Hello one and all. As you probably know, here in Quebec, where I'm from, we have our own version of Deal or No Deal. Known as Le Banquier (The Banker), it's hosted by Julie Snyder, and features a top prize of $500,000 Canadian. And in the famous words of Harry from DoND UK, it's all tax-free ! Le Banquier plays exactly like the US version of the show, and it has a very similar set. The 26 cases are still held by 26 models, but the top row of cases (nos. 21 - 26) are all held by men - a first for any version of DoND. Even the question is different. Instead of Deal or No Deal, it's "Est-ce que cette offre est Accepte or Refusee?", which in English is "Is this offer accepted or refused?" And for those of you wondering, Le Banquier uses the following money board:

Left Side:
$.01
$1
$5
$10
$20
$50
$75
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$750

Right Side:
$1,000
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$25,000
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
$200,000
$300,000
$500,000

Now that you know what the prize tree looks like, let's get to our first game.

Game 1
Contestant: Sebastien Kfoury
Chosen Case: 13
Fun Facts: Sebastien is a veteranarian. He's brought his dog with him, and each of the 26 models are accompanied by a dog wearing a colar with a mini numbered case around it. The numbers on the dog's collars correspond with the case that each model is holding. Also, more than anything, Sebastien has always wanted to go to Madagascar. With that in mind, let's get on with the show.

Round 1 - 6 cases
9 - $1,000
21 - $0.01
6 - $150,000
4 - $5,000
22 - $75
14 - $20.
Pretty good first round, depsite the loss of one of the Power 6. Let's see what Monsieur Le Banquier has to say about it...
1st Bank Offer: $24,800
Sebastien says:
Refusee (No Deal)

Round 2 - 5 cases
20 - $300
24 - $10
18 - $500,000
19 - $750
12 - $400
Well, he knocked out the half-million, so that may decrease the banker's offer... or will it?
2nd Bank Offer: $28,000
Nope, looks like the offer went up a bit.
Sebastien says:
Refusee

Round 3 - 4 cases
1 - $500
5 - $200
26 - $200,000
2 - $100,000
Two more of the Power 6 have gone. Let's see what kind of offer our contestant gets this time:
3rd Bank Offer: $29,000
Wow, it's still going up, despite the stroke of bad luck that Sebastien has been having. However...
Sebastien says:
Refusee

Round 4 - 3 cases
10 - $5
15 - $50,000
11 - $10,000
Not a bad round. The Banker responds with...
4th Bank Offer: $40,000
But that's not all. One of the Banker's models walks out of the vault holding an unmarked silver briefcase. She opens it to reveal...
A trip for four to Madagascar!
See? Just like the US version, Le Banquier sometimes offers prizes catered to their contestants' dreams with their bank offers as well.
Anyway, the trip is valued at $9,000, which makes the total value of this offer $49,000.
Sebastien is being offered his dream here, but just like contestants on the US version who are presented with similar offers...
Sebastien says:
Refusee

Round 5 - 2 cases
3 - $100
25 - $25,000
Another great round. The only amounts left on the left side of the board are $1 and $50. But what sayeth the Banker to that?
5th Bank Offer: $67,000
A very good offer, but Sebastien isn't done just yet.
Sebastien says:
Refusee

Round 6 - 1 case
7 - $1
Yes! He really needed that. Looks like Sebastien's luck is changing for the better. Getting rid of the dollar results in a bank offer of...
6th Bank Offer: $89,000
Okay, if it were me playing, that would be instant walking money. Sure, there's still $300,000 left in play, but I wouldn't be willing to risk it, for fear that I could become one of those people who I love to criticize - a member of the Left Side Club. I wonder how Sebastien will approach this offer...
After thinking it over and consulting with his three supporters (his girlfriend, and two friends from the veteranarian's office where he works)...
Sebastien says:
Accepte
How about that? He took the deal, just like I would have. Interesting.
Well, Sebastien has secured himself a nice chunk of change, but was it a good deal? The proveout will validate that for us.
Had Sebastien gone on, he would have chosen case 23. Inside of it was...
23 - $300,000 !
Yes! Sebastien got out at the right time! Julie then proceeds to open case 13, which contained...
13 - $50 !
A perfect deal! Thus, this games goes in the books as an Outright Player Win. Well played, Sebastien. Enjoy the 89 grand.

Game 2
After the commercial break, it's time to meet a new contestant and start a new game. Our next contestant is...
Contestant: Isabelle Lauzon
Chosen case: 5
Fun Facts: Isabelle went on a diet and lost 170 pounds. That's amazing ! She removes the denim "skirt" that she's wearing and it turns out to be a massive pair of shorts that she used to wear when she was overweight. She has a regular skirt on underneath. The shorts are so big that Isabelle and Julie, who are roughly the same size, each manage to fit their entire body into one leg each ! Also, Isabelle chose case 5 in honour of her mother. She places a picture of her mother by the case, and picture of her three kids in front of her.
Anyway, now that all of that has been settled, let the game begin!

Round 1 - 6 cases
18 - $5,000
3 - $100 > That's two games in a row that case 3 has had $100 inside. Strange.
21 - $100,000
9 - $300
23 - $75
13 - $125,000
Two of the Power 6 have been eliminated already. Let's see what kind of effect that had on the Banker's offer...
1st Bank Offer - $17,500
As expected, it's kind of low, so...
Isabelle says:
Refusee

Round 2 - 5 cases
17 - Sunday!
We'll find out what's in case 17 when Isabelle continues her quest for $500,000 next time on Le Banquier!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed what will be the first of many Le Banquier recaps that I hope do for this site, when possible. Feel free to leave your comments below.