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"Squid Game: The Challenge" winner Mai Whelan, AKA Player 287, was always destined to kick butt in the high-stakes series ... given her status as a decorated navy vet.

Mai briefly touched upon her 20-year service on the show ... but the 56-year-old was humble with her achievements -- and now we can reveal the full extent of the prestigious military awards with which she's been honored.

Mai has bagged a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal ... given to those who've served on active duty during a designated anti-terrorism operation for a minimum of 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days.

She's also in possession of 5 Joint Service Achievement Medals ... awarded to those below the grade of captain in the Navy ... who, while assigned to a joint activity, distinguish themselves by outstanding achievement or meritorious service.

Meanwhile, Mai's Navy "E" Ribbon is a nod to her permanent duty aboard a U.S. Navy ship or in a unit that won a battle efficiency competition. She also has 5 Good Conduct Medals for 3 consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service."

If that wasn't impressive enough, Mai has also been honored with a Meritorious Unit Commendation, two National Defense Service Medals, 4 Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, 5 Overseas Service Ribbons, a NATO Medal and is an Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist.

Mai came to the States in 1975 after escaping Vietnam as a young girl during the communist regime ... joined the US Navy at 18 and served for 20 years between 1985 and 2005. She spent time stationed in Florida, London, Italy, Hawaii, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

La ganadora de El juedo del calamar: Desafío como veterano de la Armada, Mai Whelan, AKA Player 287, parecía destinada a patear el culo en la serie de alto riesgo, dada su condición de veterana de la marina condecorada.

Mai se refirió brevemente a su servicio de 20 años en el show, pero la mujer de 56 años, fue humilde con sus logros, y ahora podemos revelar el alcance total de los prestigiosos premios militares con los que ha sido honrada.

Mai tiene una medalla por combatir en la Guerra Global contra el Terrorismo, dada a aquellos que han servido durante una operación antiterrorista. Se le otorga si la operación duró un mínimo de 30 días consecutivos o 60 días no consecutivos.

También cuenta con 5 Medallas de Logro de Servicio Conjunto, otorgada a aquellos por debajo del grado de capitán de la Armada que, mientras que se asigna a una actividad conjunta, se distinguen por logros sobresalientes o servicios meritorios.

Mientras tanto, la cinta "E" de la Marina de Mai es un guiño a su servicio permanente a bordo de un buque de la Armada de EE.UU. o en una unidad que ganó una competición de eficiencia de batalla. Ella también tiene 5 Medallas de Buena Conducta por 3 años consecutivos de "servicio honorable y fiel".

Por si eso no fuera suficientemente impresionante, Mai también ha sido honrada con una Encomienda Meritoria de Unidad, dos Medallas de Servicio de Defensa Nacional, 4 Cintas de Despliegue de Servicio Marítimo, 5 Cintas de Servicio en el Extranjero, una Medalla de la OTAN y es Especialista en Guerra de Aviación Alistada.

Mai llegó a Estados Unidos en 1975 tras escapar de Vietnam cuando era una niña durante el régimen comunista... se alistó en la Marina estadounidense a los 18 años y sirvió durante 20 años, entre 1985 y 2005. Estuvo destinada en Florida, Londres, Italia, Hawai, Mississippi y Carolina del Sur.

The winner of "Squid Game: The Challenge" is inching closer to finally seeing her $4.56M payday, but by the terms of her contract ... TMZ has learned she's still gotta play the waiting game.

Sources tell TMZ ... show champ Mai Whelan -- who recently said her winnings from the Netflix series have yet to hit her bank account -- signed a contract alongside all other contestants that stated the jackpot would be disbursed 30 days after the finale aired.

The finale aired December 6, so 30 days later would be Friday, January 5, 2024 -- so Mai won't get those millions until next year.

Basically, Mai knew all along she'd have to wait a while for the big bucks to roll in ... 'cause the contract she signed informed her about the payment plan.

