SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the season 2 finale of Deal or No Deal Island.
Host Joe Manganiello wasn’t kidding when he teased that Tuesday’s finale of the NBC show would be “unbelievable.”
As he told Deadline in an earlier interview, “the person who wins winds up breaking the all-time television game show record for money won.”
That person is former Australian Survivor victor David Genat.
The reality veteran shattered records by winning $5.8 million, the largest cash prize ever awarded in network television history. Competing for a final case worth $12,232,001, Genat won after a season-long journey that saw him keep his Survivor experience hidden from his fellow players.
Genat is a two-time veteran of Survivor Australia and a winner of an all-star season.
The finale also featured former Deal or No Deal case model Chrissy Teigen as this season’s new Banker. Teigen took over the role from executive producer Howie Mandel for the final Temple ceremony.
In Deal or No Deal Island, briefcases are hidden around an island with more than $200 million in prize money split between them. In each episode, players compete in challenges to secure the briefcases that will be used in that night’s game of Deal or No Deal. The player who snags the highest-value case gains immunity and gets to choose a fellow player to enter The Temple.
The chosen competitor must then play a classic game of Deal or No Deal. If the player makes a bad deal, he or she is immediately eliminated. If the player makes a good deal, the power is in their hands and he or she gets to select who to eliminate.
The winnings from each game of Deal or No Deal are added to a group pot that grows to an exponential value throughout the season. The last player standing faces the Banker to potentially win the biggest prize in Deal or No Deal history.
Season two of Deal or No Deal Island has averaged more than 20 million viewers across all platforms.
