The following retrospect was originally posted on ResetEra in March 2024, and has been edited/updated in some areas
So recently, ABC debuted the new game show Lucky 13, in which contestants answer 13 true or false questions for a chance to win a million dollars. The show is...eh, but the thing that caught me by surprise, maybe for all the wrong reasons, the show was sponsored by Pepsi, which actually wouldn't be the first they've done such a thing (3 by my count if you don't include the following) and welp, that was enough of an excuse for me to finally post this retrospect onto here instead of waiting for the next time either Mega Millions or Power was close to a billion dollar jackpot again, and good thing too because neither are even close.
In the never-ending cola wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the two were always doing weird promotions to get people onto their side, including but not limited to having a confusing card program, an under-the-cap game "praised" by The Onion, a weird "MagiCan" promotion that urban legends say killed a child, and a rewards program that led to a lawsuit over the false promises of getting a jet. In 2003, with every network still trying to recapture the success of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", Pepsi decided to have their own prime time special with one major change: instead of the top prize being a million dollars (which would still be given out), it would be one BILLION dollars. And as the internet reminds us again and again, the best way to understand the difference between a million and a billion is that a million seconds is about 12 days while a billion seconds is over 31 1/2 years. The special would air on September 14, 2003 on The WB, and I can't believe I have to write this but for you young ones out there, The WB was a channel that ran from 1995-2006 before merging with another channel, UPN, to create the CW. I'm sure the WB was hoping this would get people to also watch their programs while Pepsi was hoping this doesn't end like the last time they did a number game with money involved. The special is available to watch right here (Runtime: 2:01:27): https://youtu.be/GoLQtZw0WrQ, but if you don't have the time to watch a 2 hour special, here's a long recap for you to read instead.
The show begins in a "secret government vault" showing cases filled with new $20 bills, each case holding $23m inside of them and totaling $1b, as we're reminded that someone could potentially win in all. The intro gives a quick rundown on what'll be happening tonight: 10 people from a field of 1000 (actually 992, It'll be explained later) will have the opportunity to win a billion dollars with one guaranteed to win a million. Also, there will be a giveaway for a new car, a giveaway for a trip around the world, and someone will win Marriott resort stays for life. The man that'll be hosting the event is Drew Carey, who actually won't have a show on the WB until the year after with Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. I'm surprised they didn't choose someone who actively did have a show on the channel to be the host of this, especially since one of those people happened to be Steve Harvey, who did have a gig hosting a talent show on the network. Anyways, Drew opens the show talking about how all this money was being spent just so The WB can promote the Fall schedule lineup, and how it would've been cheaper to just pay off each WB viewer. After making a "Whose Line is it Anyway?" joke (again, not on The WB), Drew mentions his co-hosts of the night, Jamie Kennedy (yes, he of the Ubisoft presentation and New Year's Eve special) and Holly Robinson Peete, both of who will be on later that night. Drew then talks about the audience. How the ages range from 18-74 from different states across the nation and different occupations like waitress, blackjack dealer, and female forklift operator, and how one of them, as stressed before and will be stressed again, will be a guaranteed millionaire and could possibly be a billionaire. So how did these people get here? Simply put, buying a specially-marked Pepsi product gave them a code found under the cap, which they then entered online. Out of the over 20 million codes entered, 1000 were chosen to fly down to Orlando where the event was being held to play. Now as mentioned before, 992 was the final number of people in the audience as Drew jokes that 8 of them had a wedding they couldn't get out of. When they checked in, each of them selected a 6-digit number unique to them, and later on, the drawing will be done with the assistance of Holly and a chimp, because things are just better with a chimp I guess. If someone in the audience submitted a 6-digit number that exactly matches the number drawn, they will win one billion dollars. Now the question a lot of people have on their minds is "Can someone actually win a billion dollars?" and for that, they go to their Pepsi spokesperson for the answer.
"Yes."
Okay, that's the short and sweet answer. Allow me to give the longer legal answer: Yes, but you're gonna have to wait a long time to reach billionaire status. You see, if someone were to win the billion-dollar prize, it would be done in annual payments. The first 20 years would give $5 million each while years 21-39 would pay $10 million each. The 40th year would pay out the rest of the $710 million. Now, if someone wishes NOT to wait 40 years, they could choose to take a lump sum payment of $250 million. A far cry from $1 billion, but still a nice chunk of change. By the way, the million-dollar prize is a one-time lump sum of a million dollars, so they're not lying about someone being an instant millionaire.