When she revealed last week she still hadn't seen a dime ... everyone took it as her complaining -- but with the full context of her contract, it's more likely she was reminding producers the clock's ticking!

We're also told it's unclear if she'll receive the money as a lump sum or in increments.

Despite not receiving the dough, Mai -- who escaped Vietnam as a young girl during the communist regime -- has already splurged on some luxe items such as Jimmy Choo shoes and a Ralph Lauren dress.

La ganadora de "Squid Game: El Desafío" finalmente verá su pago de $4.56M, aunque ella todavía tiene que esperar un poco más.

Fuentes le dicen a TMZ que la campeona Mai Whelan  —quien recientemente dijo que las ganancias de la serie de Netflix aún no han entrado en su cuenta bancaria— firmó un contrato junto con todos los demás concursantes y declaró que el premio sería desembolsado 30 días después de la final emitida.

La final se emitió el 6 de diciembre, lo que significa que 30 días después es el viernes 5 de enero de 2024, por lo que Mai no verá sus millones hasta el próximo año.

Básicamente, Mai sabía todo el tiempo que tendría que esperar un tiempo para recibir el dinero.

Cuando afirmó la semana pasada que todavía no había visto un centavo, asumimos que ella no sabía cuánto tiempo le tomaría a Netflix transmitir la serie, con la cláusula final añadiéndole 30 días a la retención.

También nos dicen que no está claro si va a recibir el dinero como una suma global o en incrementos.

A pesar de no recibir el dinero, Mai, que escapó de Vietnam cuando era una niña durante el régimen comunista, ya ha derrochado en algunos artículos de lujo como zapatos de Jimmy Choo y un vestido de Ralph Lauren.

Matt Rife se metió en línea con un niño de 6 años de edad que lo criticó por su reciente especial de Netflix, algo por lo que todavía tiene que hacer las paces, al menos así lo dice la madre del niño.

Así es la cosa, el comediante todavía se enfrenta a reacciones en contra de su especial del mes pasado, que incluía bromas sobre la violencia doméstica, además de bastantes bromas a expensas de las mujeres. Todo esto a pesar de que la mayoría de su público es femenino.

Rife se encargó de llamar la atención con sus polémicos chistes durante mucho tiempo, y la semana pasada, el hijo pequeño de la TikToker Bunny Hedaya dio su opinión al respecto.

Ella publicó una de las bromas de Rife del especial en la que se burla de las mujeres por confiar en la astrología y conseguir "anillos" que combinen con los planetas. Fue cuando su hijo apareció para corregir al humorista sobre qué planeta en realidad cuenta con anillos... Saturno.

El chico también dijo que Rife era "malo con las chicas". Sabemos que no es una afirmación nada agresiva, pero Rife aparentemente sintió la necesidad de responder... y escribió un comentario que ya ha sido borrado: "Júpiter también tiene un anillo. Y Papá Noel no es real. Tu madre te compra los regalos con el dinero que gana en OnlyFans. Buena suerte". Sí, no es genial, y peor aún, Bunny dice que no ha dicho lo siento.

Ella le dice a TMZ que Rife aún no se ha disculpado. Agrega que solo aceptaría una disculpa a través de un cambio de comportamiento, es decir, un cambio en el tono con el que se refiere a las mujeres. Sin embargo, ella dice que basándose en su comportamiento, no tiene muchas esperanzas.

Bunny dice que Rife no parece el tipo de persona que se responsabiliza de sus actos —véase su respuesta a toda la controversia sobre el "casco para necesidades especiales"— y añade que cree que necesita mirar en su interior para averiguar por qué siente tanta agresividad hacia las mujeres y los niños, y tratar de curarse a sí mismo una vez que descubra la causa.

Matt Rife got into it online with a 6-year-old kid who criticized him over his recent Netflix special -- something for which he has yet to make amends ... according to the boy's mom.

Here's the deal ... the comedian is still facing backlash over his special from last month, which included cracks about domestic violence, and which made women, in general, the butt of a lot of his jokes -- this despite the fact that the vast majority of his fans are women.

