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Stevenson High School grad wins $56,000 on ‘Millionaire’
Scott Green, a Stevenson High School graduate, put his trivia knowledge and gamesmanship to the test recently when he appeared on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. | Photos courtesy of Millionaire
Updated: December 5, 2012 10:38AM
BUFFALO GROVE — Scott Green, also known as The Great Scott magician or “unemployed lawyer” on local sports radio shows, took on a fourth identity recently when his lifelong dream of being a game-show contestant came true. Green, a Stevenson High School graduate now living in Chicago, took home $56,000 after a two-day television appearance on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. On Monday, Green reported that he had just received his check and was on his way to a dealership to look at a much-needed new vehicle.
Q: How did you get on the show?
A: I can go back to when I was five years old: I used to watch shows on the couch with my mom every day. I saw that there was going to be a tryout at Rivers Casino in June. It’s a 30-question multiple-choice test, and I took it in a room with 300 people. A few weeks later, I got a postcard that I’d passed the interviews. A few weeks later, I got a call from the producers on the show.
Q: What would you have done if you’d won the full million?
A: I would have bought myself a car, and we would have made sure my wife had a new car as well. With a baby on the way, we would have saved most of it, and ensured ourselves of a really nice vacation every year. A million’s really not enough to quit your job, when you’re my age.
Q: So what will you do with $56,000?
A: I need a bigger car, I need an SUV. As a magician, I have a lot of gear I transport to shows. I can’t fit all my stuff in the trunk. We don’t have to trade in our old car, either, so we’ll finally be a two-car family. The money from the show is freedom.
Q: What is the magic business like?
A: I did my first birthday party when I was 14. When my friends were pouring coffee at Starbucks, I did a few shows on the weekends, and I out-earned them. I graduated cum laude from a top-25 law school, but the job market in 2009 was so bad for lawyers. I designed a show for kids and families. It just took off — kids were having so much fun. I think the legal background gave me good sense to run the business better. I was done looking for a law job within a few months. My sister always jokes that when I want money, money just appears.
Q: What was the appeal of magic when you were young?
A: When I was a kid, my grandma bought me some magic tricks. Anybody who knows me knows my next thought would be ‘How do I monetize this?’ If she’d bought me Tinker Toys, I’d be an architect.
Q: Which is a tougher crowd, a jury or a kid’s birthday party?
A: Birthday parties are easy, if you know what you’re doing.