With that out of the way, Drew welcomes in his 2 co-hosts. Jamie Kennedy will be hosting on stage while Holly is in the security chamber, where the billion-dollar number will be decided. To insure the accuracy of the drawing, Joining Holly in the chamber are the former Florida lottery security director, a representative of PepsiCo, and a representative from Berkshire Hathaway (PepsiCo made arrangements with Berkshire Hathaway to insure the prize at a $10 million premium.) Holly explains how the number will be chosen: From a briefcase containing 10-sided dice, Holly will pick one at a time and roll to determine a digit that'll appear in the code, the die being rolled out of a clear cup for transparency. When the 6 digits are decided, the chimp will determine the final order the code will be in. The home audience will know the code, but those in the studio will not, as it'll be a factor in the main game at the end of the show. Drew and Jamie welcome the chimp, Mr. Moneybags, onto the stage before going to commercial. And thanks to the video, I'm reminded that Square had a hotline to promote Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. What a time, eh?
Back from commercial, Drew talks to a member of the audience, Hope, about how she chose her 6-digit number, and she talks about seeing the numbers and taking ones she saw repeatedly like 6. Drew wishes her luck on her method. Drew then throws it back to Holly and the security chamber for the billion-dollar moment, mentioning again that the number will only be known to the home audience and not to anyone in the studio. Now if you, fellow reader, have no idea what the outcome was and would like to play along, write down a 6-digit number and compare it to the winning number either from the paragraph below, or when the winning player gets their number compared later on.
We join Holly in the security chamber, who explains once again that the die results will only determine what digits will make up the winning number, but not the actual order. Holly first selects a red die, which gets put in the clear cup, and rolls an 8. An 8-ball is then shown to the camera and put into the sack. A white die is then chosen, and a 2 is rolled. A 2-ball is put into the sack. A blue die is chosen next, and a 3 is rolled. A 3-ball is added to the sack. Repeating the order, Holly selects a red die for the 4th roll, a white die for the 5th roll, and a blue die for the final roll, which results respectively with a 1, an 8, and a 7, and those balls are added to the sack. With the 6 digits now confirmed, the sack is then shaken up, and Mr. Moneybags enters the chamber. The numbers he chooses from out of the bag will be placed from left to right, making up the billion-dollar winning number. One at a time, the numbers are drawn. The final result of the draw and the billion dollar combination: 1-7-8-2-3-8.
We're back to the studio as Drew announces to the crowd that the chimp picked a number. "I don't know if you know this, but the chimp also picked the Fall schedule for the WB." The joy of having someone outside of the network host your special and not someone from, say, that one show premiering in a couple of days. One Tree Hill, is it? Eh, doubt it'll last. Anyways, after a commercial break, we get to see people getting ready for their trip to Orlando earlier that day talking about where they're from, where they got the Pepsi that gave them the code to play, and of course, how they're taking home the billion dollars. Drew thanks United Airlines for flying everyone down and Marriott for hosting the event at the Marriott World Center, and tells everyone that if they're mad that they didn't win the billion, do what he does and leave the hot water running. Now the database of numbers has been checked, and the 10 that will play for a million, and possibly win a billion, have been chosen. We then go to the Pepsi spokesperson to explain how the 10 were chosen. The criteria of who is closest is chosen in the following matter:
1. The person (if any) with the exact 6-digit combination
2. The person with the most correct digits in the correct position. If there's a tie,
3. The person with the most correct digits in any position. If there's still a tie,
4. The person with the combination mathematically closest to the winning combination. And if somehow there's still a tie,
5. The person whose numbers are the lowest
"It's voodoo!" proclaims Drew, feigning understanding all of that. Drew gets handed the envelopes that contain the 10 closest, and starts to reveal the first 3 that'll play in the main game later on. Keep in mind that the order called out has no bearing on the actual order for the big prize. Drew reads facts about them while the camera shows them before they're announced. Those first 3 are Brandt, a 30-year old from New York, Catherine, a 29-year old packer-loader from New York as well, and Warren, a recreation leader nicknamed Buddy from St. Paul, Minnesota.
From left to right: Warren, Catherine, and Brandt
The three are centerstage as Drew congrats them on being the first 3 called down. The 3 are gonna relax backstage as we go to Jamie for our first side-giveaway. Jamie talks about the thrill of being a teenager getting your driver's license and having the terrible knowledge of no possible chance of ever getting a car. With Jamie are 3 young people hoping to get that first elusive vehicle. Tina is from a family that has 1 car for 4 people, Monica is from one where the car is split between 5 people, and Andre just needs one so he can stop bumming rides. A few weeks ago, Jamie tested their driving skills and scored their performances, with the one scoring highest getting a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Jamie has the envelope with the winner's name, but first, we get to check out the Jamie Kennedy Driving Test Experiment.
