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DEAL OR NO DEAL

My favorite game show turned into the trip of a lifetime.

By Margie Anderson Published 3 years ago 8 min read
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Deal or No Deal Briefcase

Deal or No Deal is my all time favorite game show. I would guess that most people have heard about it or watched it on television. Megan Markle, who is now the wife of Prince Harry, was even one of the women who held a briefcase! It first started airing on NBC in 2005 before ending original programming in 2009. It did return for a brief time with a holiday special on NBC in 2018 and then on CNBC from 2018 to 2019. Just in case you have never watched the show, Howie Mandel was the host and it consisted of 26 briefcases being held by 26 beautiful models. Each of those briefcases contained a different amount of money ranging from a penny the whole way up to $1,000,000! The contestant had to choose one of those briefcases, which was then brought on stage while the other 25 briefcases along with the models remained on what I would describe as bleachers like you would sit on while attending a football or basketball game. Then the contestant would chose a specified number of briefcases to open one at a time. There was a "Banker" that sat above the stage who was never seen, only heard. He would always make fun of or tease the contestant and then he would offer the contestant a deal to buy the briefcase that they chose. He based the offer on the number of large amounts of money remaining in the briefcases that were not opened at that point in the game. If a contestant made it to the end of the game with only the briefcase they chose and the one still not opened then they would have to decide whether to keep their original briefcase or take the money in the briefcase still unopened. Additional details can be found at the following website: ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal_or_No_Deal_(American_game_show)

By Dewi Jones on Unsplash

I became a contestant on the show by entering a second-chance drawing in the Pennsylvania Lottery (https://www.palottery.state.pa.us/). I guess I should thank my mother because I think I inherited my love of lottery tickets from her. My mother and I always enjoyed buying a few lottery tickets everyday. We would buy them most of the time from a local market in town called Valeria’s Market. Everybody loved going to Valeria’s! It was a popular place in our small town for many years. In addition to lottery tickets, they sold things like fresh fruit, meat products, cigarettes, and the very popular penny candy. I think people went into shop but, most importantly, they went into chat with the owner, Paul Valeria. He was such a nice person and everybody in town loved him. I am sad to report that Paul passed away and the store is now closed. I still think of Paul and Valeria's Market every time I drive through town.

By dylan nolte on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania lottery had an instant ticket called Deal or No Deal that I played all the time. I loved the show and, of course, I loved the Deal or No Deal lottery tickets just as much. There was also an advantage to buying this particular lottery ticket because if you did not win anything you could then enter the losing tickets into a second-chance drawing to win a trip to Hollywood with the chance to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal. I entered my losing tickets into the second-chance drawing but I never really thought I would win. Actually, I forgot that I even entered. Then one day in February 2009 I received a telephone call from my grandmother while I was at work. My grandmother never called me at work unless there was an emergency so I was alarmed when I heard her voice. She said excitedly "Someone from the Pennsylvania Lottery just called you and you have to call them back!" You have to understand why I was alarmed at getting a call from my grandmother. The last time she called me at work she couldn't breath and I had to rush to the hospital because she was in congestive heart failure. So I was relieved that there was nothing wrong with her. However, I thought maybe it was a telemarketer calling and I told her I would call them back when I got home from work. Well...I am so happy to report that it was the Pennsylvania Lottery and not a telemarketer who called. They informed me that I won a trip to Hollywood and that I could take a guest with me. I have two sisters and I didn't know who to take. So one evening we all gathered at my house and we put each of their names in a hat to determine who would be my guest. My middle sister Jill was the winner but I felt sorry for my oldest sister Amy. I knew how badly she wanted to go and I really wanted both my sisters with me. So I contacted the Pennsylvania Lottery and they said she could go as well, if we paid for the airfare. That was wonderful news and we all got to go on this exciting adventure together!

By BP Miller on Unsplash

I'll never forget the day we took off for Hollywood. It was April 15, 2009, which of course is tax day. Now who could forget that date??? We left on Wednesday and returned home on Sunday. All the arrangements were made, we didn't have to do a thing. We were picked up at Los Angeles International Airport by a big black SUV and taken to a beautiful hotel, which was near many interesting sites. For example, the bowling alley, Lucky Strike, TLC Chinese Theatre and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Coming from a small town in Pennsylvania, all this was very exciting! They had fun things planned for us and the other second-chance drawing winners for the entire trip. I believe there were five other winners from Pennsylvania but other states also had the second-chance drawing so there were quite a few people participating. In addition to going to the studio for the chance to play the game, they also had a welcome party at Lucky Strike, as well as, a farewell party for everyone at Universal Studios. We also had some free time to do sightseeing on our own. My sisters both love sightseeing so we fit in Rodeo Drive, Warner Bros. Studios, the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and a tour of celebrity homes.

Fun at Universal Studios with my sisters!

The day we went to The Culver Studios, where Deal or No Deal was filmed in 2009, was SO exciting. I remember changing my outfit numerous times before leaving for the studio. After all, I was never at a studio before! Everything was first class on this trip. We arrived at the studio in a very nice bus and while we were waiting to go into the studio my sister Amy spotted Henry Winkler (aka “The Fonz”) driving by in a convertible! It is important to mention that the second-chance drawing Deal or No Deal game was not televised (I believe it was sponsored by the state lotteries) but they did choose some of the second-chance drawing lottery winners to play on a televised show. I was not chosen to be on the televised show, which is not surprising because I was so nervous I could barely open the briefcase! One of the second-chance drawing winners from each participating state was chosen to play the non-televised Deal or No Deal game. Pennsylvania was in the second group of states and I was assigned briefcase number 22. The way they chose which one of the second-chance drawing winners would play the game was to assign each winner a color and if the wheel landed on your color then you got to play. I was assigned the color pink. I was so nervous and, of course, I was at the very top of the bleachers. As the wheel was spinning around I was praying so hard it would land on my color and it did! I just stood there in shock and I’m sure I had that "deer in the headlights look”. A man in the row in front of me actually turned around and said “It’s you!”

Lucky #22

So I slowly walked down those bleachers and onto the stage with HOWIE MANDEL! I was just thrilled! All those nights I sat on the living room couch with my grandmother watching the show on television. My grandmother loved all game shows. If you have read any of my other articles you will know how much I loved spending time with my grandmother. Howie talked to me for a few minutes then we started the game and there was briefcase number 22 right beside me. My sisters were in the audience and I looked to them before any decision I made. I think maybe I was annoying Howie a little but I didn’t want to make any stupid decisions. My brother-in-law would often comment that it doesn’t really take any skill to play Deal or No Deal. Yes, it definitely isn’t like answering questions on Jeopardy, but you do have to make careful decisions so you don’t walk away with a penny! Before I left for Hollywood my dad told me “Go all the way!!!” and as I was choosing those briefcases one by one I could hear his voice in the back of my mind. But I did not want to leave empty handed so I stopped at the Banker’s offer of $42,000. Guess how much was in briefcase number 22? There was $50,000 so I didn’t make the best deal but I was still happy with my decision. By the way, the Banker did make fun of me. I had a sweater on that had a button that sort of looked like a bone from the Stone Age and he made fun of it. Oh well, it wouldn’t have been the total experience if the Banker didn’t make fun of me! And even though it wasn’t televised I did receive a DVD of my experience on my favorite show. This certainly was a trip of a lifetime that I will never, ever forget.

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About the Creator

Margie Anderson

Retired attorney from Pennsylvania.

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