I’m back with the first episode of tonight’s double-dip Dealfest. Our contestant for this game is Courtney Schlaud, she’s a Marine Corps wife originally from Owosso, Michigan and she wants to win enough money to return home to Michigan. She picks case 4, and we get underway.

Round 1
[10] - $10,000
[18] - $400
[17] - $.01
[3] - $200
[24] - $750,000
[25] - $100,000

Some damage has been done to the right side of the board, resulting in an opening offer of…

BANKER'S OFFER

$16,000

Courtney says NO DEAL.

Round 2
[7] - $75,000
[14] - $500,000
[26] - $300
[13] - $200,000
[1] - $5,000

A couple of big hits there, but the offer still managed to increase because the millski is still on the board. We meet Courtney’s supporters, one of which is her husband of eight years. He served in the Marine Corps for 20 years.

After we get acquainted, we get the second offer.

BANKER'S OFFER

$26,000

We’ll get Courtney’s response after the break.

Welcome back to this Deal USA recap. Before the break, Courtney received an offer of $26,000. Believing that there is much more to shoot for in this game, she (not surpringly) says NO DEAL.

Round 3
[11] - $5
[22] - $25,000
[2] - $1
[23] - $500

The big money is still in play as the Banker tables this offer to our contestant:

BANKER'S OFFER

$57,000

Courtney says that amount could get her back to Michigan and potentially get her husband a new car. Courtney says she came here for more than that, so she promptly says NO DEAL.

Round 4
[19] - $750
[5] - $25
[8] - $50

“How amazing was that?” Howie inquires. Pretty darned amazing, if you ask me. We’ll get the next bank offer after the break.

Deal USA plays on with a new offer from the shadowy figure in the skybox above the stage. Said offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$92,000

“There’s a lot of money up there, but there’s still a lot of money left on that board,” says Courtney’s husband. As a result, Courtney says NO DEAL.

Round 5
[20] - $50,000
[9] - $1,000

Probably the best all-red round you could ask for. The offer is due for an increase, and we will find out what it is after the break.

Courtney Day continues as Howie brings Courtney’s best friend and parents to the stage to join her. She is visibly surprised by this.

“In terms of holidays, Courtney Day is not her favourite,” Howie tells Courtney. The Banker’s next offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$173,000

Wow wee, we’re getting into the huge offers already. Howie reminds Courtney of the counter offer, which she only gets once per game. Howie asks the question, and Courtney’s response is NO DEAL.

Round 6
[15] - $75

Oh boy, here we go. This next offer should be huge, and rightfully so. Howie says Courtney has an amazing board and that she has been very lucky thus far. He tells the supporters the offer before he reveals it to Courtney.

The offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$266,000

Yes, we need the larger font now because this game is beginning to get serious. Courtney believes she’s got the million in her case, and she gives us a swift NO DEAL, which takes us into our next break.

We return from the break with Howie reminding Courtney that she just turned down over a quarter of a million dollars.

Round 7
[6] - $10

Holy boats. You couldn’t have asked for a better round. Here’s the board.

$100
$300,000
$400,000
$1,000,000

The offer has skyrocketed to...

BANKER'S OFFER

$342,000

Luis Greed - intentional misspelling - turned down an offer slightly less than this and destroyed his life. His mom basically disowned him (true story; check TMZ). Courtney Schlaud... outdoes Mr. Greed by nine grand. It’s a NO DEAL.

Round 8
The game is intensifying to such an extent that Howie and Courtney sit down on the models’ stairs. Courtney picks case 12, and Howie throws to another break.

We’re back with this amazing game. “My legs are weak, and this is YOUR game!” Howie says. “I don’t want this on me at all, so you tell Sarati when you want her to open the case.”

[12] - $300,000

Not the best time for that, but the board still favours the player. “Everything in life has a tipping point,” says Howie. “Is this the tipping point? The offer now is...”

BANKER'S OFFER

$425,000

Wow . Words fail me here. Courtney’s husband says she should counter at $450,000. Courtney wants to counter at a half-mill, and that’s exactly what she does.

BANKER'S OFFER

$500,000

“Why did you do that?” Howie asks worriedly. “She wants me gone,” replies Courtney.

The Banker does indeed want Courtney gone. However, at this point in the game, if the counter offer is refused, Courtney would be forced to play on. She has an equal chance of leaving with either a million dollars or just a hundred bucks.

The phone rings, and the Banker gives Howie her response. That response is...























DEAL!!!

Yes, we needed the extra-large font and extra exclamation marks here because Courtney Schlaud just became Deal USA’s biggest regular game winner! I thought for sure the Banker would decline that counter offer, but nope! She accepted it! That is absolutely insane . It’s also the first time this has happened on Deal 2.0.

Time is running short, so Howie opens case 4, revealing $400,000 inside. Had the counter offer been refused, Courtney would have picked case 16 next, and that case had the million inside. Case 21 held $100.

Courtney played a phenomenal and gutsy game, and as the old adage states, to the victor go the spoils. Those spoils are half a million dollars. Yes, you read that correctly.

Holy boats, that was a hell of a game! I can’t believe what I just witnessed.

Deal USA returns next week with only one new episode. I say that because the other one features a waste of a person with sub-zero intelligence making an ass of himself on national television. Boy, am I glad I don’t have to recap that one. Until then, good night and good deals.

What an amazing game, and asark said, a record breaking one!

That was quite a moment with the counter offer of $500,000, especially as the Banker really shouldn't have accepted it as it was an AMO.

Ironically enough, on Affair Tuoi someone once made a counter offer of €500,000 on a €50/€1,000,000 finish, and that was such a tense moment that they dragged it out for nearly an entire hour long episode before the doctor acepted it!

107% of the average is nonsense.

Courtney's daring play secures a stunning $500,000 Deal USA win! Absolutely astonishing gameplay!