don Stark, the winner of this show’s first game – but who will join them? Find out after the break.

Welcome back to Powerball Instant Millionaire. So far, Don Stark of New Hampshire and John Kylie of South Carolina have qualified for the "One For the Money" semi-final game. Now let's see who will join them from this show's remaining eight contestants.

“Each of our remaining players has selected a sphere. Only one contains the red Powerball and only that player will remain in the running for the chance at $1,000,000. Players ready – set – OPEN!”

“YEAH,” shouts one player who finds the Powerball inside his sphere.

(Uh, sir, what is it you are supposed to be saying???)

“POWERBALL!”

(That’s better!)

“TIM TORK FROM OREGON, YOU’RE IN THE GAME ON POWERBALL INSTANT MILLIONAIRE!"

(However, it was our announcer’s turn to goof up here: Tim is really from Empire, Nevada, making him another “border jumper”!)

The semi-final game goes down to the last two picks before Don gets the fifth Powerball off the board to win this game and a chance at the $1 million. But before they start playing this game, Todd reveals that Don has to go down to his local K-Mart store every week to watch the Powerball Instant Millionaire show on their display TVs, as he doesn’t get the show in his home in New Hampshire.

Well, with the $8,878 he’s already won in this show's “Crazy Eights” game and a minimum $1,000 he’ll win from the end game, he should be able to get a good TV now. Let’s see how he does against the big “POWERBALL” end-game board:

First pick: “‘W’ for win.” (It wins him another $1,000 with his first dollar sign.)

“How about the ‘P’ on top?” (How about another dollar sign for that selection for a total of $4,000?)

“I’ll go with the ‘O’,” says Don. (Oh, boy, another dollar sign and a total of $8,000!)

“How about the last ‘L’?” (They have an “L-scelator” at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium that got a lot of use at the start of the fourth quarter of today's Cincinnati Bengals game – but Don's pick from the board is a winner, giving him his fourth dollar sign and $16,000.)

“I hope they don’t have a blue-light special to take everyone away from the TVs,” says Todd.

Don picks the “A” from the board next – but it results in his first “X”, wiping out his chance to win the $1 million. However, he can still win $128,000 by uncovering the board’s last three dollar signs without getting the other “X”. Will he do it?

“I came to gamble,” said Don and picks the board’s first “L”. (He’s gambling $8,000 on that pick – but it’s a dollar sign, taking him up to $32,000.)

“One more time – the ‘B’,” says Don – and it turns out to be his last time as the board's other “X” comes up, leaving him with $16,000 in winnings for that game and a total of $24,878 to spend on his old house in New Hampshire.

It's back to work for me tomorrow on my own old house in Dayton, Kentucky. See you next week, and maybe by that time they'll fix this board so I won't be limited to 4,096 characters in a post.