Rife was getting crapped on left and right for a good long while -- something he relished -- and the other week, TikToker Bunny Hedaya's young son got in on the action as well.

She posted a stitch to one of Rife's jokes from the special -- during which he's making fun of women for relying on astrology and getting a "rings" punchline in there with the planets -- and it featured her boy who corrected MR on which planet actually featured rings ... Saturn.

The kid also said Rife was "mean to girls" ... so not a huge burn, but one to which Rife apparently felt the need to respond. He wrote in a since-deleted comment, "Jupiter also has (a) ring. OH!... and Santa isn't real. Your mom buys you presents with the money she makes on OnlyFans. Good luck." Yeah, it ain't great ... and worse yet, Bunny says he hasn't said sorry.

She tells TMZ ... while Rife has yet to apologize, she says she would only accept one through changed behavior -- namely, switching up his tune on how he talks to/about women. However, she says based on what she's seen about him ... she ain't holding her breath.

Bunny says Rife doesn't seem like the type of guy to take accountability -- see his response to the special needs helmet joke controversy -- and she believes he needs to look deep inside himself to figure out why he feels so much aggression toward women and children, and to attempt to heal himself once he figures out the root cause.

Elon Musk is attempting to tamp down any fears about Tesla cars that a new Netflix movie has stoked -- but he isn't really addressing the heart of the problem ... ultra smart cars.

Here's the deal ... Netflix released this new film called 'Leave the World Behind' and there's a scene in there where Model 3 Teslas drive themselves into a massive pileup on a road leading back to NYC ... this amid a mass power outage/possible cyber attack on Earth.

Like we said, it's freaky because the cars literally crash themselves into a never-ending accident with nobody in the vehicles -- which the main characters have to escape -- and the scene highlights Tesla's high-tech self-driving capability ... but in a nightmare scenario.

What makes this moment in the movie extra eerie is the fact that it's all white Model 3s that are doing this ... seemingly at the whim of hackers who are sending the cars to their doom.

Elon responded to a spliced version of this scene on Netflix's Twitter/X account, and he seemingly tried reassuring people that his Teslas would fare well in a doomsday situation like the one depicted on camera. He wrote, "Teslas can charge from solar panels even if the world goes fully Mad Max and there is no more gasoline!"

Like we said, he's *trying* to downplay the terror in the scene -- but EM either didn't watch the scene in full, or he hasn't seen the whole film yet ... 'cause the car not being able to start is NOT the problem here. Rather, it's the fact they can freaking drive on their own!

There've been reports of Teslas that have gotten into some bad wrecks (allegedly in autopilot mode) -- but it's unclear if the self-driving feature had anything to do with the cause.

Still, it looks like Netflix capitalized on those fears of "too-smart cars" and turned it into a horror movie, of sorts ... at least for this 1 scene, anyway. The flick, in general, doesn't focus entirely on this issue ... but it is certainly a highlight. Shout-out Julia Roberts' driving!

El mayor premio de un reality de televisión de $4,560,000 dólares fue a parar a las manos de su ganador, con la coronación oficial de "El juego del calamar: El Desafío".

ALERTA DE SPOILER

Millones de personas siguieron en streaming la adaptación a la vida real del popular programa de Netflix y todo llegó a su fin el miércoles cuando los 3 finalistas se disputaron el primer lugar. Los concursantes fueron agasajados con un banquete en su dormitorio -compuesto por filetes- antes de que se revelara que solo 2 pasarían al juego final.

Desde ahí, Mai Whelan (jugador 287), Sam Lantz (jugador 016) y Phill Cain (jugador 451) quedaron reducidos a dos en un juego de azar. Este consistía en elegir un botón: el verde significaba que podían elegir a otro jugador para ir a la final, el rojo que quedaban eliminados y el gris era neutral. Mai consiguió el gris y Sam el rojo, por lo que pasó Phil.

