Look! It’s a sham! It’s a scam! It’s…..

Wowowee!

After the Ultra Tragedy, here’s another headliner from that same show again. What occurred is that the contestant has chosen a box with a number “0” on it, meaning she didn’t win the jackpot which is 2 million. What happened next is that the Wowowee host Willie Revillame pointed out that the number 2 is on the violet box. He repeatedly stated that it was on that violet box but when he pulled the black sheet that covered the number, the number “0” appeared. Willie would then be heard saying “mali…mali..sandali” and then he would be doing something from behind the box, next thing you see if that he was now holding the sheet with the number “2” on it and pulled another black sheet and “0” remained on the box.  You can watch this on youtube.

Wowowee talaga di ba?! How could there be two numbers in one box? I’ve heard someone say as an explanation that “0” is always present in all the boxes and that the numbers 1,2,5 and other prizes are just being randomly inserted into the box before the show begins. If that is so, then what happened cannot be considered as a scam but a glitch. But my thought on that is this, what if the contestant chose the violet-colored box instead of the white-colored box that she’d picked among the boxes on that episode and Willie has mistakenly pulled out the number “0”, will the host say “mali, mali, sandali” too and tell the constestant “Panalo ka ng 2 Milyon, nagkamali lang ako ng nabunot na numero” or they will just shrug their shoulders and keep mum about it eventhough he and all the staff of that gameshow knows that the jackpot has been won?

Another thought is that maybe the reason why there are two numbers in one box is for them to have a way to manipulate the outcome even if the contestant has chosen the right box. Meaning, even if you got the jackpot but they don’t want you to win, they have a way to do that without you knowing it.

My message to TV producers of gameshows is that once you started a certain game or contest wherein there is a great prize at stake, there shouldn’t be any holding back if ever the contestant is hitting the jackpot. We all know that tv shows especially tv gameshows is business. No matter how many times you reiterate that what you are doing is for the people, “para sa mahihirap”,  “para sa masa”, “para sa bayan”, “para magbigay ng kasiyahan sa taumbayan”, still, it’s business. The ratings, gotta keep the ratings up. Don’t act as if you are doing charity. You gain profit from catering to us, viewers, shows like Wowowee or Eat Bulaga! It is only right that you give to us our part of the bargain, no buts, no if’s, no excuses.

I remember Wowowee used to have a segment called “Pera o Bayong” before. It’s almost the same as this new game Wilyonaryo. And after watching that anomalous segment Wilyonaryo of Wowowee, I’ve been asking myself these questions, is having two numbers in one box a protocol in that gameshow, knowing that Wilyonaryo is not the first contest in that show that involves choosing a box with the show host pulling the cover revealing the hidden number? If that is so, how many “supposedly millionaires” by now have they fooled out of it? If it isn’t a cheat, then what is it? A glitch?! Oh, c’mon!