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‘Squid Game’ Winner Says They Haven’t Received Their $4.5M Prize

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“I feel like Tom Cruise in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ Show me the money!”

A couple takes a selfie with a giant doll named Younghee from Netflix series “Squid Game” on display at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 26, 2021.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

(Warning: Spoilers for Squid Game: The Challenge below.)

The winner of Squid Game: The Challenge says they are still yet to receive their $4.56 million prize despite the show ending in February. Mai Whelan, 55, triumphed over 455 other contestants across the 10-episode Netflix game show series adapted from the hit South Korean drama. But Whelan—aka No. 287—says she is still waiting to get her hands on her winnings. “I feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire,” she told The Times. “Show me the money!” The immigration adjudicator from Virginia says she plans to give some of the cash to charities for the underprivileged and the environment and possibly buy “a retirement home somewhere.” Aside from a new haircut, Whelan said all she’s bought so far are a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and a black velvet Ralph Lauren dress. “I still have buyer’s remorse from that,” she said, “But I think it’s well deserved.”

Read it at The Times