Who Was the Last Survivor?

N E W   Y O R K, May 3 -- Tina Wesson, the sweet-talking nurse fromTennessee, joined Richard Hatch in the Survivor millionairesclub on Thursday.

The 40-year-old mother of two from Knoxville outlasted ColbyDonaldson, the heartthrob Texan, to become a future pop-culturetrivia answer as the winner of the Outback edition of television'sfavorite game show.

Wesson watched live in a Los Angeles studio as the votes fromfellow contestants were counted and she was the winner.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed after winning the 4-3 vote.

She was hugged by Donaldson, whose final miscalculation — picking Wesson to be the finalist with him — ultimately cost himthe million-dollar prize. Donaldson won $100,000.

Keeping the Winner a Secret

While not the phenomenon the original Survivor was lastsummer, the series has been a ratings giant again — and agiant-killer against NBC on Thursday nights. CBS already has plansfor a third edition to air in the fall.

Once again, the network managed to keep the show's winner asecret, despite filming last fall.

This time, fewer people were trusted with the secret. The finalvotes were to be counted live on the air Thursday; even thecontestants weren't sure who would take the $1 million prize.

Host Jeff Probst carried a container with the final votes into aLos Angeles studio for the count.

"I never thought I could get this far," Wesson said when shewas one of the three remaining contestants with Donaldson and KeithFamie, the chef from West Bloomfield, Mich.

Her fellow contestants knew better, praising her strategy insurviving although Donaldson won five straight immunity challenges.

"She really played the game," said fellow contestant AliciaCalaway. "It wasn't winning seven or eight challenges to get thisfar. It was using her brain. She's a smart woman and I think shedeserves it."

Oddsmakers had installed Wesson as the slight favorite goinginto the final night. She smiled sweetly, spoke with a twang butmanipulated quietly until she was the last woman standing.