10 Buffalo Natives Who Won Big Bucks On Game Shows
These 10 Western New York natives have been featured on game shows like Jeopardy, Supermarket Sweep, and The Price is Right. Some of them have walked away with big bucks, including a Buffalo native who won over a half-million dollars on Jeopardy, the third-highest cash prize won during the regular season. Another Jeopardy contestant, also from Buffalo, was featured in one of the last episodes before the death of the show's longtime host Alex Trebek.
1. Jason Zuffranieri - Jeopardy
Jason Zuffranieri had a 19-game winning streak on Jeopardy. He won $532,000, the third-highest cash prize (regular season winnings) in the history of the show.
Credit: Jeopardy via Youtube
2. Robert Zon - The Price Is Right
Robert won the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right. Drew Carey said "I can tell you're from Buffalo" after Rob said "the pop!"
3. #TeamBuffaloWings - Supermarket Sweep
Keith Williams, who is from Buffalo, but currently lives in California, along with his cousin Remonde Levy, who is also from Buffalo, competed on Supermarket Sweep's reboot. They named themselves "Team Buffalo Wings."
4. Nany Gonzalez - Real World: Las Vegas & The Challenge
Nany Gonzalez, a Jamestown-native, was on MTV's The Challenge. She was a contestant in many seasons,
She was a finalist on Free Agents and Double Agents. She also competed on Battle of the Seasons (2012), Rivals II, Battle of the Exes II, Battle of the Bloodlines, Rivals III, War of the Worlds, War of the Worlds 2, Total Madness, and Spies, Lies & Allies.
Credit: MTV's The Challenge via Youtube
5. Ashley England - Wheel of Fortune
Ashley competed on February 3, 2021. Her final prizes were $18,093 cash and a trip to Belize.
6. Sheldon Lewis - Jeopardy
The Buffalo native finished in third place on the 'College Championship' episode of Jeopardy. He was attending the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was a sophomore at the time of his appearance.
Credit: Mitchell Hodack via Youtube
7. Brad Loliger - The $100,000 Pyramid
Brad's partner was former Saturday Night Live castmember Rachel Dratch. He walked away with $50,000.
Credit: WKBW
8. Melissa Givens - Jeopardy
Melissa appeared in season 37 on November 10, 2020, one of the last episodes filmed before longtime host Alex Trebek passed away.
Credit: WIVB
9. Audrey Watkins-Fox - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
A Lockport native, she also appeared on Jeopardy in 2015. She won $50,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
10. The Brown Family - Family Feud
The Browns from Buffalo won $20,000 on Family Feud with Steve Harvey.
Honorable Mention
Buffalo's 'Singing Cops' were on Amazing Race, but they were eliminated first.
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