Jeff Probst Reveals How Survivor Is Changing the $1 Million Prize

“Same rules as 50 with one difference. If you call it incorrectly, you as a coin flipper are out, that million dollars rolls into the next season of Survivor,” he continued. “So in Survivor 51, at some point, a player’s going to flip a coin for a million dollars. If they land it, the prize pool will be $2 million for 51.”

However, the 64-year-old added, “If they don’t land it, that million dollars will go into Survivor 52 and somebody will flip a $2 million coin making the prize money $3 million. And if that doesn’t land, it’ll go into 53. It will go until it pays off and then it’ll start again.” 

As Probst sees it, the updated coin toss is “the most innovative twist in prize money in the history of unscripted television.”

“That million dollars is a living, breathing thing,” he said. “Imagine where it could go. It could pay off every season and suddenly it’s $2 million every season. It could not pay off for three or four seasons and suddenly somebody’s flipping a coin for three or $4 million.”

After all, Probst noted, “That’s what the Open Era offers you, is take all things, old, new, combine them, whatever you want to do.”

Ahead of Survivor’s return Sept. 23, read on to meet the castaways of season 51.