‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Winner Won’t Get Her Winnings For A While

If you go on a reality show and compete in children’s games against 400 others, endure weeks without chapstick, and end up winning, you deserve all of that money. Well, most of it. $4.56 million is a lot. But you should at least get some of that, since that’s the whole point of winning a game show.

The finale of Squid Game: The Challenge dropped on Netflix last week and 55-year-old Mai Whelan from Virginia was named the first champion of the game show, based on the wildly popular series. Whelan stunned fans by admitting that she hadn’t received her winnings as of the finale’s airing. The series was filmed in January, so there were a lot of times over the last year when she probably thought “Hey it would be cool to have my millions now.”

Even though she hadn’t received her money, Whelan knew that it would take some time. According to TMZ, the players signed a contract that confirmed they would not receive their winnings until 30 days after the finale airs. This means that Whelan won’t get her millions until January, and she has to be a non-millionaire like the rest of us for the next month.

What will she do with the money Whelan told Today that she was considering getting a boat, which seems safer than the actual game show anyway. If you want your shot at that $4.56 million, feel free to audition for the series! You won’t get your money for a few years, though.

(Via TMZ)