What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

197: Phil won $500,000

10 snips

Nov 15, 2024

Phil's journey from a struggling newcomer in Los Angeles to a contestant on iconic game shows is both inspiring and entertaining. After an initial heartbreak on Jeopardy, he faced the high-stakes quiz of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, testing his nerves and knowledge. The tension of live television and the thrill of potentially winning big are vividly recounted. Alongside his game show experiences, he reflects on personal growth and the significance of storytelling through life's challenges. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, victories, and valuable life lessons.

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ANECDOTE

Jeopardy! Loss

Phil's first game show attempt was on Jeopardy! in 1988, motivated by financial hardship.
Despite doing well, he lost by two dollars to a five-time champion, receiving a bedroom set as a consolation prize.

ANECDOTE

Millionaire Attempt

Twelve years later, in 2000, Phil tried again with "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", hosted by Regis Philbin.
This game show experience proved to be very different from his Jeopardy! appearance.

ANECDOTE

Motivation and Application

Phil's motivation to join "Millionaire" stemmed from job insecurity at a failing internet company and persistent encouragement.
The application process involved multiple phone calls, trivia questions, and finally, a trip to New York City with his father.

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In 1988, Phil had just moved to Los Angeles. And he was in a tough spot.

At the time he had no job and very little money. So he was trying to come up with some kind of plan that could save him from being homeless. Since he had pretty vast knowledge in lots of different subject areas, he decided that he would try his hand at going on the TV game show, Jeopardy!

He had to pass an initial test, which he did, then he went to the contestant interview, and he passed that as well. And he actually got on the show. It didn’t solve his money problems though – even though he did well, he lost to a 5-time champion – by two dollars. Rather than earning any actual money, his parting gift was a bedroom set which forever became known as the Jeopardy! bed.

But twelve years later, he decided to try again, on a different show. In the year 2000, he was able to get on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which at the time was hosted by Regis Philbin. This game show experience was very different.

Phil’s appearances on Who Wants to be a Millionaire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEPMGv0S9Hc&t=2257s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLq2Hq8_Dk

Phil’s wrote a detailed account of his experience:

https://www.ranker.com/list/behind-the-scenes-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/philgibbons?ref=profile_pub

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/197

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

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