Since this imaginary show has been mentioned in a couple of threads, here's how I'd do it. (My concept predates Donnymid.)

It's a one-hour show with four games and three new players per night, running like this:

Games 1-3: Each player sits out once and plays once with each celebrity. The first trip to the Winner's Circle is worth $100,000; the second, $250,000 additional. The player who wins the most money advances to Game 4.

Game 4: The winner from G1-3 faces the defending champion. If the champion wins, he plays for $1,000,000. If the challenger wins, he plays for $500,000 additional. If he has three perfect boards that night, the $850K is bumped up to $1,000,000.

For the first show, I'd love to find a $100,000 Tournament winner and accord them the champion's spot in Game 4.

Some of the finer details:

• The individual categories in the Winner's Circle are worth $1-6K in the first three rounds, double that in Game 4.
• The challenger in Game 4 plays with the celebrity who won him the most money up to that point.
• If two players tie for the Game 4 spot, they play a sudden-death round like the other versions had. They play with the same celebs as in their first meeting, and the player who won that game has the choice of letters.

Here's the thing...Pyramid is one of those shows, where the boatloads of money takes a backseat to the game. Honestly, I don't think Pyramid could work for that kind of money without looking gimmicky.

The $100K tournaments worked because the drama and high money were drawn out, and not rushed over the episode. IMO, $100K is too much for the first Winners Circle, with no prior build-up.