Page 1 - The Friday Flyer • July 28, 2017

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • JULY 28, 2017
Curtains rise on Willy Wonka Jr. tonight at the lodge Pg. A3
Seniors invited to free spaghetti dinner at senior center Pg. A5
Discover the power of Whole Food Plant Based diet Pg. A10
Canyon Lake resident wins $50,000 on television show
BY DONNA RITCHIE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
Canyon Lake resident Anton Riniti dropped to his knees and began to cry the moment he was announced the win- ner on the ABC television show Steve Harvey’s Funderdome. “I was com- pletely overwhelmed. For three years, I have dedicated my life to making Bean- Bagglz the highest quality family game on the market and that moment was my validation. In that moment, I was above all else grateful.”
Steve Harvey’s Funderdome is a seed-funding competition reality series where two budding entrepreneurs go head-to-head to win over a live studio audience to fund their ideas, products or companies. After the two entrepreneurs pitch their products, the audience vote to determine the winner.
After the audience vote, and before the winner is announced, the entrepre- neurs face a major dilemma: one of the entrepreneurs is allowed to cash out and walk away for a lesser amount. But if an entrepreneur cashes out, they forgo the opportunity to win the whole cash prize. Cashing out is a good move if they lost the vote, but a bad move if it turns out that the audience voted for them.
Anton turned down the opportunity to cash out and walk away with $20,000.
Anton dropped to his knees and began to cry the moment he realized he won $50,000 on Steve Harvey's Funderdome. The show aired Sunday evening on ABC.
to take a step outside my own ego and honestly evaluate if I won the audience over,” said Anton. “When the money climbed to $20,000, I was prepared to hit the button, but ultimately I believed in the greater purpose of this game and felt that resonated with the audience.”
Anton said BeanBagglz is about get- ting kids off their iPads and increasing family time and encouraging social in- teraction. “It is ironic to me that the peo- ple who voted all did so on iPads. Now that’s funny. I felt that cashing out was saying that I am just here for the mon- ey. And I wasn’t. I was there to share a dream, to help make a difference and to bring back the importance of family game nights,” he said.
Anton describes his product as the world’s first bean bag game with in- terchangeable templates, built in stor- age bin, wheels and convertible table. BeanBagglz has over 300 game varia- tions. The templates enable players to play games like football, billiards, golf, poker and educational games. “Anyone from three years old and up can enjoy this game. Compact and portable, Bean- Bagglz is ideal for tailgate parties, kids parties, camping, beaches, competi- tions and get-togethers with family and
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By not cashing out, Anton risked walk- ing away with nothing if he didn’t win the majority of the votes. Anton received 56 percent of the votes, walking away with $50,000. His competitor, who also chose not to cash out, received 44 per- cent of the votes and walked away with
nothing.
“People have asked me if I had any in-
tention of cashing out for a lower dollar amount. It’s a fascinating twist because as a business man sometimes you have to make quick decisions that
impact your business. I had
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANTON RINITI
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ANTON RINITI