$2.2M Cross-Media Reality Show Bows

'Gold Rush' On, On AOL.com; Clues In CBS Shows, Elsewhere

(CBS)  "Anybody who can get online can play," Steines continued. "Go to the Web site. The rules of how the game are played are there. It's very simple. ... Go to AOL.com/gold rush and step up.

"And you can win this thing by sitting on your couch, which is a great thing. So it's essentially casting online.

"And there's a second phase of it in which we will fly you to this destination where this final clue may lead you to go and search for that gold … somewhere in the United States."

How many people will be facing off in the final stage, where you actually have to go somewhere?

"Three people," Steines responded. "Only three people will get a chance to go for the first $100,000 prize. There's two $100,000 prizes given away per week throughout the entire fall, and you can keep playing the game over and over again. So, even if you win the first, you can go for the second pot of gold. And they'll be flown to that destination to compete.

"It is all based online. … "This is really where the merge between television and the Internet. … That day has come."

Clues will be found in CBS shows, and "magazines, song lyrics, and online content."

As an example of how it will work, Steines said, "If you watch 'CSI' tonight, a crime scene happens. There's a crime scene there. So, the next day you would go to AOL.com/gold rush, and there would be a virtual reality of that crime scene. The clues will be in there, and that's how you solve it."