Game 2 of the Irish version of DoND. Let's hope the game is as good as last week's.

For rules on the Irish version of DoND, click here.

Today's player is Aoife (pronounced eefe) O'Walsh (surname might be incorrect) from Kilkenny. She works as an event manager for a coffee franchise, and says she's drunk 6 cups today already! Keith shows a picture of Aoife's dog, Cleo, which is her lucky charm.



Aoife explains that her boyfriend, Stephen, bought the scratchcard, and when he found it could be entered in the draw to play, he put her name on it. Stephen's with her friends and family opening the boxes, along with volunteers doing the same and giving support, the "Green Box Club".

From the choice of 26, she picks box 2. Keith explains the rules of the game, and the game begins.

First round:

13: €100
3: €35,000, the smallest of the "super six".
9: 5c, to cheers and applause.
25: €1,000
23: €250. Cheers are increasing with every opening. One to go before the offer.

Aoife says she has a phobia of odd numbers. She says she would only take items if they were in even amounts, or if she could split one in half, with laughter from Keith and the audience. She says she gets it from her father, who's in the audience.

5: €15,000, to some groans.

A reasonably good round, with the top 5 intact. Banker rings, and asks Aoife to explain again what she does, who repeats what she said earlier. Banker tells Aoife that "Bankers are like coffee. The best ones are rich, they're hot, and they keep you up all night!", to laughter.


Laughing at banker's joke

Banker prods her on Stephen, who has an Irish accent, and she tells Keith she met him while travelling in America, and bumped into each other on a street. She talks briefly about him wanting to move in at her apartment there and then, and quickly realises it sounds bad! Keith: "Let's backtrack here. A strange guy waks up to you in New York, and says 'I want to live with a couple of chicks in New York.' Is that how it happened?" "It sounds bad, but mind you, it was like that!"


Can't blame a guy for trying!

Banker mentions Stephen again, who says he's there to give her advice. Aoife says he's going to have half of what she wins today. He has good feelings for box 2, and another number, which he'll say later on. Banker asks Aoife what she wants, "€250,000!", to cheers and applause. Keith says he likes Aoife already, playing the banker at his own game.

The offer is "the number that you love most", €13,133, with more laughter. Keith notes "it's a really good offer", though a bit condescending. He notes Aoife is more relaxed now, and asks the question. "It's an odd number, so, no deal."

Second round:

1: €150,000, many groans, Aoife looked on with a mixture of shock and gritted teeth.
15: €500
6: €250,000, to joined "ooooohhhhhh"'s! Keith calls it the "kiss of death", though he talks up the rest of the reds on the board.
11: €100,000! €500,500 total removed in 4 boxes!

A lot of discussion follows from the box openers to keep Aoife on track.

24: €50, to loud cheers.

A highly destructive round. Banker calls, reminds Aoife of her superstition, that "bad things come in threes", and that regardless of what she did with odd or even boxes, she couldn't escape the loss of the top 3. Banker asks Stephen about the system, and Stephen thinks while it's going bad, she should stick with it. Stephen's asked if he makes good decisions, which Aoife replies "Very rarely!"


"Thanks very much!"

Because of her aversion to odd numbers, predictably the offer is also an odd amount: €3,133.



Ted recommends she plays on, that she has nothing to lose by playing another round. Keith says there could be an all-blue round, though with this format, it's unlikely that will happen, just above 5% chance here.

Keith asks the question, and Aoife determinedly no deals. He calls it a "no-brainer".

Third round:

12: 1c, to large applause. Aoife runs to Eanna for opening the box for a kiss and hug. "That's exactly what we needed", says Keith.
7: €5, and the board looks a lot healthier.
26: €2,000, which gets a thumbs-up from Aoife.
21: €20,000. Aoife gives a low-shriek.



Banker calls and says Eanna did the most damage to him. He asks him what he thinks of the board, and Eanna thinks it looks pretty good, and that if she receives an offer of €5k or more, it's a lot more than what she came with. He notes that two of the super 6 are still on the board.

The offer is... after Ireland watches Coronation Street! Fortunately, the wait takes seconds here, and not 30 minutes.

Banker rings again, asks Aoife about what she would do when seeing one magpie, spilling salt, etc. Her surprise is... a pair of "new" brown shoes, placed on the table! Keith says they're second hand, but they're new to the banker.



Third offer is €5,555. Aoife talks up the board and her chances, while Stephen says she "hasn't had the greatest luck so far", and is due to take out some blues. He tells her not to touch the shoes, as he can smell the banker's athelete's foot from there! Aoife looks determined, and declines the offer.

