Robert "Robby" Roseman, an employee at Chicago Commodities Exchange from Chicago, Illinois, was a contestant who appeared on the U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on August 22, 1999. He incorrectly answered his $100 question, becoming the first person to leave with nothing on the American version of the show. Ironically, Robby mentioned before the game started that he was wearing his lucky shorts. He also appeared on the $0 Winners Edition on May 21, 2001, but didn't make it into the Hot Seat.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger Question[]
| Fastest Finger Question | |
| According to their titles, put the following movies in geographical order from the west to the east. | |
| ⬥ A: Viva Las Vegas | ⬥ B: Memphis Belle |
| ⬥ C: Fargo | ⬥ D: Beverly Hills Cop |
| From the 10 contestants, 3 got it right, but Robby (with a time of 5.25 seconds) was the fastest to correctly answer D-A-C-B, making it into the Hot Seat. |
Robby's Run to the Million[]
| $100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Hannibal crossed the Alps using what animals? '50:50' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: Rhinoceri | ⬥ B: Elephants |
| ⬥ C: Llamas | ⬥ D: Chihuahuas |
| Robby didn't know, but said that he wasn't going out on the first question so he used his 50:50 lifeline. It kept the option he thought it was C: Llamas, but this was incorrect so he left without winning any money.
Regis' words put it best: "Robby is gone before he's here! Take those lucky shorts off and BURN THEM!!!" |
Post-WWTBAM[]
While Robby's luck on Millionaire was as bad as could be, he would instead go on to win over $500,000 playing poker on the World Poker Tour in Las Vegas. He also has a LinkedIn page where he cites his other multiple ventures.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It was after this event that the term llama was coined. It is currently used by the Millionaire's fans to refer to a person who leaves the show empty handed. In the more recent age of the internet and YouTube, and with the transition of the show from primetime status to syndicated status, the term llama was phased out and replaced by the more generic term fail.
- As Roseman left the studio, the graphic message of "Total Prize Money: $0" was noticeably absent. The reason why it did not appear was because the producers of the show never anticipated such an incident ever occurring. It turned out to only be the first of many unfortunate incidents of contestants flunking out on one of the first five questions and leaving with nothing on both the primetime and the syndicated versions, and after this, every subsequent contestant who flunked out prior to winning the $1,000 safe haven level would receive the unfortunate graphic message of "Total Prize Money: $0". Brian Fodera was the first contestant to receive this unfortunate graphic message.
Sources[]
| Preceded by Doug Szafran |
U.S. Contestant (Season 1) Robby Roseman |
Succeeded by Tom Colletta |