Larry Emdur on how one little format change for The Chase could spell big bucks for the show’s contestants
Fresh off the back of his Gold Logie triumph, Larry Emdur is on something of a winning streak — and he’s sharing the spoils.
This week he’s introducing a new concept to his hit quiz show The Chase, which will give contestants the chance to win a jackpot in excess of $100,000 when they play the game.
“I’ve been busy in the trenches making it, and it’s really exciting,” Emdur says of the new Mega Money Spinner format change.
“It’s taking me back to The Price Is Right days a bit . . . and I love it, because, you know, The Chase is a quiz show, but my background really is in this sort of bright lights, bells and whistles game shows; of people getting up and jumping around getting excited — so this gives me a little bit of a throw back to Wheel Of Fortune and Price Is Right.
“I get to be silly young Larry again — minus the hair!”
It’s certainly adding some excitement.
But fans of The Chase needn’t worry — everything they love about the original concept is still there. The only difference is that contestants now have an opportunity to win big. Really, really big.
“What happens is, in the final chase section, before the contestants do their final chase, they get to come over to the board, and we spin this huge electronic money spinner,” Emdur explains.
“And if they get 15 steps or more in the final chase, they can add up to $100,000 to their total.”
There are different money amounts, and the players still have to beat the Chaser, but the stakes are raised considerably.
“I don’t know if the Chasers are so happy about it, actually, because it adds a bit of extra pressure for them,” Emdur explains.
“Somebody who is playing for $30,000 might all of a sudden be playing for $80,000 — The Chasers can be defending 20 or 30,000 and then someone spins up $80,000, so all of a sudden they’re playing for $100,000-plus.
“There’s a lot riding on it.”
Camera IconThe Beast (Mark Labbett) and The Chase host Larry Emdur are ready to do battle for the big bucks. Credit: Jeremy Greive/Seven
You can say that again.
And according to Emdur, who has been recording new episodes for the past few weeks, those big jackpots are already popping off. “And it’s been heaps of fun,” he insists.
Fun has been the order of the day these past few weeks, with 59-year-old Emdur admitting he’s still riding high off the back of his incredible Logies triumph.
He’s also celebrating another Gold win — the whisky he helped design in conjunction with Corowa Distilling Co, a small New South Wales whisky distiller, recently took out a coveted gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Emdur first approached the company — which he had visited while filming a segment for The Morning Show — back in 2020, asking them to help him distil 60 bottles of a single malt to give to family and friends at his upcoming 60th birthday this December.
In the years that followed, they worked with him on the blend, popping bottles at the end of the bar for visitors to the distillery to try — they loved it.
“So we sent a bottle off to San Francisco to the biggest spirit competition in the world, and most prestigious, and it won gold,” Emdur explains.
“That was in March or April … and of course, once that happens, every big liquor store, and all through Asia (there was interest).”
They had a going concern on their hands, and the company, in collaboration with Emdur, decided to release their product more broadly.
“The Asian whisky market is massive, and those big stores just hunt for the gold winners,” he explains.
“So from 60 bottles, our first run was 10,000, and now we’re making 20,000 more and it’s gone berserk.”
Emdur surely has the Midas touch?
“No, not at all,” he laughs.
“But you know what? I have said no to so many deals over the years, because I haven’t felt an alignment, and I didn’t want my name on things … but this just felt really organic”
True to form — though his signature’s on the bottle, his name’s not front and centre on this unexpected new venture.
“It’s gaining a lot of traction. Because people are saying, ‘Jeez, he just set out to make 60 bottles for his mates for his 60th, and now it’s gold’,” Emdur laughs.
“The way it all happened is so bizarre, but I am so in love with it.”
The Chase Mega Money Spinner starts Monday 5pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
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