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Tuesday, April 25
 SCHOENLE BECOMES
FOURTH BIGGEST
WINNER IN NBC
GAME SHOW HISTORY
Chicago firefighter Thorpe Schoenle is writing his name in the game show record books. His victory on Deal or No Deal Monday night moves him into an elite list in the genre's history on NBC.
Schoenle won $464,000, eclipsing California businesswoman Cindy Pridgeon as the series' top winner to date. His jackpot moves him to 47th place on the all-time network game show list, just below Greed team captain Phyllis Harris.
However, Schoenle's total is fourth in NBC history, just below millionaires David Legler and Rahim Oberholzer of Twenty One in 2000 and Melissa Hall ($600,000) of the same quiz.
In Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times, Schoenle said he is experiencing a short-term celebrity. "It's a blast," he told the newspaper. "I come in and everybody screams, 'Deal or No Deal!' Everybody wants a loan."
The episode scored a 9.6/15 Monday evening to blister the competition in the Nielsens. Deal is NBC's highest-rated series of the season.
Schoenle said he is going to make some investments and take his family to Disney World. He faces a 40 percent tax bite on his winnings.
A 10-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, Schoenle told the Sun Times: "The adrenaline rush in both situations is very comparable, though they're different. At a fire, you're in control. You know the scene. But with this, there's some luck involved and you're taking a chance. But at the end of both, you're left with an incredible feeling,"
 NBC PICKS UP
1 vs. 100
FROM ENDEMOL
NBC was expected to search for a companion game show to take the pressure off Deal or No Deal as its major ball-carrier.
Wednesday, the Peacock Network announced it is licensing 1 vs. 100, a quiz which Endemol has sold to a dozen international countries, including Vietnam and India. The game originated in Holland.
Though no time slot has been announced, NBC may use the game as an adjacent show to Deal next season. Scott St. John, executive producer for Deal, will add the same chores for 1 vs. 100.
"We've heard hundreds of pitches on game shows since Deal or No Deal became a hit, but this was truly the first one that knocked my socks off," said NBC alternative programming vice president Craig Plestis. "Knowing this is the same team that made 'Deal' clinched the deal for us."
Endemol USA President David Goldberg said, in a statement on NBC Universal's website, his company has no shortage of existing and new game show formats.
"1 vs. 100 was the perfect fit for NBC," Goldberg said. "The show has an event feel, is easy to understand, has great tension and conflict and will have the largest cash prize of a serialized show to date."
In the game, one player must outlast a mob of 100 people in what is described as "a tense battle of brains and greed for a chance to win a multi-million dollar cash prize." To stay in the game, the player must answer trivia questions and get every one right -- wrong answers from the mob eliminates the contestant, driving up the cash prize. If the player can eliminate all 100 members of the mob, he or she will go home with the top prize.
Deal to Receive Summer Rest from NBC
Friedman to Develop New Hour-Long Game Show Block
Peter Marshall to Receive GSC Bill Cullen Award
Meredith Vieira to Stay with Millionaire
Lingo Begins Nationwide Contestant Search
John O'Hurley to Replace Richard Karn on Family Feud
Peter Tomarken, Wife Killed in Plane Crash
Meredith, Trebek Nominated for Daytime
Emmys
Philippines Hit with
Biggest Game Show Tragedy in History
Michael Davies Signs with Sony
Welcome Cover Story All in the Game Players of the Week Classic Moment Bonus Round
The Winners
FAQ
Part 2 Transition Games Across the Ocean
Ralph Edwards Tribute
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