Martin Flood
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Martin Flood (born 1964) is the second person to win the $1,000,000 major prize on the Australian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He won the prize on the November 14, 2005 episode.
He was a key member of Australian quiz show The Master, which aired on the Seven Network on 16 August 2006 and was cancelled the next morning. Flood played the role of "The Master", competing against contestants to thwart their attempts to win a $1 million prize.
Flood is a support analyst for Westpac bank and lives in New South Wales.
Harbouring an ambition to become a quiz champion, he studied general knowledge intensively for five years before appearing on the show, collecting information from trivia nights and also analysing past episodes of the show.
His appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was marred by a Nine Network on-air promotion suggesting he may have cheated. The promotion was aided by a story on the network's A Current Affair, which focused on a moment when an audience member coughed as Flood mentioned an answer (creating a link to convicted English quiz show cheat Charles Ingram), and suggestions that Flood was behaving erratically. The publicity helped boost the ratings for Flood's million-dollar win. Flood, who was unaware of the suggestion until after taping the second episode on which he appeared, was publicly cleared by the network of any improper conduct.
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[edit] Questions
Flood easily handled early questions on racing, religion and history. Only at the $16,000 question did he run into trouble.
[edit] For $16,000
What was businessman Alan Bond's first occupation?
- A: Greenkeeper
- B: Boilermaker
- C: Pastrycook
- D: Signwriter
Flood admitted he wasn't sure. He ruled out options B and C, then mulled over A and D before saying, "I think I’ve heard that he was a signwriter" and locked in D.
[edit] For $32,000
Erupting in 1991, Mount Pinatubo is in which country?
- A: Bangladesh
- B: Japan
- C: Indonesia
- D: Philippines
The process of elimination was becoming the key component to Flood's game. Only able to rule out C: Indonesia, he opted to ask the audience. It returned a 65% vote for D: Philippines and 27% for B: Japan. Flood plumped for the audience's choice and reached the second safe level.
[edit] For $64,000
Which of these derives from a former confederacy of professional assassins in India?
- A Thug
- B Lout
- C Hoon
- D Brute
He knew the answer to that one and promptly locked in A: Thug.
[edit] For $125,000
Which brand of champagne is sprayed from the podium at Formula 1 grand prix races?
- A: Bollinger
- B: Moët & Chandon
- C: Mumm
- D: Veuve Clicquot
Flood appeared concerned, and with good reason: He admitted he didn't watch Formula 1, nor did he drink champagne. But he rejected pressure to use a lifeline. Going through the options again, he said he believed he could “recall” hearing the answer on TV as he flipped through the TV channels at home. He was drawn to C: Mumm and after some deliberation decided to lock it in.
[edit] For $250,000
Cecil Scott were the first and second names of which famous Briton?
- A: Cecil Day-Lewis
- B: Cecil Rhodes
- C: C S Forester
- D: C S Lewis
"I have looked all of these up ... I should know this", Flood said. Feeling that the names did not sound right, he eliminated C S Lewis and Cecil Rhodes. After pondering the remaining two options he locked in C: C S Forester. He told host Eddie McGuire that one reason was that he has seen questions on Millionaire about options B and D, and a question about Cecil Day-Lewis featured on Channel Nine’s Temptation, therefore it was “about time” for a question on C S Forester.
His hunch put him at the $250,000 level with two of his three lifelines intact.
Faced with a five-week gap in filming, Flood took time off work to study full time for his remaining two questions.
[edit] For $500,000
How many independent countries does the Caspian Sea border?
- A: Four
- B: Five
- C: Six
- D: Seven
He thought the answer was five, but decided to phone a friend. David, a previous contestant, correctly named Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the bordering nations. Flood agreed, locked in B and advanced to the million dollar question.
[edit] For $1,000,000
Which of these men was not TIME Magazine Man of the Year?
- A: Adolf Hitler
- B: Ayatollah Khomeini
- C: Joseph Stalin
- D: Mao Zedong
Flood immediately used the 50/50 lifeline, which eliminated Hitler (who had won the award in 1938) and Stalin (who was awarded the title twice, in 1939 and 1942). This left B: Ayatollah Khomeini and D: Mao Zedong. After picturing Khomeini on the cover, he chose to risk $468,000 and lock in Mao. He was correct — and became only the second contestant in six years to win the million dollar prize.
