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David Chang, Momofuku founder and host of “Ugly Delicious,” is the first celebrity to win the $ 1 million prize on ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” after Sunday night’s nail-biting episode. .
After being inactive since May 2019, the game show was resumed this year with Jimmy Kimmel as the host. Since its inception in 1999, only 13 people have won first prize in the American version of the show – only six in the British version. And no celebrity contestant ever won the full million until Chang did.
Like the winnings from celebrities who have competed since the show resumed this year, Chang’s million dollar went to a charity of his choice. He chose the Southern Smoke Foundation, a Houston-based crisis relief organization for people working in the hospitality industry.
After 15 rounds of grueling curiosity, the million-dollar question was tense, as Chang used his last lifeline to phone a friend to help him answer “Although he and his wife never turned on a light switch for fear of shock, the first president to have electricity in the White House?
Chang called ESPN analyst and reporter Mina Kimes, who, herself insecure, replied “probably [Benjamin] Harrison. “
Fans and friends tweeted about Kimes with enthusiasm and praise after the episode aired.
An uncertain Chang pondered for a few sweaty minutes before finally deciding to go with Kimes’s answer and take the risk instead of walking away with a $ 500,000 donation.
“My Asian gambling genes are very strong in me, because that’s what prevailed over common sense,” Chang said Monday morning in a conversation with Kimmel on his podcast, “The Dave Chang Show.”
When his victory was announced, digital confetti exploded on the screen and a shocked Chang jumped out of his chair to hit Kimmel with his elbow.
There was no studio audience to encourage him, so Chang described the sweet feeling of victory in a room that was empty except himself, Kimmel, and a friend, Emmy-nominated director Alan Yang, which Chang also used as an anchor. of salvation.
“I still don’t understand what happened,” Chang said. “It was the most out-of-body experience. I don’t know what happened.”
He also talked about the impact he hopes the money will have on Southern Smoke, an organization that makes donations to small business owners or food service workers when they are experiencing debt or other crises.
“I wanted to raise awareness for the restaurant business,” he said. “Southern Smoke hasn’t been able to do their annual charity campaign because of Covid. … I was over the moon that we could, because it’s been an incredibly difficult year. I was like, man, I want the world show him what the people in the industry would do. “
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