At one point, it is implied that the super-successful cut-throat scholar guy already had this kind of money and just pissed it away. They also implied that some form of vice or debauchery was behind a significant number of the participants' financial positions. Even the ultra-wealthy audience members are written as removed gamblers, hedonists, and gluttons - just ones able to stay above water.

There is a certain undertone to the show that suggests the prize money won't really satisfy or solidify their futures, because the underlying social ills are never addressed only exploited.