WoF Retro Recap: October 15, 1998

This is gonna be an UNPLEASANT one… -___-

EPISODE #2954: $HOPPING $PREE

Rhonda Barnes: auto mechanic student who’s married (she mistakenly says she’s murdered — D’OH) for 1.5 yrs. w/ a 15-yr.-old daughter from San Francisco, CA

Andi Capoziello: personal gift shopper who’s married to Kennedy (they enjoy backpacking in the summer and skiing in the winter from Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Tony Esposito: major oil co. worker married to Chrissy (she coached him for this show) w/ 7-month-old son Nicholas from Gahanna, OH

Round 1: EVENT

Rhonda: $600 R, $1,800 S pair, $250 T, bought E, two O’s, and two A’s (NMV), baffling dud of K

Andi: $1,100 C pair, $1,600 N pair, solve…

A N / A C T / O _
C O N _ R E S S

Andi solved AN ACT OF CONGRESS for $2,700. This PUZZLER she needed to solve was LANDMARK…

_ A P I _ _ _
_ I _ _

She knew it’s CAPITOL HILL (and she’s quite the screamer, too).

SOLE DUD: K (Rhonda)

FEATURED PRIZE: 7d river-rafting adventure in Riggins, ID from Northwest Voyagers worth $4,040 (RAFTING)

Round 2: PHRASE

Andi: $10K’s right side

Tony: seven T’s for $3,500, four H’s for $10K more, two E’s and three A’s, two R’s for RAFTING, three I’s, $500 N pair, three O’s, PAINFUL BANKRUPT near $250 (there went $17,040 cash & rafting — doggone it)

And he nearly went for the solve after that O buy, too.

Rhonda: same BANKRUPT

Andi: $1,200 Y pair, $300 D, M for mistake

Tony: $1K S quartet

_ _ S T / S A Y / T H E
_ I R S T / T H I N _
T H A T / _ O _ S / I N T O
Y O _ R / H E A D

Tony, JUST SAY THE FIRST THING THAT POPS INTO YOUR HEAD…but he blew it right away saying DON’T when there’s no apostrophe on the board. Rhonda then lit up the $250 J…

J _ S T / S A Y / T H E
_ I R S T / T H I N _
T H A T / _ O _ S / I N T O
Y O _ R / H E A D

She got the correct word of JUST for the $500 minimum.

SOLE DUD: M (Andi)
BANKRUPTS: 3 (whole panel)
SOLE DQ: Tony’s blown solve

Rhonda: $500/Andi: $5,700/Tony: ZERO

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: a year of Libman Maid Service worth $5,400 (MAID SERVICE)

Jackpot Round: HUSBAND & WIFE

Tony: $750 S trio, four R’s for $1,600 more, five E’s, $1,200 T pair, one A and five I’s, $3,500 P, $350 M, $900 C pair

S C I E _ T I S T S
P I E R R E / &
M A R I E / C _ R I E

But he decided to spin much to my dismay…he’s gonna regret it, because he’s BANKRUPTed near $250 again to throw away $7,550 — UGH. -__- Rhonda then said the last consonant of a $900 N…

S C I E N T I S T S
P I E R R E / &
M A R I E / C _ R I E

Her pronunciation of the last word of SCIENTISTS PIERRE & MARIE CURIE was questionable (she said it w/ an O sound)…it’s accepted.

UNNECESSARY BANKRUPT: Tony
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $11,450

Rhonda: $1,400/Andi: $5,700/Tony: BIG TROUBLE

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Round 4: BEFORE & AFTER

Ladies: insta-BANKRUPTs (Rhonda near $500, Andi near $250)

Tony: three T’s for MAID SERVICE

SPEED-UP

_ _ _ T _ _
_ _ T _ / _ _ _
_ _ _ _ T _

Consonants were worth $300 apiece.

Tony: 2 N’s
Rhonda: R (DUD)
Andi: 2 D’s
Tony: F (DUD)
Rhonda: G (DUD)
Andi: M (DUD)
Tony: E
Rhonda: 3 S’s

S _ _ T E D
N _ T S / _ N D
_ _ _ T S

Rhonda didn’t get the last word. Andi next said B…

S _ _ T E D
N _ T S / _ N D
B _ _ T S

Andi solved SALTED NUTS AND BOLTS for $900.

DUDS (all in S-U): R (Rhonda), F (Tony), G (Rhonda), M (Andi)
BANKRUPTS: 2 (ladies)
SOLE DQ: Rhonda’s incomplete solve

FINAL SCORES
Rhonda: $1,400/Andi: $6,600/Tony: DESERVING PARTING GIFTS

Even though I felt bad for Tony’s first BANKRUPT, it’s really beyond me why he would think there would be an apostrophe in R2 and that BANKRUPT in R3 should NOT have happened.

GT: $8K
SEASON-WORST BANKRUPT TRASH (all by Tony): a whopping $24,590 cash & rafting

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Bonus Round

Andi picked the W.

Category: THING

The last two letters of this answer are…

_ _ _ _ E T

KCMA gave her another pair right in the middle…

_ _ C K E T

WICKET, PICKET and POCKET are all incorrect (I had those in mind, too). It was BUCKET and she lost the trip to Paris.

MY RATING: 2