Australian Survivor star David Genat appears on Sunrise after he pockets biggest prize in TV history on US game show

Australian Survivor star David Genat has taken home the biggest prize in US TV history, pocketing AU$9.2 million (US$5.8 million) after an appearance on NBC’s Deal or No Deal Island.

The Aussie model, 45, previously won $500,000 on the All Stars series of Australian Survivor in 2020, but that pales in comparison to his windfall from the spin-off of popular quiz show, Deal Or No Deal.

Genat was the self-proclaimed “Golden God” of the Survivor franchise, gaining a huge following from the show.

The overjoyed winner appeared on Sunrise on Thursday, clearly thrilled with the win.

“It was incredible, man. I mean, something very special was happening in that temple, and it’s just such a staggering amount of money. Staggering,” Genat told Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington.

Genat confirmed he was forced to keep the win a secret for months after the show was filmed, even having to threaten his kids he had signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

“I had to threaten the kids. It was like ‘I have an NDA, so if you tell people, we’re not getting that money!’

“They’re really good.

“It’s not the first time they’ve had to keep a secret. When I won Survivor, the same thing happened. But there’s so much joy in that moment. I had the best call with all of them when I won.

“Their little faces were just beaming light. My daughter is like ‘Dad, does that mean we’re rich?’ and I said, ‘well, yeah!’”

Genat admitted he loved the thrill of reality TV. Despite Deal Or No Deal largely comes down to luck, he admitted he was good at playing games.

“I mean, I keep getting lucky, so take that as you will. I am really good at these games,” he said.

“There is a lot of luck. I like that. It evens the playing field. But you just have to make good relationships. It’s about good social game and making sure your strategy is sound.”

On the show, Genat chose the case number 18. He said it held special meaning for him.

“All my kids were born on the 18th. My youngest son is on the 14th, but three of them are born on the 18th. And my dad passed away, two years ago on the 18th, my stepdaughter’s birthday,” Genat said.

“He was such a great man. I knew he would hate that.

“So, I was like, ‘how do we take 18 back to be a positive number’, because he was such a positive influence in all our lives. He was with me in that temple, guys.”