En la partida final, Mai y Phil jugaron a "Piedra, papel o tijera". Cada vez que un jugador ganaba una ronda, tenía que seleccionar una llave de una caja con varias de ellas e intentar abrir una cerradura

ALERTA SPOILER

Después de una docena de rondas, Mai, de 55 años e inmigrante de Virginia eligió la llave ganadora, pudo abrir la caja fuerte y llevarse a casa el premio de $4,560,000.

Reality TV's biggest prize of $4,560,000 has officially been won ... as the winner of "Squid Game: The Challenge" was crowned.

SPOILER ALERT

Millions streamed the real-life game show adaption of the extremely popular Netflix show, and Wednesday night it all came to an end as the final 3 became one single champion. The three remaining contestants were all treated to a feast in their dorm -- consisting of steak -- before it was revealed only 2 of them would move on to the final game.

From there, the remaining 3 Mai Whelan (player 287), Sam Lantz (player 016), and Phill Cain (player 451) were narrowed to two in a game of chance where players selected a button to press ... green meant they got to choose one other player to bring to the final, red meant they were eliminated and grey was neutral. Mai got grey and Sam chose red which meant Phil and Mai moved on.

In the final game, Mai and Phil played "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Every time a player won the round, they'd select a single key from a box of several and attempt to open a lock.

SPOILER ALERT

After about a dozen rounds ... 55-year-old Mai, an immigration adjudicator from Virginia picked the winning key, opening the safe and taking home the $4,560,000 prize.

La estrella de "El juego del calamar" (Squid Game en inglés), Geoffrey Giuliano, tuvo una experiencia real con una motosierra que habría hecho retorcerse incluso a los fans más acérrimos del programa.

El actor de 70 años perdió dos dedos de sus pies después de que una motosierra se los cortara en un extraño accidente. Al parecer, estaba haciendo unos arreglos en su casa cuando a uno de sus obreros se le cayó accidentalmente la motosierra. Aparentemente, la herramienta cayó al suelo y rebotó en el pie de Giuliano, provocando el corte de los dedos.

Fue un gran desastre cuando empezó a borbotear la sangre, pero aun así tuvo la prestancia para localizar sus dos dedos del pie derecho, el gordo y el segundo, envolverlos en una toalla de papel y entregárselos a los médicos cuando llegaron.

El accidente ocurrió en Pattaya, Tailandia, donde fue trasladado a un hospital y luego los médicos pudieron rezurcir sus dedos.

Giuliano se someterá a una segunda cirugía el viernes en Bangkok para asegurarse de que todo esté en su lugar.

Giuliano dijo: "Me duele como un loco hoy. Los médicos me dijeron que tengo suerte de estar vivo, pero no me siento afortunado. Una motosierra casi me mata".

A continuación, Giuliano explicó sobre el accidente: "La motosierra voló cerca de 8 pies en el aire, golpeó el suelo, destruyó el suelo y luego fue a parar a mi pie, a la parte superior de mi dedo gordo y el segundo dedo del pie".

"Squid Game" star Geoffrey Giuliano had a real-life experience with a chainsaw that would have made even hardcore fans of his show squirm.

The 70-year-old actor is minus 2 toes after a chainsaw severed them in a bizarre accident. Seems he was doing some home renovations when a construction worker was buzzing away, but then accidentally dropped the chainsaw. Apparently, the tool hit the floor and then bounced onto Giuliano's foot, cutting off the 2 toes.

He was a bloody mess, collapsing in his own blood. He had the presence of mind to locate the 2 toes - the big one and the second one on his right foot -- place them in a paper towel, and present them to medics when they arrived.

The accident went down in Pattaya, Thailand, where he was rushed to the hospital and doctors reattached the toes.

Giuliano will undergo a second surgery Friday in Bangkok to make sure the reattachments stick.

Giuliano said, "It hurts like crazy today. The doctors told me I'm lucky to be alive, but I don't feel lucky. A chainsaw almost killed me."

