Who Wants to Be a Millionaire winner reveals ‘ludicrous’ way he spent cash prize in Las Vegas after hit 2000 episode

The game show icon also revealed the ‘most surprising’ thing about being one of reality TV’s first-ever champions

WHO Wants to Be a Millionaire’s second-ever winner has revealed the ‘ludicrous’ way he spent his cash prize in Las Vegas after his hit episode, in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.

Daniel ‘Dan’ Blonsky became one of the pioneers of reality TV game shows when he was cast as a contestant on the ABC series during its very first season over two decades ago.

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Dan Blonsky just before winning the $1 million dollar jackpot on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2000Credit: Getty

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Daniel ‘Dan’ Blonsky, pictured here in July 2025, was just the second-ever winner on MillionaireCredit: The U.S. Sun
The Florida-based attorney had already built a successful legal career before becoming a millionaire from the show at age 34.

Sitting beside legendary host Regis Philbin, Dan correctly answered every question during his January 2000 run – securing him a seven-figure check.

He returned a few months later to appear on the Champions Edition special and played for the charity, Miami Bridge Youth and Family Services.

Although he missed out on the $32,000 question his second time around, he still won some cash for the organization at the time.

Following his winning episode, which was watched by a staggering 30 million people at the time, Dan revealed that the instant attention he received was the “most surprising part” of the experience.

“It was the peak of the show. There were, like, 30 million people who watched the night I was on it. Then it was two weeks or so before the Super Bowl, which was also on ABC.

“They had a clip of it during the Super Bowl. I mean, it just got a lot of attention. Not as much as John [Carpenter] got because he was the first.

“But it was more than I would have expected as the second,” Dan told The U.S. Sun, referring to Millionaire’s first-ever winner, John Carpenter.

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Host Regis Philbin hands Dan Blonsky his seven-figure checkCredit: Getty

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Dan receives an emotional hug from his mom after the monumental winCredit: Getty

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The contestant and his mother pose with his newly-won prize money backstage of the showCredit: Getty
Although he made the win look easy, Dan seemingly didn’t even know what he was signing up for and assumed there was no chance he’d take home the top prize.

“I’d seen the show a few times, and I think I probably saw it when John won. But I only did it really because I was like, ‘Wow, they’re giving away $32k.’

“It was easy to get to that point [of the $32k question]. I was like, ‘That’s enough money to embarrass yourself on TV,’ which is why I called them up, because normally it’s not something I would do,” he admitted.

His performance far exceeded his own expectations, and he walked away with a $1million check.

Despite being a single guy in his 30s at the time of his big win, Dan was smart with his money and wisely invested the majority of it or put it in savings.

However, he confessed to one splurge shortly after winning and explained: “So for years, before and since the show, I go to Vegas every March with a group of friends of mine.

“On a trip [right after I won], this wasn’t necessarily me splurging that much, but Entertainment Tonight followed us around. The MGM put me in this ludicrous suite.

“I had said, ‘You should give me a Rain Man suite.’ It was even better than the Rain Man suite.

“And Emeril Lagasse made us dinner. The dinner, ET paid for part of it, but it was like 15 of us or whatever, and I paid for the overage.

“That was my big splurge is I paid for Emeril’s dinner. But for the most part, it didn’t really change what I was doing.”

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The MGM Grand Hotel has been a staple of the Las Vegas strip for decadesCredit: Alamy

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Chef Emeril Lagasse has restaurants all over the world, including in Sin CityCredit: Getty
The lawyer even told a story about how his watch broke shortly after his episode aired, and how the reaction was when he went to pick up a “cheap” replacement at his local mall.

“Then there was something in one of those newspapers. Somehow, that got in the media. I don’t know why.

“And they criticized me for buying such a cheap watch,” he relayed with a laugh.

LIFE AFTER TV

Since his time on Millionaire, Dan has continued to grow a successful career in law.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hosts

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has on and off the air since 1999.

Here is a list of the hosts of the US game show:

Regis Philbin
Meridith Vieria
Cedric the Entertainer
Terry Crews
Chris Harrison
Jimmy Kimmel

He is currently the Chair of his Miami-based firm’s Employment Litigation Practice Group and specializes in high-stakes commercial litigation cases.

Personally, Dan has also continued to flourish as he’s gotten married to his longtime wife and had two kids in the years since his time on TV.

Although he said he’d always have love for the game show that made him a millionaire, he confessed to no longer watching due to the “schtick” of it having all-celebrity contestants.

Jimmy Kimmel has hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire since 2021; however, every episode features a celebrity contestant who plays for charity – often with far easier questions.

“That just doesn’t interest me,” he said, while adding that he doesn’t typically watch trivia shows with the exception of the occasional Jeopardy! episode.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will premiere with Jimmy Kimmel and a slew of celebrity contestants on Wednesday, July 23, at 8 pm EST on ABC.

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Dan has continued his work as a successful lawyer in Florida since his time on MillionaireCredit: The U.S. Sun

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Dan Blonsky of Miami, Fla., won the $1 million dollar jackpot on WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?, hosted by Regis Philbin, which aired January 18, 2000Credit: Getty