By the way, this is the ninth time a player has turned down a two-box offer with the £250k in play, and more than half of those have been this year alone. (Wording deliberate, to exclude Alice.)

It's funny because nobody played to the end with £250k in play between the first week of 2007 and the last months of 2009 - and that covers almost the entire period where Noel could be easily argued to have encouraged just that!!

What a muppet!

Sorry but i find it very hard to feel any sympathy for Joycey, she turned down what could be argued to be overly generous offers to go home with a blue and she exhibited the sort of blinkered obsession with the £250k which I personally find uncomfortable to watch. As a supposedly altruistic player (she said she was playing for a good cause not for herself) she needed a reality check, just a shame it had to come too late in the day.

I was actually slightly amused when at the end she made a reference to it not being God's will. Reminded me of the joke about the missionary caught in a flood, He turns away offers of help from a fishing boat and a helicopter insisting that God will save him, of course he drowns and when he gets to heaven he says to God 'why did you desert me?' To which god replies ' didn't - i sent you a boat and a helicopter' Well God via the Banker sent Joycey £44k and £90K to help her good causes and she turned her back on both of them.

Still she took it in her stride and i applaud her for that, but all the same, should have been a lot less reckless!

Aaargh, why can't she have got it???
I really do admire her though she was so brave to take that gamble
GO JOYCEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats either an amazing memory or you have access to a statto! which is it



So close to 18 months then? There must have been something to form that trend. It couldn't have been down to chance. Were there any shocking crashes around the end of 2006 that could have started it off?

Certainly this year has stuck in my mind as some of the most 'brave' and 'foolhardy' games (is that possible in the same sentence? Dale, Tegen, Gurpal and now Joycey.

Someone else mentioned it, but if you asked me to think about it, I'd have got it

Not 18 months, but about 30. And the end of 2006 was the last thing that would have sparked caution - after a run of over 100 games without the £250k coming to the table, it was sold at eight-box in two games in a couple of weeks by emotional players (Ingerlise and Donna). The result was Noel getting more and more agitated about it never being won, then Laura (having been a bit rash for her utility curve in turning down £19,999 on a one-box game at five-box) was given a free pass with the final offer, and the players just got carried away for months after that, Noel doing rather more to encourage them than to stop them. However, the offers were so generous in those games that even those players ended up dealing eventually most of the time if they had very strong boards - only Bunney came close to gambling for the £250k, and I think he wasn't sure enough about the swap to commit to a No Deal!

Then in May 2007 a player had a crash, took it horrendously, and players were cautious for weeks afterwards. And then we got to episodes taped after the fall of Northern Rock - which as far as public perception goes is the start of the recession, even though GDP kept rising until late 2008.

Ah yes nearly 3 years! Yes there does seem to be a short term trend at least with players witnessing their peers games. That seems to last around the 20ish game mark then the game fades into obscurity. As in Noels constant references to 'Jodie' and 'trends'. That should last another couple of weeks of recorded shows. We rarely get historical games mentioned by name other than the famous wins. I don't think Noel even remembers the early 1p wins by name. Back on topic, i wonder if he will compare Joycey to Corrine(2009?) or Gurpal of just a few months prior.

I'm very much looking forward to analysing the live games for such issues that can't end up being deleted out on the whim of the editor.

What can I say, Corrine all over again...what a waste!

Just seen the game.... glad I was without internet access (and my Twitter feed was long gone with DOND posts by the time I logged on).

Surprised Noel didn't mention Corinne towards the end but perhaps he didn't want to influence Joycey in any way (not that the knowledge that another mature lady had gambled and crashed would probably have changed today's decision).

Ah yes, Lynn... that was a painful game to watch.

I don't post that often on the forum, but I did want to say something.

As much as I wanted this brave lady to win, I found it incredible that someone could turn down 90K! It's difficult, then, as others have pointed out, to find much sympathy. Her courage is not in question, but her judgement is!

I just can't accept it when players claim, after refusing colossal offers, that "it wasn't meant to be." Joycey said that and, much as she was loved and admired, it was her own choice - NOT chance or destiny - that sent her home with £5.

OH DEAR... OH DEAR... OH DEAR...

Should have been a LOT less brave.

On a serious note though, turning down £90k at 2-box was ridiculous! Whether you've had a dream about winning the biggie, have a feeling you know it's in the box, or just feel lucky, it is brainless to risk going home with just a fiver when you're offered over a third of the jackpot!

It's strange that none of the 4 QM winners have been those that have gambled £50k+ on QM/blue finishes and 4 of the 6 failed gambles have been on high risk/no back up gambles (and I include Suzanne Kerry Anne in that list).

You'd think people would learn.

You mean Kerry-Anne? Suzanne of course had a successful gamble!!

Yep. Shouldn't post whilst I'm concentrating on work.