Bosses at Seven will also be congratulating themselves that their own gamble has paid off in the network's cutthroat ratings battle with Nine's Millionaire Hot Seat.

Since Skarbek joined the show on February 25, Million Dollar Minute has lifted its five city metro figures by almost 100,000 viewers to 521,000, putting it within striking distance of Hot Seat on 527,000.

And during Skarbek's record-breaking run Seven has kept its wallet shut, while Nine has shelled out more than $850,000 in prize money.

Even if Seven has to hand over the full $1 million (or $1,016,000 to be precise) to Skarbek, executives will consider it money well spent.

Should they only have to pay out $316,000 – the minimum Skarbek can win – Seven's accountants will be presumably be doubly happy.

The unanswered question for Seven (and to a lesser extent Nine), however, is whether the new audience will stay with the show or drift away once the excitement of Skarbek's potential million-dollar payday has dissipated.

Skarbek, a former business analyst from Melbourne, knocked back the chance to take home $766,000 on Friday night, saying he was determined to push on to the ultimate prize.

His wife, Jenny, wanted him to take the money but he dramatically rejected her advice. If Skarbek, who is the longest-running contestant on the show, does score himself a $1 million payday, it will be one of the biggest wins in Australian TV history.

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