TV game shows are a great way to push your luck at winning cold hard cash and amazing prizes. Not to mention that it’s completely legal. But it’s to b

TV game shows are a great way to push your luck at winning cold hard cash and amazing prizes. Not to mention that it’s completely legal. But it’s to be expected that these shows attract some shady characters, be it the typical cheater who can’t ever play fair, or frauds pretending to be someone they’re not. With this in mind, let’s have a look at these five scandals that shook popular game shows. 1. The Price is Most Definitely Right Terry Kneiss and his wife Linda are a smart couple who have a knack for seeing patterns in things and naturally, they figured out how to beat The Price is Right. So when Terry made it to the final round, he had to guess the value of a karaoke machine, pool table and camper, which totaled to $23,743. And he got it right! Down to the very last figure. Everyone was stunned, Drew Carey looked visibly irritated and the show was cut short. Allegations of cheating soon made the rounds, though Kneiss was deemed to be innocent and awarded his prizes. 2. Who Wants to Be a Million Dollar Cheater In 2001, British Army veteran Charles Ingram appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with his wife seated in the audience. The show works by successfully answering a series of multiple choice questions which increases your odds of winning the grand prize. So when it was Ingram’s turn, his wife would cough to indicate the correct answer to her husband. Ingram won, but the show’s producers eventually caught wind of his deceit. In the end, the money was suspended and the pair were charged accordingly. 3. Who Wants to Marry a Fake Millionaire One guy and 50 women to choose from… what could go wrong? Rick Rockwell was a former contestant of Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire who presented himself as a real estate agent. Out of all the contestants, he decided that a woman named Darva Conger was the one for him. But to her dismay, Rockwell wasn’t who he claimed to be. In fact, Rick Rockwell never existed! Turns out that he was a part-time stand-up comedian with a history of domestic abuse. Needless to say, Conger wasted no time seeking an annulment. 4. Super Password Fugitive Contestant Patrick Quinn was a systems analyst for the government who appeared in a 1988 episode of Super Password. As luck may have it, he claimed over $58,000 in prize money. But Quinn was in a bit of a rush that day as his super important job was taking him to Turkey. But like Rick Rockwell, Quinn was a crook and a fraud. His real name was Kerry Ketchum, a fugitive wanted for forgery and fraud charges, and his victims were the ones who alerted the showrunners of his true identity. So instead of a check, he received a handcuff from two Secret Service agents. 5. Pasapalabra Contestant Shazaming Her Way Through Victory Pasapalabra is a Spanish quiz show that teams up celebrities and regular folks in a series of games and tasks. One of the most memorable contestants was a model named Adriana Abenia who placed beauty over brains. In a music listening trivia segment of the show, contestants had to guess a song after hearing only a short snippet. That’s when Abenia decided to make the most of her Shazam app to score some points. But her iPhone betrayed her when an incoming text exposed her plans, and the host playfully called her out on it.

Scandals That Shook Popular Game Shows

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