Choose a case.
Open it up.
Do it again.
And you’ve got a game.
That’s how you play-ay-ay Deal U.S.
Deal U.S.
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo,
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.
Oh, oh, oh, here’s Howie!

That’s what happens when you watch old episodes of Chain Letters, a fun classic word game from the UK. Theme tune parodies aside, the real reason you’re reading this recap is because you want to know what happens in tonight’s episode of Deal USA.

Hoping to take home some big money tonight is Shirrine Mui from Los Angeles. She’s been married for 13 years and works in aerospace engineering. Specifically, she sells the nuts and bolts that keeps airplanes together. She plans to use her winnings to renovate her home and eliminate the mould in it so that she can adopt a child. Shirrine knows a thing or two about taking risks because she is also a poker player.

Shirrine hopes she can make her dreams come true with case 20, and I’m hoping she does well. Let’s go.

Round 1
[15] - $500
[8] - $50
[4] - $750
[12] - $1,000
[2] - $50,000
[25] - $200,000

Six of the Power 7 are intact as we await the Banker’s first offer, which is

BANKER'S OFFER

$26,000

Hey, it’s the return of the Guv’nor. Just kidding. Shirrine says NO DEAL.

Round 2
Shirrine talks about how her husband taught her how to play poker. Her favourite professional poker player is Maria Ho.

[11] - $75,000
[23] - $25,000
[17] - $400,000
[9] - $10
[19] - $750,000

Oof. A semi-disastrous round there, but the millski is still on the board. The next offer is

BANKER'S OFFER

$19,000

We meet Shirrine’s supporters, which include her boss, her friend/co-worker and her husband Eddie. He talks about how he froze up when he and Shirrine visited the Eiffel Tower because of his debilitating fear of heights. Random people had to push Eddie over to where Shirrine was standing so that he could propose to her. When Shirrine accepted, everyone around them cheered.

Shirrine’s supporters tell her to go on, and she does. It’s a NO DEAL.

Will our poker player be able to play her ace and take home a big payday? Find out after the break.

Welcome back. Time to get our game on with the third round.

Round 3
[21] - $500,000
[3] - $10,000
[26] - $1,000,000 - Uh, oops?
[16] - $100

Well, that was the round from hell. Shirrine mentions that most she won playing poker was $2,000. That also happens to be the next offer.

BANKER'S OFFER

$2,000

But wait, there’s more. Shirrine’s hero Maria Ho comes out holding a special case from the World Poker Tour - a complete poker set and table, a tournament hosted at her home, the chance to commentate on a WPT game, and a seat in the WPT. Plus, Maria will personally tutor Shirrine before the event. All of that is worth $12,000, which boosts the offer to

BANKER'S OFFER

$14,000

Maria offers some advice to Shirrine and tells her to follow her gut. Shirrine says she came here to win, so she says NO DEAL.

There are only three amounts left on the right side of the board right now, the highest of which is $300,000. Will that amount - and our contestant - survive the next round? Find out after the break.

We’re back. The board is looking very precarious as we begin the fourth round.

Round 4
[5] - $200
[13] - $5
[1] - $300

Nice recovery there. The Banker says Howie should speak to Eddie before revealing the next offer. The Banker acknowledges that Eddie would do anything to support his wife. Howie asks if Eddie would go up in a hot air balloon to support Shirrine. He says yes. He then asks if Eddie would climb a mountain to support her, and again he says yes. A harness is brought down and Eddie is asked if hew would suspend himself above the studio. He reluctantly says yes, and we head into our next break.

Welcome back. Before the break, Shirrine’s husband Eddie agreed - albeit reluctantly - to be suspended above the studio in a harness to support his wife. Eddie is deathly afraid of heights and is not looking very happy right now. Howie says the next offer is the largest one thus far. That offer is

BANKER'S OFFER

$30,000

Shirrine says NO DEAL.

Round 5

Before the round begins, Howie “ups Eddie’s support.” He is raised up and is dangling precariously above the stage. The audience chants “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!”

[7] - $75
“Can she hurry and pick another low case?” Eddie asks nervously.
[22] - $100,000

Eddie says he might throw up, so he is lowered back down to Earth. The new offer is

BANKER'S OFFER

$22,000

Maria Ho says this is an all-in moment. Shirrine says NO DEAL.

Round 6
Shirrine picks case 6 and Howie calls a break.

We’re back. Round 6 continues with the opening of case 6.

[6] - $1

Dolla dolla bill, yo. Right, that’s the end of me attempting to be cool. The Banker chimes in with her next offer, which is

BANKER'S OFFER

$41,000

That amount would fix the mould problem in Shirrine’s house. Maria says there’s an 80 per cent chance of eliminating a low amount, so Shirrine says NO DEAL.

Round 7
[14] - $25

All right! The 300 large remains in play and the offer raises to

BANKER'S OFFER

$63,000

Shirrine is considering a counter offer. Her supporters think she should counter with $85,000, and that’s exactly what she does.

BANKER'S OFFER

$85,000

The Banker wastes no time in calling back. She refuses the counter offer and we head into the final break.

Welcome back. Before the break, the Banker forced Shirrine to go all in by rejecting her counter offer of $85,000. Let’s see how that pans out.

Round 8
[18] - $400

Holy boats! That was insane! The board right now:

$.01
$5,000
$300,000

And the eighth offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$105,000

“You watched every single episode of Deal or No Deal back in the day, and you saw some people blow it,” says Eddie. “Don’t let greed get in the way.”

I’m pretty sure that Eddie is my new spirit animal. That is some solid advice right there. Those words clearly got through to Shirrine, who wisely decides to cash out. It’s a DEAL!

But was the $300,000 in case 20? There’s only one way to find out.

Proveout
Round 9
[10] - $300,000 - Nope!

Another case of perfect timing. Howie opens case 20 and reveals the penny! So not only is it a good deal statistically, it’s also an amazing deal by dollars. Case 24 held the $5,000.

Just like poker, Deal or No Deal is a game where you have to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Our poker player clearly did, and she returns to LA with a smile across her poker face and $105,000 in her bank account.

Next time, a small-town choir director takes the stage. Will he be whistling a happy tune or singing the blues? Find out next Wednesday. Until then, good night and good deals.