'Squid Game' Reality Show Winner Claims They Never Got $4.5 Million Prize

The Squid Game reality show Squid Game: The Challenge has come and gone, and despite someone coming out on top, they're claiming they haven't seen a cent of their $4.5 million jackpot. According to Daily Mail, 55-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Mai Whelan beat her fellow players and became the last one standing on the Netflix series. After multiple rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors against 27-year-old scuba instructor Phill Cain, Whelan won in the end. She checked her balance at an ATM, which confirmed that $4.56 million were there.

Whelan confirmed to The Times that she had yet to see her money, 10 months after filming for Squid Game: The Challenge completed. On top of not receiving her money, Whelan also admitted that participants signed contracts that forbid them from giving away their winnings to the other contestants. While she won't be able to give her money away to her fellow contestants, she does plan to donate to causes close to her, such as the environment and a retirement home away from her home in Virginia.

This is just the latest problem and controversy that Squid Game: The Challenge has faced. THR reported that contestants were seeking compensation for their experience on the series. British personal injury firm Express Solicitors shared that contestants claim they "suffered injuries such as hypothermia and nerve damage as a result of poor health and safety standards on set." Despite the criticism and reported failure to give Mai Whelan her earnings, Netflix recently renewed the show for a second season. It's possible that in the midst of the controversy, the show will be a bit different for next season, but it really won't be known until the episodes first drop.

It's unknown if and when Whelan will finally receive her winnings, but hopefully, now that word has gone out about it following the season finale, it won't be long until she finally sees that $4.56 million in her bank account. In the meantime, she's able to figure out what else she wants to do with the money and become more anxious just thinking about it.

Based on the popular series Squid Game, Squid Game: Challenge brings together 456 contestants as they compete in challenges from Squid Game, albeit less gory, less blood, and no death. The series premiered on Nov. 22, with five episodes dropping. The next four premiered the following week, with the finale airing on Dec. 6. Along with a second season of Squid Game: The Challenge, another season of Squid Game is in the works as well.