Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck
Lifespan: 2001-2003, Game Show Network
Host: Todd Newton
Announcer: Gary Kroeger
Producer: Bob Boden
Music: Alan Ett Music Group
PREMISE: Three players spin the big board in the hopes of money and prizes, while avoiding the whammies, waiting to take it all away.
Play: In round one, each player gets $1,000 stake money, and takes turns spinning the board. The new board still has 18 screens and three slides each, but they are 18 inch TV sets, with neon lights surrounding the screens. The board starts with four whammies. A prize or money amount is added to the players' score, but a whammy takes away everything, and eliminates that player from the round. A player may freeze at any point. That protects that player's money and prizes, but he or she gets no more spins. After the players all spin or freeze, more whammies are added to the board, and the process continues until all players have frozen or whammied out. Round one values range from $200 to $1,500, and prizes from $100 to $1,000.
The GEM Car: In order to win this car worth $9,000; a player must land on the "GEM or Spin Again" space in round one, take the GEM card, hit the "CAR or Spin Again" space in round three, not whammy during the game, and win the game. It was not won during the first season.
Round two is the question round, which is played almost exactly like the round from the original game. In the new round, there are five questions instead of four.
The third round is the same as the big money round from the original game. "$1,000 or Spin Again" is a new space offered in this round.
When all the spins are taken, the player that has the highest score of cash and prizes wins all of it. A player who has four whammies is out of the game, and eliminated. If two or three players tie at zero, and don't whammy out, they are eligible to return on a future show. With that exception, players are on for only one episode.
Season Two Changes:
BIG BANK: Two squares in round one and one in round two bear the words "Big Bank." The Big Bank begins with $3,000 seed money and whenever a player hits a whammy, the cash and prizes go into the Big Bank. The player who hits the square then must answer a short-answer question to claim the money and prizes. If the question is missed, the player doesn't win anything extra.
The players can now win a decent car, the Suzuki Aerio, by claiming both halves of the car key in round one and two, along with winning the game. (If a player has a key or key part and whammies, that also goes into the Big Bank.)
The $1,000/spin again became $555/Spin Again.
The prizes in round two got a rather pronounced increase in value, and a few extra "cash plus a spin" spaces were put on the board in round two.
The new season will now have a four-episode Tournament of Champions, where nine favorite winners return for more loot. Three contestants played Monday through Wednesday, and the winners kept whatever they won. The player with the top score on Thursday won all the loot from the three appearances, and a Suzuki Aerio, which had not been won that year, even though it was made easier to win in season two.
On April 1, 2003, Graham Elwood ("Cram") hosted the game.