The first test is doing basic driving skills, such as making turns and parallel parking, all while eating a Mexican lunch and trying to answer a cell phone. Monica backs up into the cones, Andre makes a mess in the car, and Tina gets into a verbal spat over the cell phone. There's also a small portable fan in the car that Tina accidently gets caught in her hair. Still, Tina takes the early lead at 18 points, with Andre at 17 and Monica at 16.
My thoughts exactly
The second test is Defensive Driving, where they will have to drive through an obstacle course avoiding cones and cardboard cutouts of Drew. Tina goes first and has a hard time staying on course, eventually running into a lot of the cutouts and getting a cone stuck under the vehicle. Her time is 23.71. Andre does a lot better, clocking a 22.60 and only hitting one cutout. Monica is last and all goes well until she smacks right into a cutout which hangs off the front of the car, resulting in other smacked cutouts. She clocks a 23.60. Jamie mocks the cutout under the car to end this part of the test. After 2 rounds, Andre and Tina are tied at 34 while Monica is at 32. Test #3 has them driving on the road, with Jamie giving them orders they need to follow, be it how to honk the horn in certain ways, making faces while driving, and even having Andre do jumping jacks outside of the car. We don't get to see how they score here. Jamie tells Drew that as silly as the test was, it was all to see who was most serious about driving. After a commercial break, Jamie announces that the winner of the Eclipse, by just a single point, is...Andre! Jamie hands Andre the keys to the car as the group celebrates with him. Drew congratulates Andre and tells Tina and Monica that they'll being going home with a consolation gift: Keys to their own Mitsubishi Eclipses. Feel good moment all around!
Drew walks over to the audience to interview Richard, who hails from Iowa. Asked what he would do with a billion, he says he's gonna buy his wife a new car. Drew asks if he's ever been on a jet, and Richard replies that today was the first time he's ever flown. "Wow, you really are from Iowa." quips Drew. Drew asks Richard if he knows any billionaires, and Richard says he doesn't. Drew introduces us to a billionaire he knows. A man who started with a tech company and went on to buy the Dallas Mavericks. Yep, we're talking about Mark Cuban.
Mark talks about the joys of having a billion dollars. Whether you win it or earn it, it feels damn good to have it. You can do what you want, when you want to. Ever wanted that house you always passed by, or that car you always dreamed about? All yours, in any color. Want to buy a jet online? You can. Mark should know because he did just that. Know anyone sick or need surgery? Instead of just feeling sorry for them, you can help them. When you're a billionaire, all the gold diggers will be after you, and you can tell who's a real gold digger when she says she likes all your friends. Mark says his best piece of advice is taking a chunk of the billion and buying the house of your dreams. Mark wishes luck to everyone, and if someone does win the billion, he'll throw a party for them, because ain't no party like a billionaire party. We go back to Drew, who is ready to reveal the next 3 finalists to play for the big prize. We start with Dean, a field engineer from Alabama, followed by Debb, a piano-playing financial specialist with 3 kids, and wrap this bunch with Bryan, a dart player from Ohio.
From left to right: Debb, Dean, and Bryan
After a commercial, Drew has 3 more envelopes in his hand. Yep, we're about to find out 3 more finalists that could be leaving Orlando a millionaire, and possibly a billionaire. They are Thomas, a 24-year old 7th-grade teacher and lacrosse coach, Joseph, a project manager and player of many musical instruments hailing from Texas who's actually playing on behalf of a coworker, and Richard, a teacher from West Virginia who enjoys drawing.
From left to right: Thomas, Joseph, and Richard. There was no good shot of them standing together.
