In the midst of the burgeoning television game show craze, two graduate students found another fast-money trend that netted them $100,000 in one hour-online game shows.
Alex Crowell, a seventh-year nuclear physics student, and Rob Macri, a fifth-year nuclear physics student, teamed up to play for $1 million on the live trivia game show at goldpocket.com. While they didn't win the highest dollar amount, the thrill of winning $100,000 was enough for the doctoral candidates.
"I think we were kinda stunned," Crowell said. We were like 'Did this really just happen?'"
The game show runs every Sunday at 8 p.m. EST and matches up 20,000 to 50,000 online competitors in specialized topics, said K.C. Hildreth, chief operating officer for Goldpocket Interactive, the parent company for the show's site.
The competitors then square off and the people who correctly answer the most multiple choice questions progress to the next round. The game takes contestants through about 16 rounds and up to the $100,000 prize. In the final round they compete for up to $1 million.
Macri started playing the game in June after seeing a commercial for the month-old game show site on television. After coming close to winning a few times, Macri decided to enlist Crowell's help.
The duo opted for the science and technology category, figuring it was their best bet.
"We both have very strong science backgrounds," Crowell explained. "A lot of the questions were fairly easy but it definitely got harder as we moved on.''
The questions ranged from chemistry to geology, but extended beyond the sciences as they moved ahead in the game. Crowell and Macri answered several random questions, including the one that made them $100,000 richer.
"We were holding our breath a little near the end," said 31-year-old Macri.
Luckily for the two of them, Crowell knew how many points of view were used in William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury," and the two moved along to the final round.
But their science smarts couldn't get them through the next round of truly obscure questions. Neither one knew that Orson Welles provided the voice for the unseen character Robin Masters in the television show "Magnum P.I."
Still, the team left the online world with about the cost of a college education-to be paid out over the next 25 years and split between the two. Not bad for one hour's work.
Macri said once the game was over he felt "relief, the removal of stress." And, Crowell added, a little bit of disbelief.
"We were happy. I just didn't believe it enough to really get excited about it,'' Crowell said. He added that only when he sees the check will he "really believe."
When the physics students realized they had won, they didn't tell many people, but an article in The Herald-Sun of Durham shattered their anonymity. Soon the entire department knew of their accomplishment.
"A lot of people congratulate you and make snide remarks like 'When are you gonna take me out to dinner?''' Crowell said. The newly famous graduate students said they have also received suggestions that they throw their physics lab a party.
But neither Crowell nor Macri plans to squander the cash flow on a couple of memorable bashes; instead, they're considering more long-term investments.
Crowell plans to use some of his money to buy a new computer. Macri's spending plans are even less frivolous, and focus on paying bills.
"When I am no longer on a grad student's salary I'll think about other things,'' he laughed.
So far, the company has had four $1 million winners and given away more than $8 million total.
Hildreth said the game's popularity is easy to understand.
"It's really a great way to interact with groups socially and have fun,'' he said. "It's exciting, it's fun and you can win money."
Crowell doesn't plan to continue in the online game realm anytime soon.
"I worry that I would be disappointed because this doesn't happen very often,'' he said.
For now, the two are basking in their new-found fame, doing multiple media interviews and checking their mailboxes for the first sign of wealth.
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