Treasure Hunt question

[TimK2003]

But doesn't Johnny Jacobs say, "Hidden inside ONE of these boxes is a check for $25K"? If contestant #1 picks the box with the $25K check but you're the second contestant, well, that's just the luck of the draw.

He does, but there is verifiable proof that if the the first contestant picks the $25k box, win or lose, a second check is placed in a box for the second contestant.

What I dont remember offhand is if in the 80's reboot, once  the progressive check (up to $50k) was found, if the amount automatically reverted to the base $25k whether it was won or given up.  I suspect the progressive check remained if un-won and placed in a new box until it was actually won..

Besides, didn't Treasure Hunt offer other prizes worth more than $25K?

I had thought so when they were offering the Rolls Royce on the original 70's version, but the model up for grabs wasn't that expensive...yet.

[That Don Guy]

This happened on a recently posted episode. I'm guessing they have the audience leave while the second check is placed. I wonder what they sacrifice to hide the second check, maybe a klunk, or a prize that's not part of the announced prizes offered on the show. Geoff told me for the 1980s run, that some boxes were duplicates, since there were 66 on that version. I wonder if they had duplicates also for this version.

They wouldn't need to sacrifice anything. They would just select a number, and if it was not the same as the one where it was in the first game, they just move whatever was in the box with that number into the box with the first winning number.

If you look at the boxes, you will notice that the tags with the numbers can be switched from one box to another. This probably makes it easier to set up different shows rather than actually move props from one box to another. In this case, they probably would switch just about all of the numbers around, as if they swapped just the two boxes' numbers, it would be too easy for someone to remember the colors/pattern of the first $25,000 box.

[Ian Wallis]

What I dont remember offhand is if in the 80's reboot, once  the progressive check (up to $50k) was found, if the amount automatically reverted to the base $25k whether it was won or given up.  I suspect the progressive check remained if un-won and placed in a new box until it was actually won..

In the episodes GSN ran, it stayed at $50,000 until won, then reset to $20,000.  There was one episode where a contestant passed up the $50K, but it remained at that level until won a few shows later.

[chris319]

Besides, didn't Treasure Hunt offer other prizes worth more than $25K?

No.

Also, everybody here is giving completely plausible theories for how the show worked, but am I crazy for saying that Geoff explained how the show when he was alive?

Where is his explanation?

There are other issues involving the movement of prizes behind the curtains. Suppose you have a pair of Porsches, a living-room ensemble and a speed boat and the contestant can pick any of them and you want the contestant to be able to run up and fondle her new toy. Studio time costs money so you can't afford to stop for a long time.

[Adam Nedeff]

Besides, didn't Treasure Hunt offer other prizes worth more than $25K?

No.

Also, everybody here is giving completely plausible theories for how the show worked, but am I crazy for saying that Geoff explained how the show when he was alive?

Where is his explanation?

Geoff, to my understanding, was an open book about this stuff on alt.tv.game-shows, and I believe Chuck Donegan's page about the show cobbles together a lot of Geoff's explanations. Among other things, there was a 15-minute stopdown after a box was picked. Partly to give Geoff a briefing on the skit but also likely for the reason you pointed out--they needed the extra time to set up whatever prize was chosen. On both of Geoff's incarnations, the actual footprint of the prizes needed wasn't as big it would appear. A LOT of the boxes hid checks for smaller amounts (ranging $5,000 to $14,000) and the klunks were usually pretty small, physically speaking--a shopping cart, a pogo stick, a radio. Beyond that...let's say three cars, a couple of boats, a rack of fur coats, some vacation graphics, three rooms of furniture. If every box really was a unique prize/prize package, 30 boxes really needed about as much storage for the prizes as one taping day at The Price is Right. The 66-box version from 1981 would be tougher, but not impossible. It seems to me that version of the show had a number of prizes represented as photographs mounted on cards.

[Neumms]

If you look at the boxes, you will notice that the tags with the numbers can be switched from one box to another. This probably makes it easier to set up different shows rather than actually move props from one box to another. In this case, they probably would switch just about all of the numbers around, as if they swapped just the two boxes' numbers, it would be too easy for someone to remember the colors/pattern of the first $25,000 box.

But why would they need to switch anything? Mr. Autori picks the box for the big check, they’d need to replace the revealed boxes anyway, and nobody’s seen the others.