There's one spot left, but before we find out who that goes to, Drew throws it over to Jamie to play the 2nd side-giveaway. Jamie talks about how some kids after graduating college want to spread their wings and take an amazing trip before settling down and taking life seriously. With him are 2 pairs of friends. First is Jen, a bartender, and Christine, a waitress hailing from the University of Central Florida. Second is Rob, who works at his uncle's golf course, and Clint who...plays video games and watches TRL (He would actually become an actor/writer later in life). They're from Wesley College (which became Delaware State University's Downtown campus in 2021.) Both groups brought their luggage with them, because one pair will be winning a trip around the world courtesy of Marriott, flying first class the whole way courtesy of United Airlines. The first stop being at the Marriott London Grosvenor Square, then to the Marriott Amsterdam, followed by the Marriott Cairo Hotel and Omar Khayyam Casino, and then to the Marriott Singapore, and then a stopover to Tokyo, wrapping up in Los Angeles. So how do they win this trip around the world, which will start immediately after the show? Well, for the last 5 days, the teams have been tasked to memorize facts about the 191 members of the United Nations. They had to learn the flags, capitals, currencies, current heads of state, and a curious fact about every one of them. They were also given a video camera to record them studying and, courtesy of United Airlines, a replica of the first class suite they'll enjoy on the trip. We get to see a glimpse of their video diaries, where the ladies take their studying a lot more serious than the guys. Both teams are fairly certain that they'll be winning that trip around the world.
After taking a commercial break, the teams are ready to play for that trip around the world, which Drew calls quite a trip up until the Los Angeles part, and says he hopes Vegas will be open for them to go to instead. Savage. So here's how the game will work: Each round will start with the flag of a nation, the first person to buzz in and correctly name the country gives their team control of the round. They then have to name the capital, the currency, the current head of state, and a curious fact about the country. Giving an incorrect answer gives control of the round to the other team. The first round will start with each correct answer worth $100, and the prize money will increase in the other rounds, 7 rounds total. The team with the most money at the end of the game wins the trip around the world plus their winnings in traveler's checks. Here's how the first round goes so you know what that's like: Clint buzzes in and correctly identified the flag of Japan, and follows that up by naming the capital (Tokyo) and the currency (Yen.) He gives a wrong answer on the current head of state, which the ladies do get (Emperor Akihito), but they cannot get the curious fact exactly right (Yokohama's Instant Noodle Museum has over 100,000 visitors a month). As the game goes on, the ladies take a big lead only for the guys to tie it back up at one point at $2400 a piece. However the rest of the game sees the guys stay at that score as the ladies win with a total of $9200. The VP of United Airlines gives Jen and Christina their tickets to their trip around the world. And because Rob and Clint worked hard to try to win, they're given tickets for the first leg of the trip as well. Drew throws it over the Holly who gives a quick recap of what's been happening with the players and the numbers and the chimp, which I'm guessing they did as the special is now in the 2nd half. She throws it back to Drew who has the name of the 10th finalist who'll play the main game. Instead of staying at centerstage, Drew heads into the audience and reads the factoids of our tenth finalist. And that person turns out to be Elaine, a nursing assistant from Minnesota who met her husband at a stock car race.
Drew gets a short interview with Elaine as she clutches her purse.
After taking a commercial, Elaine, along with the other 9 finalists, are at centerstage behind their podiums ready to play the main game. Before we do that however, Jamie has one last person to talk to. Emphasis on "last" as this person, a different Joseph, had the worst combination number of anyone in the studio. From Glastonbury, Connecticut, Joseph has often been told he looks, acts, and sounds like Ray Romano. While Jamie isn't sure he should get a prize for his lame number-picking ability, he is getting one anyways: a lifetime of vacations through Marriott Vacation Club International. Now we go from the farthest away to the closest, as we're finally getting to the main game. Here is how the game works: Each round, Drew will be handed an envelope with the name of the person farthest away from the winning combination. A timer will start, and when that timer reaches 0, Drew will reveal the name in the envelope and that person will be eliminated. During the countdown however, a player can buzz in and take a buyout that'll start at $20k, and increase by $10k every round. By taking the buyout, the numbers they chose will be used by the last person standing should that combination have been the closest. That last person standing will be guaranteed one million dollars and will see if their combination, or the combination from a player that took a buyout, will win the one billion dollar prize. The rounds start with a model showing off the buyout in the round to the players, while Drew tempts the players to think about what can be done with the money, like paying off student loans, putting a down payment on a house, and so forth. The timer for the first few rounds is set at 10 seconds. Here's how everything played out:
$20k round: No one takes the buyout. Joseph is eliminated.
$30k round: No one takes the buyout. Warren is eliminated.
$40k round: Debb takes the buyout.
$50k round: Catherine takes the buyout.
$60k round: Elaine takes the buyout.
A commercial is taken and the podiums without the players are removed. The timer increased to 20 seconds.
$70k round: Bryan takes the buyout.
$80k round: Brandt takes the buyout.
$90k round: Dean takes the buyout.
