Cash Bonanza is a joint initiative of all five Australian Lotteries, the Nine Network, Grundy Television and Warner Bros. Movie World.

Cash Bonanza will be hosted by game show favourite, Larry Emdur, and features a gold rush theme. It will be filmed at Warner Bros. Movie World�s Maverick Stadium and will air on the Nine Network from 24 February.

For an opportunity to be part of the game show, people will need to purchase the new Instant Scratch-Its Cash Bonanza ticket. This is the first time in Australian history that Instant Scratch-Its tickets have been linked to a national half-hour television game show.

In addition to the guaranteed $100,000 Cash Bonanza, another $30,000 in prize money will be given away every episode. This means approximately $2.5 million in cash prizes will be won during the series, as well as normal prizes on the Instant Scratch-Its Cash Bonanza ticket.

Golden Casket Chief Executive, Mr Bill Thorburn, said that Cash Bonanza had been developed as a long term initiative and was expected to usher in a new era for Lotteries and game shows.

�Not only is Cash Bonanza an Australian first, it represents only the second time in the world that a group of lotteries has joined to develop a TV game show based on Instant Scratch-Its tickets�.

�This multi-million dollar project has been in development for some time. So it is very exciting to be able to announce plans to bring this unique entertainment experience to all Australians,� said Mr Thorburn

�Filming Cash Bonanza at Warner Bros. Movie World, on the Gold Coast, also represents a major coup for Queensland. This is the first time that the Nine Network has chosen Queensland as the production location for a national prime time game show,� he said.

How to become a contestant

Adults from all over Australia will have the opportunity to take part in the Cash Bonanza game show, as entry is linked to the new Instant Scratch-Its Cash Bonanza ticket.

Cash Bonanza tickets with three matching TV symbols in the TV contestant game panel are eligible to enter the draw to be a television contestant. Of the eligible entries, 15 people will be drawn to appear on the show each week. They, and a partner, will be flown to Sea World Nara Resort on the Gold Coast for a weekend holiday and the taping of Cash Bonanza.

A further draw also gives three viewers the chance to share in prizes from games played on the show.

In addition, all Cash Bonanza tickets holders can enter by phoning in and registering to be drawn as the weekly home viewer contestant with the chance to play for the $100,000 Cash Bonanza prize.

How to win on the show

Cash Bonanza television contestants will vie for the chance to play three games of chance in true gold rush spirit. They will race money carts, take part in quick draws and try their luck with silver dollars. The contestant with the most money at the end of the three games then plays head-to-head with a home viewer contestant to win the guaranteed $100,000 major prize.

There are a host of additional cash prizes for contestants, and up to 300 of audience members at Warner Bros. Movie World on the day of filming can win cash prizes for just being a part of the audience.

Cash Bonanza premieres Saturday 24 February at 7.00pm on the Nine Network. Instant Scratch-Its are on sale from 22 January.

For further information please contact: Ilka McCouat, Communication Executive on 07 55738 315 or 0407 384 832