Fourth round:

17: €10,000, gets a few groans.
19: €75,000! Aoife screams "OH NO!", to even more groans.
4: €25, to relieved applause.

Final 8:
10c
50c
€1
€10
€750
€3,000
€5,000
€50,000

Banker calls. Mentions while Stephen can smell the shoes, he can smell the fear. Keith says not to try mind games, as they won't work on "the master" mentalist.

Fourth offer is €3,999. Considering the damage done, dropping only €1,500 is respectable, and Keith calls it a "pretty good offer, given the board that you have now".

Ted says that she's receiving near 10% of the board, whereas before it was around 5%. Stephen mentions the 5 blues and bad luck, and Keith says he wonders where that's coming from in a not-so-subtle way! Aoife is happy to play on, and no deals.

Fifth round:

18: €1, to celebrations and Aoife screaming "YES!"
20: 50c, and a relieved look from Aoife.

Keith tells the banker "we're smiling over here". Banker asks Aoife if she's a risk-taker, and she says yes. Apparently he wished he knew that earlier, waiting 20 boxes before doing so! He screams down the phone at Keith, who sounds a bit surprised, and offers €7,500, 76.5% of the mean.

Keith calls it a good offer. Grainne (GBC) recommends to "play it safe at this stage", as in one box she could discover €50,000, and she won't receive €7,500 again. Tara (GBC) thinks she's got another round. Ted calls it a good offer, while Nicole thinks she can go one more round. Aoife no deals.

Sixth round, part 1:

Stephen says though they've kept boxes, he wants her to pick randomly. Aoife says he favourite numbers are 2 and 22, so she hopes 22 will bring her luck and have a blue.

22: €10

A 3-2 red split in Aoife's favour. Banker calls her "Stubborn, strong and determined, like a bull in a field", in reference to her star sign, Taurus. Offer is €9,111, 77.5% of the mean. She asks her Dad in the audience, and he thinks her sister, Ciara, has a blue. Stephen says he'd "probably risk it", though doesn't want to influence her. Keith asks Jackie, her Mum, who says she would deal.

Keith asks the question. "It's a lot of money... I have a good feeling about Geraldine's box. I'm only here once, no deal."

Sixth round, part 2:

14 (Geraldine): €3,000. "That's okay", Keith quickly adds.

He says it was inevitable that a low red would have to be taken out. David says he thinks she should receive a "respectable offer", and Keith thinks it should go up, but does note that the banker can do what he wants. Banker says it could come down to 10c and €50,000, and asks what she would take then. "€30,000" is met with a response that that's why she's not a banker!

Offer is €9,999, @ 71.4%. Aoife calls it "still a good offer", which Keith agrees. Stephen says "it's not a major amount more", but concurs. There's a sense of disappointment in the studio. Eanna says he likes a flutter, but thinks €10,000 would make a large difference to her, and she'd be disappointed if she didn't have it.



Keith can tell it's difficult for her, and asks the question. After a long pause, with her eyes closed, she says "I was nearly offered that twice, I'm going to go no deal."

Sixth round, part 3:

Keith says she's been really brave, that she has to find a blue. The music changes as the pressure increases. She chooses Stephen's box.

10: €50,000, to a horrified scream from Aoife, as she covers her face with her hands. The whole studio groans at the sight of the €50k going.

She appears to have taken that well, accepting the new reality. Banker says he warned her, and that she could have had €10,000, but "you guys decided to throw it away". Offer is €1,199, which Keith thinks is "not a bad offer". He says that €5k is all to play for, and Jackie thinks Aoife should continue. She quickly no deals the offer when asked.

Sixth round, part 4:

She goes with the box Dad picked earlier.

16: 10c. Her Dad gives a thumbs up.

Banker tells Aoife that she should always listen to her father, and because he gave her such generous advice, the offer is €2,500. If she declines this, she will win either €750 or €5,000.

Aoife says she's happy with what she's got, and no deals.

Endgame:

The music changes with a gentle piano mix, as she's played all the way. Keith has the power to offer the swap without requiring permission from the banker. He offers her the chance to swap for box 8, or keep box 2.

She says she will go with her lucky box, and declines the chance to swap for "Stephen's lucky box". Keith says she's had a crazy game, and says they do not want to see blue.

Inside box 2 is €750. Box 8 has the €5,000. There's some applause, and though Aoife seems a bit disapponted, she's still smiling. She walks with Keith to her friends and family, and the studio cheer her as she hugs Stephen and family.

That concludes game 2 of the Irish version. What will we have in store next time? You'll have to find out in game 3's writeup!