Welcome to the 10th season of Le Banquier, Quebec's Deal or No Deal. Julie Snyder and the gang are back to give everyday people the chance to win up to $500,000.

If you've never seen the show before, it's played with the same 26-case format as the old U.S. version. This is what the board looks like.

Left Side
$0.01
$1
$5
$10
$20
$50
$75
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$750
---------------
Right Side
$1,000
$5,000
$10,000 / Capital One
$25,000
$50,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
$175,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000

Le Banquier has several sponsors, a trend with game shows in Quebec. As such, the $10,000 Capital One bonus is back this season. If the contestant finds it, they win a $10,000 bonus in addition to whatever else they win. It's like Box 23 without Box 23. Also back is the Surprise case, which contains a bonus prize. It's always behind one of the left-side amounts. New this season is the Maxi Case, sponsored by Quebec-based supermarket chain Maxi, which awards a trip. Just like the Surprise case, it's also hidden amongst the "blue" amounts.

Our contestant tonight is 48-year-old Mario Desrochers, a native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Mario is here to win money to pay off his debts, help his daughters get through school, and take a vacation with his family.

Just like about 90 per cent of the episodes last season, this one has a theme. Mario, like most Canadians, is a die-hard hockey fan. He even plays the sport. His favourite player is P.K. Subban from the Montreal Canadiens, my home team.

As if on cue, P.K. appears on set in his Canadiens Jersey, to act as a supporter for Mario. A very bizarre exchange between P.K. and Julie then transpires. Julie doesn't speak English, while P.K. doesn't really speak French. There is a huge language barrier between them as a result. Hilarity ensues.

Once the awkward, unintelligible conversation finishes, the models descend the staircase. For this special episode, the regular models have been replaced by 26 current and former French Canadian NHL players.

Mario then picks case 7, held by current Anaheim Ducks centre Louis Leblanc, and we get underway.

Round 1 - 6 to open
[8] - $400 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Stéphane Fiset.
[18] - Surprise / $75 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Serge Savard. The Surprise is tickets to a 2015 Stanley Cup Final game, courtesy of TVA Sports.
[12] - $5 - Held by current Boston Bruins left winger Simon Gagné.
[22] - $125,000 - Held by current New Jersey Devils defenceman Éric Gélinas.
[3] - $1 - Held by current Florida Panthers left winger Jonathan Huberdeau.
[9] - $200 - Held by former Anaheim Mighty Ducks defenceman Pascal Trépanier

BANKER'S OFFER

$51,000

If I'm not mistaken, that might be the highest-ever first offer on Le Banquier.

Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 2 - 5 to open
[10] - $200,000 - Held by current Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Simon Després.
[4] - Maxi Case / $100 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens goaltender José Théodore. Also, Mario wins a trip to Greece for finding the Maxi Case.
[26] - $1,000 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Pierre Bouchard.
[17] - $5,000 - Held by former Buffalo Sabres goaltender and current RDS hockey analyst Patrick Lalime.
[25] - $25,000 - Held by current Colorado Avalanche forward Maxime Talbot.

BANKER'S OFFER

$73,000

Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 3 - 4 to open
After one final awkward Franglish exchange with Julie, P.K. departs, but not before giving Mario two tickets to the Montreal Canadiens game of his choice.
[11] - $150,000 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens left winger Yvon Lambert, who awards Mario a special hockey-related lithograph worth $3,000.
[14] - $0.01 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens forward Dave Morissette.
[16] - $500 - Held by former Quebec Nordiques left winger Michel Goulet.
[5] - $50 - Held by current Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kristopher Letang.

BANKER'S OFFER

$92,000

Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 4 - 3 to open
[6] - $20 - Held by current San Jose Sharks defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who was a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian men's hockey team at the Sochi Olympics. He lets Mario wear his gold medal for good luck.
[1] - $10 - Held by former New York Islanders goaltender Éric Fichaud.
[19] - $300,000 - I didn't catch the name of former player holding this case.

BANKER'S OFFER

$118,000

Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 5 - 2 to open
[2] - $50,000 - Held by current Montreal Canadiens left winger Michaël Bournival.
[20] - $100,000 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Patrice Brisebois.

BANKER'S OFFER

$137,000

Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 6 - 1 to open - Mark'll like that .
[15] - $10,000 / Capital One - Held by current Montreal Canadiens right winger Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau.

BANKER'S OFFER

$187,000

We're getting into serious money here, but despite that, Mario says REFUSÉE.

Round 7 - 1 to open
[13] - $400,000 - I didn't catch the name of former player holding this case.

BANKER'S OFFER

$188,000

Mario thinks now is the time to hang up his skates. He says ACCEPTÉE.

But was it a good deal? Let's find out.

Proveout
Round 8 - 1 to open
[24] - $500,000 - Held by former Montreal Canadiens right winger and current TVA Sports hockey analyst Georges Laraque.

The other cases:
[21] - $175,000 - Held by current Dallas Stars left winger Antoine Roussel.
[23] - $750 - Held by current Colorado Avalanche left winger Patrick Bordeleau.

Looks like Mario got out at just the right time. Julie opens case 7 to reveal that Mario had been sitting on top of only $300 the whole time. Thus, it's a Banquier Spanking, and a great start to the season . Mario leaves with a total of $201,000 in cash and prizes.

Join us next week for more fun on Le Banquier. Until then, merci, et bonne soirée .

Ironically enough, Mario won the same amount that I hypothetically won when I played Deal Plus with you, Mark. I definitely would've done the same as him, as you could reasonably expect a near-mean get-out on this version if you lose your safety net, but I certainly wouldn't risk roughly $130,000 in the situation Mario had when he dealt, as the upside is far too limited compared to the downside.

I noticed that myself, Ben. The similarities between your game and this one were uncanny, right down to the amount won.

For the record, I also would've dealt at the same point as Mario did. He took calculated risks throughout his game, and got out when he saw his safety net was eroding. It turned out to be the best move in the end.

Good job Mark. Keep it up