Mai Whelan, also known as Player 287, just won Squid Game: The Challenge, a spin-off reality show based on the popular Netflix show Squid Game.
However, she has revealed that her prize money – a whopping $4.56 million – has not been given to her yet. She told The Times, “I feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Show me the money!”
Whelan, a 55-year-old from Virginia, beat several hundred contestants to win the cash prize. However, she didn’t think she was capable of actually winning the show, which sees contestants participate in activities similar to those in Squid Game.
Whelan told Vulture, “I did not prepare. I didn’t have any strategy other than to review the TV show over and over again. I was scared of the squid game, actually, because I didn’t grasp that game at all. It’s also physical. I said, There’s no way in hell I will come out of that game winning.”
She also called the casting process “stressful,” explaining that “I thought I didn’t do well because the person who interviewed me said, ‘”You need to be bubblier.'”
However, Whelan was lucky enough to win the entire show, which has already been renewed for a second season. The show broke records for possessing the largest monetary prize in the history of reality television.
Within two weeks of Squid Game: The Challenge airing, it racked up 170 million watched hours on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
