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Ton of Cash | |
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Genre | Reality television |
Created by |
Cris Abrego Mark Cronin |
Presented by | Dhani Jones |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Production | |
Production company | 51 Minds Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network | VH1 |
Release | August 17 October 26, 2011 | –
Ton of Cash was a show on VH1 that premiered on August 17, 2011. Hosted by Dhani Jones, the show centered on a group of contestants trying to win up to $1 million in cash by hauling it along a series of challenge courses ranging from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It premiered on prime time but was moved to Thursday mornings at 2AM Eastern timeslot after the premiere due to low ratings.
Fourteen contestants, all in serious financial trouble, initially gathered on a beach in Malibu, California and were presented with $1 million in prop $1 bills. The money was bundled into 167 bricks weighing 12 pounds each, for a total weight of 2,004 pounds.
On each episode, the host challenged the team to carry the money along a specified route over rugged terrain and deliver as much of it as possible to a marked goal area ("cash point") within a time limit. The team chose one member to serve as a captain ("financial advisor") for the day. At any time, the financial advisor could press a button at the cash point to end the challenge; upon doing so, however, any money that had not yet been delivered was forfeited and deducted from the $1 million prize.
If the financial advisor pressed the button before time ran out, they were safe for the day and could nominate three teammates for elimination. if time ran out, the team began to lose money at a rate of $1,000 per minute for the first half-hour, $5,000 per minute for the second, and $50,000 per minute thereafter. The financial advisor still had to press the button in order to end the challenge, forfeiting any undelivered money; they became eligible for elimination and had to nominate two other contestants as well.
The team and the remaining money were transported by bus overnight, bringing them closer to Las Vegas and their final goal. The next morning, all contestants who were not up for elimination (with the exception of the financial advisor, when applicable) each cast one vote for the candidate they wanted to keep in the game. The one with the most votes received immunity and the title of "Safe Investment," while a "Prove Your Worth" challenge was held between the other two. The loser of this challenge was eliminated with no winnings, but viewers could participate in a text-message poll at the end of the episode to decide if that contestant should receive a consolation prize of $1,000. Surviving candidates for elimination in any given episode could not be chosen as the financial advisor for the next one.
The second half of the season introduced rule modifications as follows.
The winner of the final challenge in Episode 10 won all the cash they found, up to a maximum of $210,000 - the amount that remained of the original $1 million.
Episode | U.S. Air Date | Viewers |
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"Ton of Cash" | August 17, 2011 | 312,000 |
"Under the Bus" | August 24, 2011 | 201,000 |
"Queen for a Day" | August 30, 2011 | 267,000 [1] |
"If Lakes Could Kill" | September 7, 2011 | 208,000 |
"Frozen ASSets" | September 14, 2011 | 171,000 |
"When the Trailer's Rockin' Don't Come Knockin" | September 21, 2011 | N/A |
"Cash of the Titans" | September 28, 2011 | N/A |
"Impending Dune" | October 12, 2011 | 321,000 |
"Zippity-Dough-Dah" | October 19, 2011 | N/A |
"Stuck Between a Place and a Hard Rock" | October 26, 2011 | N/A |
Rank | Contestants | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 (1st half) | 10 (2nd half) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Amie | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | NOM | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | NOM | BTM 3 | SAFE | WINNER |
2 | Rusty | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT |
3 | Justin | SAFE | BTM 2 | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT |
4 | Vanessa | SAFE | SAFE | NOM | SAFE | NOM | BTM 3 | SAFE | BTM 2 | SAFE | OUT | |
5 | James | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM 2 | SAFE | OUT | ||
6 | Temica | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | NOM | BTM 2 | OUT | ||
7 | Chuck | NOM | NOM | BTM 2 | BTM 2 | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||
8 | Ashley | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||
9 | Willy Gilley | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM 2 | OUT | |||||
10 | Ava | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||
11 | Jonny | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||
12 | Violet | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||
13 | Jaime | BTM 2 | OUT | |||||||||
14 | Desean | OUT |
In 2012, contestant Vanessa appeared as a contestant on episodes of Fox's Take Me Out, a dating television show.