Taken straight from the Associated Press newswire (which is the wire service we use at the newspaper I work at), here is the article that should be in newspapers everywhere regarding Kevin Olmstead's performance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Congrats, Kevin. Allyson :) Michigan engineer wins top "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" prize By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- A Michigan engineer won $2.18 million on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Tuesday, which ABC claims is the biggest quiz show prize in network television history. Kevin Olmstead of Ann Arbor, Mich., won the jackpot for correctly identifying Igor Sikorsky as inventor of the first mass-produced helicopter. He was already out of lifelines. Olmstead is almost the prototype "Millionaire" winner: a 42-year-old single man who co-founded a company that provides questions for academic quiz competitions. He won nearly $27,000 as a "Jeopardy!" contestant in 1994. He's also a friend of David Goodman, the last man to win the top prize on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" last July. Goodman and Olmstead talked on the telephone just prior to the final question. With a drought of winners, the show in January increased its jackpot by $10,000 for every show since Goodman's triumph. Olmstead won on the 118th episode after that. Since last July, eight contestants had reached the final question, but decided to walk away with $500,000 and not risk being bumped back to $32,000 with a wrong answer. Olmstead said he feared being asked a question about recent pop culture. Instead, he lucked out with the query about the helicopter inventor. "From being an engineer and being into engineering history, I immediately knew Sikorsky," he said. He plans to buy a car and some electronic toys with the money, give to his church and some school scholarship funds, and give his parents and sister "the maximum benefit to which the taxman will allow." Most of the money will be invested with an eye toward early retirement. He doesn't plan to quit his job as an environmental engineer for the firm Tetra Tech. He's also taught at the University of Detroit Mercy and his alma mater, the University of Michigan. After taxes, he figures he will earn between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. "I will be able to live more comfortably, but I don't anticipate it changing me personally," said Olmstead, a native of Toledo, Ohio. "Maybe I can pick up a few more tabs." He's the seventh big winner on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," which first aired in August 1999. ABC says the eighth winner will come within the next week. The timing is good for ABC; the game show has been sagging in the ratings and faces new competition from NBC's "Weakest Link," which premieres next week. Asked if he had any advice for future contestants, Olmstead suggested taking a deep breath and reading the question carefully. Oh, and he says to keep the banter with host Regis Philbin to a minimum. "It's your money," he said. "Not his."
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