What Happens When You Win 'The Price Is Right'

We've all dreamed of winning it big -- whether it's the Powerball lottery or a popular gameshow. But the sudden euphoria that erupts after learning you've won millions of dollars, a new car or a brand new dining room set can quickly turn into a headache went it comes to collecting your prize.

Just ask Andrea Schwartz, who appeared on "The Price Is Right" last year. "It was a nerve-wracking experience, and I've never been more embarrassed watching myself of television," Schwartz told the A.V. Club website.

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In the end, she walked away with $1,200, a Mazda 2 subcompact, a pool table, a shuffleboard table and some earrings -- $33,000 worth of prizes in all. But as A.V. Club reports, there was a lot of red tape involved in getting those prizes home.

"You don't just drive off the backlot with the car like I thought the entire time I was growing up," she said. Rather, contestants fill out paperwork that notes that they agree to pay taxes on the prizes they won. Depending on where you live, you may be on the hook for state taxes in addition to federal taxes on the value of the merchandise and any cash you might've won.

For more on Schwartz's experience, and the ins and outs involved in being a prize winner, read the rest of the A.V. Club's Q&A with the big winner.

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