So now we're down to the 2 teachers, Thomas and Richard. Richard says if he wins the money, he'd like to give some to the local church, help family members pay off their debts, and start a foundation in memory of his mother who died of cancer to help those in the southern part of West Virginia with scholarships. Thomas says with the money, he'd first buy a Dodge Viper, then he'd help his family with debts, and buy a new house with his new bride, who he has a picture of clipped to the front of his shirt. This last buyout is worth $100k, and if no one takes it, one will be a millionaire while the other goes home with just memories. The timer this time is 30 seconds. And as soon as the timer starts, Thomas makes his game plan known by putting his hands in the air, showing he won't push the button to big applause. Richard stays cool and simply watches the timer count down to 0. Drew, who was faking people out in the first 2 rounds with who was getting eliminated, tells Thomas straight up that he has lost, and Richard is a millionaire! Drew and Richard are joined by Richard's wife, Jamie, and Holly as the crowd gives Richard a standing ovation.
After one last commercial break, it's time to find out if Richard will be turning that million into a billion. Before we find out however, Drew reveals what would've happened if everyone decided not to take any of the buyouts. If no one took a single buyout, and $0 was given away instead of the $390k that was, then the person who would've won the million playing for a billion would've been...Richard! Yep, turns out he was the closest this whole time, so anyone who took the money made the right move. With that out of the way, it's time to reveal if Richard had made the billion dollar combination. They decide to reveal the numbers of both Richard and the winning combination starting with the last digit. If you're playing along and decided not to see the winning combination until now, get ready to compare digits. Here we go...
Richard's last number was an 8. The combination's last number was...an 8!
Richard's 5th number was a 3. The combination's 5th number was...a 3!
Richard's 4th number was a 2. The combination's 4th number was...a 2! Halfway there!
Richard's 3rd number was an 8. The combination's 3rd number was...an 8!
Richard's 2nd number was a 2. The combination's 2nd number was...a 7...
Pepsi can breathe a sigh of relief as a billion will not be given away. Richard's number was 2-2-8-3-2-8 while the winning combination was 1-7-8-2-3-8. He may not be getting a billion dollars, but Richard still gets to leave the Marriott World Center as America's newest millionaire as the special comes to an end. So yeah, that was an interesting event to watch. I don't know if anyone actually expected Pepsi to give away a billion that night, but they came close to doing so. I'm sure the people who watched this were really only interested in the 2nd half of the show, seeing that was where all the action for the billion dollar prize was happening. Speaking of the billion, I highly doubted anyone was gonna take the annual payments and take the lump sum payment instead, like what most people do when they win the lottery. Drew was being the Drew you would find on Whose Line, poking fun at whoever and whatever, knowing he was basically untouchable. I do wonder whether it was Pepsi's idea to have him host, or if it was The WB's? This show would likely never be done today, and maybe that's for the best. And if it did happen again, I'm sure the endgame would be reworked to make the prize more out of reach. Even then I'm sure people would still enter to play it as, like Mark Cuban said, it'd feel damn good to have it.
Pepsi would bring back the Play for a Billion promotion the following year, this time on ABC with Damon Wayans hosting. Unfortunately, this one can be considered lost media as there's no video available for viewing. Spoiler alert: the billion wasn't won then either. Jamie Kennedy's show The Jamie Kennedy Experiment would be on the air another 2 seasons before getting canceled, which still fared better than Holly Robinson Peete's WB show Like Family, which was canceled after the first season. Mr. Moneybags, real name Kendall, was relocated to the North Carolina Zoo once his days of show fame, and his days of cooperating with his handler, were over. Drew Carey's Green Screen Show would move from WB to Comedy Central before getting canned, and once his sitcom and Whose Line was done on ABC, Drew would continue being a game show host, hosting CBS's Power of 10 for one season before becoming Bob Barker's replacement on The Price is Right. During all this, Powerball and The Big Game Mega Millions would start expanding throughout the country becoming the 2 big multi-state lottery games we know today. Powerball would first reach the billion dollar jackpot plateau in January of 2016, with Mega Millions first reaching a billion 2 1/2 years later. To this day, the billion dollars is still the largest cash prize offered from a U.S. game show of any kind.
And that'll do it for this recap of a moment in time. Do you remember watching this, and possibly the 2004 version, from back in the day? Would you have taken the billion or the lump sum if it was you playing and winning? Share your thoughts down below. Whether you decided to watch the video, read the long wall of text, or did both, thanks for showing some interest here. And if you're reading this Pepsi, if you wanna make a sponsorship deal here, I'm open to offers. Not like Lucky 13's gonna make it beyond this Summer.
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