Borrowing its name from a long dormant volcano on the island of Oahu, the series was hosted by Bob Eubanks and assistant Jane Nelson, and is the only game show ever to have been taped entirely on location in Hawaii.
Two contestants were selected from each section at a time to compete in a best-of-three faceoff for the right to play the second round.
In the second round, the four remaining contestants stood at the bottom of a three-step podium referred to as the base of Diamond Head.
In the bonus round, the contestant was given 15 seconds inside a modified wind tunnel called "The Money Volcano."
There were various prize cards and cash in the Volcano and the contestant wore a pouch around his/her waist into which these items were placed as they were plucked out of the air.
When time expired, the contestant came out of the Volcano and Eubanks pulled out up to ten of the items from the pouch.
However, Eubanks drew a maximum of only five bills and offered opportunities for the contestant to quit and keep their current winnings, or trade for one of five bonus envelopes.
As before, any $1 bill drawn immediately resulted in the contestant losing everything, which ended the bonus round.