We all know Mai Whelan aka player 287 to be the winner of the Squid Game: The Challenge. But who is she? What is her job and where is she now? Here’s everything you need to know about the winner.
Who is Mai Whelan of Squid Game: The challenge?
The 55-year-old immigration adjudicator and US Navy veteran, Mai Whelan, was born in Vietnam and arrived in the US as a refugee.
Whelan experienced the Fall of Saigon in 1975 at the age of eight, fleeing her home country with her family.
Recalling her harrowing past in episode six of the show, she spoke of narrowly escaping danger in a killing field and the challenges she faced, including serving in the military and becoming a single parent at 19.
What work does Mai Whelan do?
Mai is an immigration adjudicator. Mai’s own story of being an immigrant inspired her to work in that field.
Her job is an immigration adjudicator, someone who decides whether or not a noncitizen may remain in the country they are living in. Mai lives and works in Virginia, according to her Netflix bio.
How old is Mai from Squid Game: The Challenge?
Mai, who is player 287 on the show, is 55 years old and lives in the U.S. state of Virginia.
She was born in Vietnam but left during its fall in 1975 – at just eight years old. In Squid Game: The Challenge she details the trauma she went though when escaping Vietnam.
Mai explained that at the airfield she and her family escaped to, a soldier held them at gunpoint. “And in that split second, my life was almost over,” she said.
Where is Squid Game: The Challenge finalist Mai now?
Unlike the other two finalists, Mai has a very minimal digital footprint. She has no active social media pages, so we don’t know what she’s up to since leaving the show.
But as the winner of that $4.56 million prize, we’re hoping she’s retired and spending her days in a wonderful new home.
What is the prize money for Squid Game: The challenge?
For unversed, Hailing from Vietnam and residing in Virginia, Whelan secured the title of the show’s first-ever winner, claiming a staggering USD 4.56 million—setting a new record for the largest cash prize in reality TV history.
Thankfully, unlike the lethal challenges depicted in the South Korean show directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the reality TV version maintained a non-deadly approach.
Whelan, identified as contestant No. 287, triumphed over two other finalists—Sam Lantz (No. 016) and Phill Cain (No. 451)—in a closely contested finale.
