Bonus Game

There were two bonus game formats used during the series.

In the first format, lettered balls came out of a spinning cage as Dan Doherty would read them out until a nine letter, dictionary certified word could be formed ("Caesar says STOP!"). The letters appeared on the board in the order that they came out and the contestant could place one letter into its proper position (One additional letter could be placed for each subsequent win). The contestant would then have 10 seconds to unscramble the word. If successful, (s)he won a car. Former ATGS-er Tom Gauer (pictured lower right) was the show's all-time money winner. In four days, he won over $53,000 including an $18,000 Chevy Blazer.
In the second format, the contestant would see five words of increasing length (5-9 letters). The letters would be placed into proper position like the speed-up game and the contestant would have 30 seconds to solve all five words. Like the first bonus format, the contestant would win a car if they were successful in solving all five. Initially, there was no limit on wins, per se, although one could potentially be on for as many as nine days. When the bonus format changed in November 1993, champions could remain on the show for three days before being forced to retire.
Some of the catch phrases used during the series..."Let the tournament begin." My favorite, said by Rashad during the first bonus format prior to the drawing of the lettered balls in the bonus round. In the second format, Rashad would ask Doherty to "reveal the tournament." And "At stake is this $xx,000 chariot..." Also said by Rashad when describing the car the champion had an opportunity to win in the bonus game. Doherty and Rashad often exchanged "comedic" banter and funny jokes (Pictured above left). Doherty even used his popularity to "launch" his own brand of cereal on the show that Rashad described as laundry detergent. This was really a great part of the show as Rashad and Doherty neve rehearsed any of their skits and they always turned out very, very funny. (Pictured below left) At the end of the show, Doherty and Rashad would go into the audience to give them an opportunity to unscramble 5-letter words and win casino tokens and gold covered chocolate medallions.