Sikh in Britain wins fortune in TV game show

LONDON: A Sikh man in Britain has become only the second male contestant to win a popular television game show, getting 2,50,000 pounds (around $416,000) in the process.

Roop Singh, 54, from Leeds became only the second male contestant to take such a large sum on Channel 4 game show 'Deal Or No Deal' hosted by popular anchor Noel Edmonds, and the seventh overall since the programme was first broadcast eight years ago.

Roop Singh went all the way to the end despite having just five pounds, 100 pounds, 500 pounds, 1,000 pounds and 250,000 pounds in his last five boxes, the channel said in a media release Wednesday.

In the game, there would be 22 identical boxes containing randomly assigned sums of money inside ranging from one pound to 250,000 pounds assigned to contestants to choose one from them.

As the boxes are opened over a number of rounds, the banker (an unseen person who offers deals to the contestants) makes offers of real money to gain possession of their box.

Contestants can either 'deal' to take the money, or play to the end, settling on the amount in their box.

Roop Singh was joined in the programme, which is also called Dream Factory, by his wife and one of his daughters.

"The night before my game, my daughter quite innocently said 'Dad, I want confetti'," Roop said after winning the game.

"When I was offered 46,000 pounds, all I could think of was 'Dad, I want confetti' and I said 'No Deal'. I still cannot fully remember what happened next but I do remember the confetti and everyone hugging and congratulating me," he added.

With 250,000 pounds in one box and 500 pounds in the other, the Dream Factory waited with bated breath as Noel revealed the contents of Roop Singh's box.

The confetti fell and the Dream Factory erupted in celebration as the quarter million was shown to be in Roop Singh's box, but the game was still not complete.

The program added a new box, 'Box 23', containing five possible outcomes - players can buy 'Box 23' to double their winnings, take home an additional 10,000 pounds, get their money back, half their winnings or leave with nothing.

Meaning, the winner could become the show's first contestant to win a record 500,000 pounds or become the biggest loser in the show's history.

Roop Singh felt that four of the five outcomes would have worth purchasing 'Box 23' for. However, his family finally managed to dissuade him.

When the contents of 'Box 23' were revealed, it was found that if Roop Singh had purchased it, he would have doubled his winnings.