Heading into this weekend, let me give you a set of lottery episodes that the show did (but was never aired). I’m filing this under S29 as this episode used the S29 rules (as it’s taped shortly after the last S29 tape date), but this one had a few changes (such as it’s not heavily edited unlike the episodes in the more recent seasons). There’s more lottery episodes taped on the same date, but this was the only one that we could find.
Also, all of the lottery episodes had puzzles recycled from earlier episodes. If you can guess all the dates, you get a cookie.
EPISODE #MDI-1: LOTTERY EXPERIENCE 2012
Tape Date: 4/26/12
$1K Tossup: PHRASE
T _ _ / G _ N G ‘ S
_ _ _ / H _ _ _
Mary knew that THE GANG’S ALL HERE for this one (Guy said the answer first, but forgot to ring in.). We had 2 men playing as we go across the board…
Mary Jefferson: married to Elvis (no, not that one) for 30yrs at the time w/ a son, daughter and a Chihuaua from Columbia, TN (about 50 or so miles south from Nashville)
Eric Peterka: photographer from Yankton, SD (about 60 miles northwest from Sioux City)
Guy Talmadge: the “world’s greatest triangle player” from Marion VA
I’d like to mention that Elvis won the ticket for Mary and he had her to play the game.
$2K Tossup: RHYME TIME
M I _ _ I O _ S / _ N D
B I _ L _ _ _ S
Eric solved MILLIONS AND BILLIONS.
FEATURED PRIZE: $5K from WHEEL itself (The wedge is teal and says “Cash $5,000”, with the $5,000 written just like the $5,000 wedge.)
The gift tag was represented by a $1K bill.
Jackpot Round: WAYD?
He started w/ 2 $300 S’s and an N on the 1/2 KIA next door, but after a purchase of 2 A’s, both guys then BANKRUPTed back-to-back (Eric near TD, Guy on MDW‘s left side), costing Eric $850 and his plate. Mary called T for the WC, but that got taken away by the BANKRUPT Eric spun earlier. Speaking about him, he did the rest of the work here: 3 R’s on Jackpot ($6,300 at the time), 2 $400 H’s and a $900 C.
R E A C H _ N _ / _ _ R
T H E / S T A R S
He was REACHING FOR THE STARS and winning another $2,950 – his subtotal was $4,950.
BANKRUPTS: 3 (everyone)
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $7,600
Mystery Round: SAME LETTER
Guy immediately called the SL of 5 T’s on the MW (near MDW) and went double or nothing…$$$ (he also put the wedge down w/ the $1K side facing up, but this is never corrected). Next came 3 $400 H’s, 2 E’s, but then A for awful. After Mary spun the other normal BANKRUPT, Eric took it from here once again: a $900 R, a $300 G, 2 O’s, 2 $600 P’s and an $800 L.
T _ P T O E
T H R O _ G H
T H E / T _ L _ P _
He solved TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS for $2,950 again.
SOLE DUD: A (Guy)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Mary
Mary: $1K/Eric: $7,900/Guy: NADA
PP Round: FOOD & DRINK
Mary started this crucial round w/ 3 S’s on the 1/2 KIA near $300, but after 4 E’s & 2 I’s, she BANKRUPTed near TD. After Eric whiffed w/ T on the useless 1/2 KIA, Guy tried to take a stab at this…
_ / _ _ _ S S
_ _ / _ _ E S _
_ I _ E _ _ _ _ E
_ _ I _ E
…he nailed it and would have A GLASS OF FRESH PINEAPPLE JUICE on his $6K trip to HAWAII (Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa).
SOLE DUD: T (Eric)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Mary
Mary: $1K/Eric: $7,900/Guy: $6K trip
$3K Tossup: FICTIONAL CHARACTER
T H _ / I N C _ _ D _ _ L E
_ _ L _
Mary solved THE INCREDIBLE HULK to make this low-scoring affair even tighter.
Speed-Up: LIVING THING
Consonants were worth $1,500.
Mary: N
Eric: S
Guy: T (he tried to buy a vowel)
Mary: 4 R’s
Eric: M
Guy: F
Mary: C
Eric: L
L _ _ R _ _ _ R
R _ T R _ _ _ _ R
Eric solved LABRADOR RETRIEVER for said FS value.
DUDS: N (Mary), S (Eric), M (Eric), F (Guy), C (Mary)
FINAL SCORES
Mary: $4K/Eric: $9,400/Guy: $6K trip
GT: a modest $19,400
BANKRUPT TRASH (sans cardboard): $1,850
$100K Bonus Round
The car up for grabs for this special taping was a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS convertible. After Eric introduced his 2 brothers and a friend in the audience, he spun the S in SPIN.
Category: THINGS
This would’ve been WAYW? if this was today…
S _ _ _ L _ E R
_ _ _ S
HDMA looked pretty good…
S H _ _ L D E R
_ A D S
He got SHOULDER PADS for the Chevy Camaro + $15K for a total value of $59,115! That’s a final cash/car total of $68,515.