Good evening, and welcome to the official premiere of Deal or No Deal USA Version 2.0. I’ll be pinch-hitting for Ben tonight, as he was unavailable to do the live recap.

The premiere kicks off with our moonwalking contestant, Joe Verriotto. He is from Brooklyn, New York and is married with a daughter and a grandson. He’s led a tough life, having lost his vending machine business during 9/11. He now operates his own transportation business.

Joe plans to use his winnings to add to his business’s fleet, help his daughter with her wedding and pay off his debts.

Joe picks case 15 in honour of his parents’ anniversary and his daughter’s birthday. He refuses to touch the case, a tradition carried over from hockey and football. With all that said, the game begins.

Round 1 - 6 to open
[9] - $1
[3] - $25
[17] - $200
[7] - $100
[5] - $.01 - Joe dances to some music when the case is opened. Hey, I would too.
[20] - $5,000

The Banker says she doesn’t know if Joe has the stamina to go all the way.

BANKER'S OFFER

$34,000

Pretty good opening offer after a terrific first round, but Joe’s here for more. He says NO DEAL and we head into our first break.

We’re back, and it’s time to begin the second round. Joe announces plans to update his backyard at his home in southern New Jersey. He invites everyone over for a party once it’s finished.

Round 2 - 5 to open
[22] - $25,000
[14] - $500,000 - First Power 7 hit.
[6] - $100,000
[8] - $750
[19] - $500

More dancing from Joe. This guy is just so much fun to watch. But the dancing ends quickly when the Banker phones in her next offer.

BANKER'S OFFER

$49,000

Joe says NO DEAL.

Round 3 - 4 to open
[10] - $200,000
[12] - $10,000
[25] - $10

The last case of the round will be opened after the break.

We’re back with more Deal 2.0, and the last case of round 3.

[1] - $75

The music is cued up once again, and Joe does a victory dance. Even Howie joins in. “That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life,” says Howie.

The Banker is getting worried, and she pitches this offer to Joe.

BANKER'S OFFER

$105,000

Three rounds in, and we’ve got our first six-figure offer. But Joe has other plans.

“I’m goin’ for it!”
NO DEAL

Round 4 - 3 to open
[11] - $1,000
[21] - $50 - Joe does another dance to everyone’s enjoyment.

Howie points out that the board is very much in Joe’s favour at the moment. The next case will be opened after the break.

“Welcome back to Deal or No Deal, or as well call it, The Joe Verriotto Dance Party,” Howie says as we return from the break.

[4] - $300,000

“Wake up Joe, because you’re luck’s going to turn,” the Banker says through Howie.

The new offer is:

BANKER'S OFFER

$147,000

Joe’s wife says that’s a lot of money and that amount would allow them to be debt-free.

“I’m goin’ home with the million dollars,” Joe says. “NO DEAL!”

Before the next round begins, Joe’s soon-to-be married daughter joins him onstage.

Round 5 - 2 to open
[18] - $300
[16] - $5 - More dancing from Joe.

That was the perfect round, and I can’t help but feel the Banker is getting even more worried as the game plays on.

“This guy’s going to go home with a million dollars!” Howie exclaims as we head into the next break.

We’re back, and it’s Banker time again. After that last round, the next offer is due for a significant increase, and sure enough, the Banker delivers.

BANKER'S OFFER

$191,000

After much thought and consultation with his supporters, Joe says NO DEAL.

Round 6 - 1 to open
[13] - $400,000

The safety net is beginning to erode, but the top two amounts remain in play. Joe’s luck continues to baffle the Banker, but she believes it has to end somewhere. She offers:

BANKER'S OFFER

$232,000

Joe’s decision is a swift one. The last guy who played like that left with a fiver. He says NO DEAL, and we take another break.

Welcome back to this exciting game. Time for round 7.

Round 7 - 1 to open
[24] - $1,000,000

Pop goes the millski. Naturally, there is one person who is quite happy about that.

BANKER'S OFFER

$183,000

Not surprisingly, the offer took a hit. The $750,000 remains in play, but Howie points out that the game is now on the razor’s edge. Joe decides to use his counter offer. He offers:

BANKER'S OFFER

$240,000

The Banker rejects the counter offer, and Joe is forced to play on.

Round 8 - 1 to open
[24] $400

The left side of the board is now clear! Joe can’t leave with less than $50,000!

The board right now:

$50,000
$75,000
$750,000

The Banker then pitches this offer to Joe. She wants him out of here ASAP.

BANKER'S OFFER

$285,000

Joe says DEAL.

I think that was a smart move, but was it? Let’s find out.

Proveout

[2] - $750,000

The right deal at the right time ! Howie then completes the game by opening Joe’s case 15, which held $75,000.

A terrific result for Joe, and a much better game than the first outing. Coming up next, another new episode. Stay tuned!

Where’s the DoND livestream?

I’ve been watching it on 123.tv. Search for CNBC.

Any thoughts on the game, Jumble? I thought it was a vast improvement over the last one.

Great to see a perfect Deal from a strong board throughout. You definitely don't get this too often, especially under US rules.

Ironically enough the failed negotiation actually helped him, too. I have a funny feeling a lot of people are going to be wasting the counter offer asking for AMOs that the Banker almost certainly won't agree to.

So the counteroffer is basically meant to be used when you're thinking "okay the current amount is a no deal but it's REALLY close, maybe if it were $10k or $20k higher I'd take it" (Ben often does this line of thinking in our forum games). If you're willing to say deal to the offer as it stands you shouldn't counteroffer (because of the risk you'll lose your deal), and when you go for crazy AMOs like what happened in this game it's just a waste. Glad it worked out for him though?

For those interested, CNBC uploaded the entire episode to their YouTube channel. This allowed me to fill in the missing information from round 2. You can watch it here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CEn9p4JgIjw

I have uploaded Mondays Show On My YouTube Channel here https://youtu.be/PQxYMNv6Ktw