Embarrassing moments on "Who wants to be a millionaire?" Student is ashamed of blackout in 100-euro question
Stunned business student: Luis Wenzelidis almost failed the 100-euro question.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
In the end, Luis Wenzelidis won 4000 euros with difficulty, but clearly missed out on a place in the final.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Stunned business student: Luis Wenzelidis almost failed the 100-euro question.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
In the end, Luis Wenzelidis won 4000 euros with difficulty, but clearly missed out on a place in the final.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
There are embarrassing moments right at the start of the 3 million euro edition of "Who wants to be a millionaire?": a student despairs at the word game of a 100 euro question and a competitor has to decode all the forms of the word "penis".
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- "Who wants to be a millionaire?" starts the new year with a special week - in which the contestants can win up to three million euros.
- Gina Bouillon will be among those competing for the prize money. The psychologist was delighted to win 32,000 euros on day 1 and make it to the final.
- First-semester business administration student Luis Wenzelidis struggled with the 100-euro question, but was then delighted with his 4,000 euros.
Day 1 of the €3 million week of "Who wants to be a millionaire?" (WWM) had barely started when Günther Jauch (68) was already demanding a lot from his candidates.
He stubbornly wanted to move Gina Bouillon from Köthen's place of residence to Saxony: "But he's in Saxony-Anhalt," the psychologist, who works in pregnancy counseling, corrected him. "Is the main question: 'How could this happen?" Jauch was interested, but instead received a lot of information about parental allowance and the "challenges of this beautiful but challenging time".
He was struck by the distance between Gina's three "July boys" (aged 2, 5 and 8) - all born in the same month. "Do you have special free time during the fall vacations?" the presenter wondered, clearly ambiguous. "That's not only possible on vacation, but also in the ... elevator?"
Gina replied dryly to this indiscretion: "My husband is a teacher. He always has to work in the evenings." Gina is also so busy with family and work that "I have completely cut out social media".
This was the only explanation for the fact that she hadn't heard of "Dubai chocolate" and had to get help with this question from the much more knowledgeable audience. She also floundered when it came to television: she almost opted for "Die Nörglers" instead of "Die Zweiflers" for the TV award-winning drama. But all's well that ends well for Gina. She was delighted to win 32,000 euros and make it through to the final.
Part of the winnings is earmarked for new shoes
She will also be accompanied there by IT manager and rock band singer Dorothea Gharibian from Hahnheim near Mainz, who also stopped at 32,000 euros.
Part of her winnings are earmarked for new shoes: "My sister and I love the movie 'In Her Shoes'," says Dorothea. "I've wanted Jimmy Choo shoes ever since."
She was granted them - her rollercoaster ride between mainstream sport ("Jamal Musiala plays for Dortmund, right?") and politics was too nerve-wracking. What was newly elected in 2024? UN Security Council, European Parliament, Saxon State Parliament or Bonn City Council? "I voted for something recently, what was it...", Dorothea pondered - as well as the location of the "Kimbrian Peninsula", either near Flensburg or Bitburg. Fortunately, there are the jokers.
Jauch shines with his Latin skills
They also helped Dominik Wenz from Karlsruhe, a health insurance employee and "O-Liner" in the Karlsruhe American football team "Badener Greifs".
When it came to the 125,000 euro question, the audience learned that Casanova of all people - and not Baron Münchhausen - spent his last 13 years as a librarian at Dux Castle in the Ore Mountains. Wenz held back, preferring to take 64,000 euros ("I have two children and want to go to the Super Bowl") and made it to the final.
Spicy moment: contestant Laetitia Richter and Günther Jauch tried their hand at declining the Latin word "penis".
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Gina Bouillon from Köthen made it to Friday's final with 32,000 euros.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Candidate Dominik Wenz plays American football for the "Badener Greifs" in Karlsruhe.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
New edition on Friday: Dominik Wenz has a good starting position with 64,000 euros.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Candidate Dorothea Gharibian will invest part of the 32,000 euros she won in Jimmy Choo shoes.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Spicy moment: contestant Laetitia Richter and Günther Jauch tried their hand at declining the Latin word "penis".
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Gina Bouillon from Köthen made it to Friday's final with 32,000 euros.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Candidate Dominik Wenz plays American football for the "Badener Greifs" in Karlsruhe.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
New edition on Friday: Dominik Wenz has a good starting position with 64,000 euros.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Candidate Dorothea Gharibian will invest part of the 32,000 euros she won in Jimmy Choo shoes.
Image: RTL / Stefan Gregorowius
Laetitia Richter, a pharmacy student from Treuen (really) in Saxony who currently lives in Wales, will also be there - for the time being with 16,000 euros.
She fought hard for it, among other things by summoning up all her remaining knowledge of Latin. "It's been such a long time," she said, justifying her efforts to get her head around the word "penis" of all things. "It was 50 years ago for me," countered Jauch, who said it easily: "Penis, peni, penem, penibus."
Student happy about trip to Thailand despite bumpy performance
Perhaps this would have been a better exercise for first semester business student Luis Wenzelidis from Munich. He doesn't (yet) love his studies ("I would have been better off taking a break after graduating"), he said, but his catering job, which has already brought him close to celebrities such as Thomas Gottschalk (74) - "A giant!" - and Manuel Neuer (38).
He came to WWM well prepared: "On average, I can answer the million-euro question more often than the 500-euro question," Wenzelidis announced brashly beforehand.
But then his nerves got the better of him with the 100 euro question - which tended to be a silly play on words. "Which abbreviation means 'no more'?" was the question. The choices were A: max, B: hans, C: fritz, and D: franz.
And Wenzelidis was completely stumped. Even after the public answer had been determined with the help of the audience joker, which was fired far too early. When it finally dawned on him, he reacted in horror - at himself.
"No one will find out the broadcast date," he said, but he was also pleased with his hard-won 4000 euros. "That's a lot of money for a student," he clarified. "About a trip to Thailand."
After this shock, he would be forgiven for relaxing under palm trees - and the look on the face of his father, who had traveled with him, spoke volumes.
