Kongfrontation

On his third "life" (after "dying" twice during the game), Mitchell scored 1,050,200 points, beating the record held by Wiebe by 1,100. He let his remaining Marios die without scoring any more points.

An onlooker asked him why he would give up the opportunity to score more.

"A long time ago, I would've thought the scores we have now are impossible," he says. "But credit to Steve [Wiebe], to Tim [Sczerby], and Brian [Kuh]. Competition made it possible.

"Besides," he adds, smiling wide, "I told him, 'I'm Billy Mitchell, not Steve Spurrier. I don't have to run the score up. I just want to put one in the win column.' "