Giuliano further explained the accident ... "The chainsaw flew about 8ft into the air, hit the floor, chewed up the floor, then landed on my foot, so there went the top of my big toe and second toe."

Kim Kardashian is jumping from Hulu to Netflix -- at least for movies, anyway -- 'cause she sold a forthcoming comedy she'll star in to the streaming giant ... this after a ton of interest.

Deadline broke the news Sunday ... a new flick called "The Fifth Wheel" just got sold to Netflix after an apparent bidding war to snap up the rights among 5 different studios. In the end, Netflix made the winning offer ... although it's unclear how much they shelled out.

This film isn't written or shot yet ... Kim K and the 2 co-writers who came up with the concept -- Paula Pell and Janine Brito -- simply sold the idea ... and now they'll actually make it. Kim's gonna play the lead ... a "fifth wheel" among an ensemble of female actors.

The rest of the plot deets are being kept under wraps ... but word is, Pell and Brito immediately thought of Kim for this and pitched her. After she came aboard, they started hitting the town as soon as the actors' strike ended and collectively shopped it around.

Deadline says Kim's been present at a lot of the meetings, and her involvement spurred a lot of studios to open their doors and take the movie under consideration. BTW, she's not only gonna act in this thing ... but she'll produce as well, alongside Pell and possibly others.

Pell is a well-known and established TV comedy writer ... as is Brito. Pell's got a lengthier resume, with tons of 'SNL' credits. She also wrote the Amy Poehler/Tina Fey movie "Sisters." Paula also notably EP'd Judd Apatow's 'This Is 40.'

Considering Pell's extensive history with 'SNL' stars ... you can probably expect that same type of mid-2010s humor for this new movie -- just with a little Kim K star power twist.

Of course, the bigger takeaway here is the fact that Kim's diving further into the acting pool. She already had a run on 'AHS' this year ... plus all the other smaller roles she's done in the past. This would be an even greater flex, though ... her straight-up leading a comedy.

We'll see how it turns out ... Deadline says this got picked up by Netflix's "mid-budget" team -- and according to reports, Netflix is aiming to spend between $30-$80 million on those.

Kim Kardashian está dando el salto de Hulu a Netflix -- al menos para las películas, de todos modos -- porque vendió la próxima comedia que protagonizará en el gigante del "streaming"... esto después de un montón de interés.

Deadline dio la noticia el domingo... una nueva película llamada 'La quinta rueda' acaba de venderse a Netflix después de una aparente guerra de ofertas para hacerse con los derechos entre 5 estudios distintos. Al final, Netflix presentó la oferta ganadora... aunque no está claro cuánto desembolsaron.

Esta película no está escrita ni rodada... Kim K y los 2 coguionistas que idearon el concepto -- Paula Pell y Janine Brito -- simplemente vendió la idea... y ahora lo harán de verdad. Kim va a ser la protagonista... una "quinta rueda" entre un conjunto de actrices femeninas.

El resto de los detalles de la trama se mantienen en secreto... pero el rumor es, que Pell y Brito inmediatamente pensaron en Kim para este proyecto y se lo propusieron. Después de que ella se subiera a bordo, empezaron a recorrer la ciudad tan pronto que como terminó la huelga de actores y a hacer compras de forma colectiva.

Deadline reporta que Kim ha estado presente en muchas de las reuniones, y su participación ha provocado que muchos estudios abran sus puertas y consideren la película. Por cierto, no solo va a actuar en esto... pero también será productora, junto con Pell y posiblemente otros.

Pell, al igual que Brito, es una guionista de comedia televisiva muy conocida y consolidada. Pell tiene un currículo más extenso, con muchos créditos de 'SNL'. También escribió la película de Amy Poehler y Tina Fey, "Sisters".

Considerando el extenso historial de Pell con las estrellas de 'SNL'... probablemente podemos esperar el mismo tipo de humor de mediados de 2010 para esta nueva película -- solo que con un pequeño toque estelar de Kim K.

