Winner of hit show Squid Game: The Challenge will finally get $4.5 million prize after telling Netflix to ‘show me the money’ 10 months after rock, paper, scissor finale was filmed

The winner of the hit show Squid Game: The Challenge will ultimately receive the $4.5 million prize, 10 months after the rock-paper-scissor finale was filmed.

Vietnamese immigrant Mai Whelan, 55, won over fans with her cunning and ruthless streak that saw her beat 455 other players.

But ten months after her victory, the show champion has still not seen a cent in her bank account.

Sources said TMZ that Mai signed a contract along with all other participants stating that the jackpot would be paid out 30 days after the finale aired.

If Netflix sticks to this timeline, Mai will become a millionaire on January 5, 2024, 30 days after the final episode airs.

“Our contracts stated that the winner would receive the money – 30 days after the finale,” tweeted Sam Kohn, player 188 of the show.

Mai, who shared her dramatic story of escaping the communist regime in her home country after the fall of Saigon, plans to spend her jackpot responsibly: on a retirement home and charity.

Netflix did not confirm when they would release the money, but did claim that Mai will receive the money as the final episode aired.

It is still unclear whether she will receive the money in one go or in installments.

In the much-hyped final, Whelan triumphed over diving instructor Phill Cain, 27, after several rounds of rock, paper, scissors.

The final shot of the entire series followed Mai walking to an ATM and checking her balance and seeing that there was $4.56 million waiting for her.

'I feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Show me the money!' she said The times in a phone call from New York after the final episode aired, confirming that she is still waiting for the money.

Whelan told the newspaper that she chose a chic hairstyle, a Ralph Lauren dress and Jimmy Choo shoes for a recent Netflix event. “I still regret that, but I think it's well deserved,” she said.

In another revelation, Whelan said contracts signed by participants prohibit them from giving winnings to other participants. DailyMail.com has reached out to Netflix for comment.

If she gets her money, Whelan says she will donate to causes she is passionate about, including the environment, and will also look into a retirement home far from where she lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

The immigration judge said she has two daughters, 36 and 34, with her husband Jay, a former IBM and Accenture executive who now runs a consulting business with his wife.

Speaking about her victory over Cain, who opened up on the show about living in Hawaii and no longer wanting to live paycheck to paycheck, Mai said it was more about experience than intelligence.

'I don't think I'm smarter. I'm older than him and I've been through things. It's just knowledge… We played a fair game. He thought I deserved to win because I often beat him with rock, paper, scissors!'

During the show, Whelan broke down when talking about fleeing Vietnam in 1975, during which he was almost shot by an American soldier at an airfield at the age of eight.

After moving to the US and settling in Pennsylvania, Whelan joined the US Navy at the age of 19 and then became pregnant.

'I was a virgin; I knew nothing. My family cut me off, it was very difficult. I knew nothing about motherhood. “I had no one,” she said.

In a separate interview, Whelan said her reason for joining the show was to win the money and help the causes she believes in.

'It's good because I want to express my cause, that's the main reason why I'm joining the game, to help a good cause, so now that I win I have a platform to tell the world to help the underprivileged. '

She said she plans to increase her support of the charity Unbound with her winnings.

“To educate children and make sure the elderly are taken care of because when you're in a poor country you don't have the need for medical care and children don't have an education,” Whelan said.

'I'll keep some for myself. I am old and want to retire soon. So I want to make sure my husband and I have enough to retire and also help with charity work.”

Whelan said the key to her success on the show was staying tenacious “regardless of what they say about me.”

She said: '… Even though I felt alone, but at the same time I stand by my position and that is my character, I want to have integrity, I don't want to compromise on that.

“Their judgment doesn't affect me, but it makes me paranoid and sometimes I've expressed that verbally, that can put me at a disadvantage, but at the same time, when it's my time to be eliminated, that's my time to get eliminated, but I have to play smart and just get through it and respect people and not hold grudges but apologize if you do something wrong.”

When asked how she was so good at reading her fellow competitors in the game, Ms Whelan said she took her job in immigration 'seriously'.

She also said she didn't prepare for the game other than rewatching the TV show after being accepted to participate in the challenge, which she used to “learn and adapt” her strategy.

The game show spin-off is based on the record-breaking Korean drama, including the same challenges without the deadly consequences of the original, with games like Red Light, Green Light, Honeycombs and Hopscotch.

New games have also been added, including 'Warship' – a version of the battleship board game, and 'Circle of Trust' – a variant of Heads Up Seven Up.

In the end, only three players remained to compete for the grand prize: Player 016 Sam, Player 287 Mai and Player 451 Phil.

But fans were left disappointed after who won the show was left up to chance, with the end result decided through a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Sam came third after being eliminated after pressing a button during a game of chance during the final three's dinner.

The winner was then determined through multiple rounds of playing rock, paper, scissors.

If they won a round, they received access to a key, which they could then use to open a safe and have a chance to win the prize.

Ultimately, it was Mai who managed to choose the correct key, which opened a safe and revealed a golden credit card.