Deal or No Deal Island’s David Genat Would Do Anything to Win

David Genat just won the largest reality-show prize on network television on Deal or No Deal Island (and second overall in TV history behind Beast Games’s $10 million winner Jeffrey Randall Allen) — all while wearing shorts. “I’m not gonna lie. I put a lot of work into my legs, and all those squats really paid off,” Genat says. A model, Australian Survivor: All Stars winner, Celebrity Apprentice Australia contestant, and TV host in his own right, Genat knew he needed to put on a show for the final temple opposite the first female Banker in the show’s history — former Deal or No Deal case model Chrissy Teigen.

As the case numbers dwindled, the grand prize of $12,232,001 remained on the board until the final second, prompting anxious suggestions from the peanut gallery of eliminated contestants. But Genat remained calm, confident, and focused as the offers rose into the million-dollar range, continuing to choose No Deal despite his former teammates screaming at him to take the money. It wasn’t until the final two cases, $75 and $12,232,001, were left that Genat accepted the $5.8 million offer from the Banker. “I really wanted to make a big statement,” he says. “If I don’t step up and live up to this moment, what a failure.”

At what point during the game were you seriously considering Chrissy’s offers? She was lowballing you at the beginning.
It wasn’t until it started to get into the $1.8 million region that I even considered it. I was on a different planet. It was a very, very spiritual experience. I felt like I knew where that $12.2 million was from the start. I came in there with this attitude of, I really wanted to make a big statement. I love making television and I think this is the biggest television moment that has ever existed. If I don’t step up and live up to this moment, what a failure.

The acting from the case model, Ben, when he says, “It can’t end like this, man,” before opening the $25 case was a little over the top. How do you separate yourself from those made-for-TV moments when you’re trying to focus on the money? You were so close to the prize at that point.
He did me a little dirty there. I don’t know if it was, like, the presence of my dad, who passed a couple of years ago, but nothing was shaking me. Everyone was just yelling stuff, and I was in the Matrix, dodging. Nothing was coming into my psyche — it was just me and the cases up there.

What does being in the zone feel like for you?
It was ultimate confidence, ’cause it’s very scary to be up there. You would forget what you’re doing. I was really trying not to get lost in that. I’m big on breath work, so I was really controlling my breathing and controlling my heartbeat so it didn’t get away from me. Because when those cases opened, that’s when you couldn’t stop the adrenaline surge.

When a case would be revealed, everyone would go crazy, but you almost wouldn’t react to what was happening.
I know every time I talk about this, I’m gonna sound like a crazy person, but I was seeing the cases light up that I was supposed to pick. I would close my eyes, and I would see this little trail of white, and it would flash up on the cases. Something happened out there, and you see the result.

The actual game of Deal or No Deal is essentially just a game of statistics — 
It’s not just statistics. If you sit down and watch 12 case rounds, and that No. 1 was the high-value case in this episode, you can start statistically noticing the odds. If you roll a dice, how many times are you gonna roll six? It’s a tricky thing to do when you’re trying to run numbers in your head. That was something the savvy players were thinking of the whole time. The superstition does creep up on you. It’s a lot of the reason why people were like, “I don’t wanna play the Banker.”

Do you find comfort in knowing the game is partially up to chance, statistics, and intuition?
Definitely. If it was meant to be for me, it’s meant to be. You can’t change the cards. You can try to shape them, but it’s better to flow like water than to crash. It felt really special and fated. I’ve been in entertainment for 20 years; I’ve worked really hard for this.

How did you prepare to go into the game?
It was funny getting myself back into contestant mode because I’ve been hosting shows in Australia. Who I am in the game is not who I am outside. I’m genuinely a very honest and nice person, but on TV, I’m cutthroat and will do anything to win. I dissected every part of the game. Then I start coming up with stupid quips. It’s like researching an acting role.

Did you have a quip you didn’t get a chance to say on the show?
I had a bunch of them where I was like, “I’m going to give you full villain,” then if I go out, the audience will be happy I’ve gone home. I trusted production was gonna make me a lovable villain and not an unlikable villain. Because I won, I have to be that nice guy. They want people to want me to win money.

I didn’t really perceive you as a villain.
Villain behavior is really encouraged in Survivor. I researched reality-show villains like Parvati, Boston Rob, and Tyson Apostol and I watched their seasons to prepare myself. I fully based my Survivor game on Parvati — I wanted to be the male Parvati. I’ve been a fashion model for 20 years. I’ve had to have all these fake romances and pretend like I’m into people, so this is kind of my jam. I can get people to fall in love with me, then cut their throat.

Did you trust that Parvati was going to keep your identity as a Survivor winner secret?
I did. We were best friends immediately because we have so much common experience. We are both really loyal to the people we play with, even if we might cut you at the end. I think Parv is the greatest Survivor player of all time. You have to put your game in someone’s hands at some point, and who better to put my game with than Parvati? You have to align with other people who have had common experiences. I watched Rob on Traitors and seeing the big threats take each other out — that was the worst move they could’ve done. Those guys have to stick together.

With Dr. Will’s elimination, how did you know when it was right to take him out? You had just made that deal with him before Temple.
The second I had a shot at Will, he had to go. What wasn’t shown was that I was trying to work with him. I had multiple conversations with Will. I told him, “Listen, let’s move through this together. You can be the villain, I’ll play the hero role,” so it doesn’t look like he was punching down. He wants to be the villain. Will felt like a terrorist in there: It was either his way or no way at all. He was really rubbing me the wrong way.

When Will came in, everyone was like, “This guy sucks, we hate him!” but he has this incredibly charming nature that, as much as he is annoying, he’s funny. People were really affected by him. Storm suddenly was like, “I love this guy!” and it changed Storm’s demeanor and how he was interacting with production and other players.

During the final challenge with Dr. Will, he said Big Brother was better than Survivor as he threw the last board into the water. How would Dr. Will do on Survivor?
Will can’t even jump. He couldn’t even get those rings. He would be destroyed. But Survivor now is 20 dorks doing puzzles, so maybe he’ll be okay.

What was the most important moment in the competition that we didn’t see on-camera?
Leading up to the final challenge with the girls, I was really upset about what was going on. I was writing a story line in my brain that the perfect final three would be me, Parv, and CK. I felt really confident I could beat both those girls in a challenge. But when Parvati went home, I was genuinely so butt hurt about it. It took me a long time to get my head back and have it motivate me as opposed to putting a really dark cloud over my head.

What show would you love to go on next?
I would do Traitors in a heartbeat, then I’m done competing. It’s having such a pop-culture moment. I would smash that show and would be the best Faithful. I would never ever be a Traitor.

What would happen if you were a Traitor?
I don’t know if I could live with myself. I’m just such an honest person who never lies. I feel like being a Traitor is just super icky. I would never do it. I’d probably just tell them I’m a Traitor so I would go home.

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