Por supuesto, lo más importante aquí es el hecho de que Kim está adentrándose más en el mundo de la actuación. Ella ya había tenido un papel en 'AHS' este año... además de todos los otros papeles más pequeños que ha hecho en el pasado.

Ya veremos cómo resulta... Deadline reporta que ha sido seleccionada por el equipo de "presupuesto medio" de Netflix -- y, de acuerdo con los reportes, Netflix pretende gastar de entre 30 a 80 millones de dólares en ellas.

Jacob Tremblay is rolling in the DreamWorks dough ... earning a sweet paycheck for lending his voice to an upcoming animated movie.

According to Jacob's minor's contract -- filed in court and obtained by TMZ -- the 17-year-old actor was paid $25,000 for 10 original recording sessions for his starring role in "Orion and the Dark."

Jacob's playing the title character, Orion, in the DreamWorks production ... which is coming out in February only on Netflix.

His contract also calls for him to be paid $2,500 for any additional dialogue sessions ... which include pickups, looping, post-synching and rehearsals.

The flick appears to be going straight to Netflix, but there are additional $25K bonuses built in for each week the movie appears on various Netflix top 10 lists.

Michael B. Jordan is set to direct another 'Rocky' franchise installment with the next 'Creed' movie -- this despite the fact that Sylvester Stallone has major beef with a key producer.

The announcement was made by Irwin Winkler at an event in L.A. Saturday -- where he confirmed that not only is 'Creed IV' happening ... but saying Mike would be back in the director's chair, and obviously starring of course.

According to Deadline, Winkler said they'd start circling the project sometime in 2024 -- with him explaining, "We have a really good story [and] a really good plot. We got a little delayed because of the strikes, but about a year from now we’re going into pre-production."

Considering how much of a moneymaker "Creed III" was, this is great news for MBJ ... but probably hits a nerve with Sly -- who's slammed IW and his handling of the 'Rocky' rights.

As we reported ... Stallone has called on Winkler to give him an ownership stake in the IP -- of which he has no control over, apparently, after having sold the rights to the OG script years ago. Sly's POV is ... he's the creator of the character/story, so he should have a cut.

It goes without saying ... Rocky himself was not featured in the latest film -- and Sly said he just didn't like direction Mike and Irwin were taking things ... although he did wish 'em well.

Sly's love of his baby ('Rocky') actually just got a renewed focus thanks to a great Netflix doc on the man himself, "Sly" ... which touches heavily on how the Oscar-winning film came together. If you watch it, you'll see all things 'Rocky' are still very near and dear to SS.

Interestingly enough, Sylvester doesn't address Winkler in the doc (directly or indirectly) but he's made his feelings about the issue very clear. For now, it doesn't appear he's going to be involved with 'Creed IV' ... although MBJ left the door open in interviews earlier this year.

Doc Antle is facing potential prison time -- 'cause the guy cut a deal with the feds in his criminal case ... pleading guilty to charges of sneaking around animals and conspiring to launder money.

The 'Tiger King' star pled guilty Monday to one count of a wildlife trafficking charge and another count of a conspiracy to launder money ... both of which carry a max penalty of 5 years behind bars, a fine up to $250k and 3 years of supervised release.

It remains to be seen what the judge will ultimately sentence him to ... hizzoner is gonna review a report from the U.S. Probation Office in making that determination.

As we reported ... this whole thing stems from a bust last summer, when FBI agents hauled Antle into custody after he'd been indicted. The indictment alleged Doc engaged in an elaborate scheme to traffic wildlife dating back many years.

Long story short ... prosecutors said Doc concealed financial transactions related to animal trafficking and profited from it over the years.

Among the allegations, prosecutors claimed Doc had directed the sale of some cheetah cubs, lion cubs, tigers and a chimp ... allegedly using bulk payments to hide the transactions and falsifying paperwork. The feds also claimed he tried using his nonprofit in these sales as a way to make them look like donations.