Simon's game today.

Noel welcomes us to another day in the Dream Factory and says we are on the verge of history as one of the power 5 hasn't been to the pound table for such a long time...

Yeah I think a nice power 5 win would do nicely now...

Simon has box 9 today. Dimple boy says Noel, and reveals it's his nickname, and Noel notices that his partner in the audience also has dimples... Simon used to be a barman and is now in the police... Simon tells Noel about his dad, who is a mechanic, and Noel asks if he is a real mechanic with overalls and everything, and Simon tells him he is

We get to see a few pics of Simon's friends, and he also tells Noel that he has a degree in criminology, which is one of the reasons he is in the police.


Here we go...

Round 1

3 - 50p Barry

5 - £50,000 Dot

7 - £10,000 Katherine

15 - £35,000 Nic

Oh Simon says Noel....

16 - £15,000 Ferno

Banker time

I feel another one of those games coming...

Only 3 power 5's left already....

Stats after Round 1
Offer: £1,000
Mean: £26,803.89
Offer (%): 3.73%
Fair Deal: £7,559.38
Volatility: 1.22
Redometer: -15

Board
1p
10p

£1
£5
£10
£50
£100
£250
£500
£750
£1,000
£3,000
£5,000


£20,000


£75,000
£100,000
£250,000

I'm lovin those reds says Simon, and WOW says Noel... The banker says he likes the look of this, and says hello Dimple Boy you are cute He would love to ruffle Simon's hair He says if Simon put a cowboy hat on he would look like Woody from Toy Story

The banker tells Simon he will be his nemisis Buzz Lightyear

Banker offers

£1,000

Simon's partner tells Noel that she has her cowboy boots on, so the Woody quote fits

Simon says

NO DEAL

Awww poor Justin.. his games will be fun...

Next round

Newbie Justin next, and Noel says he looks a bit tense, so he gets the pilgrims to welcome him, and then asks everyone to stand up who thinks he is tense! Nearly everyone stands, and Justin says that's OK as that is the look he was going for

17 - £500 Newbie Justin

11 - £20,000 Ben

You're doing it again says Noel

The phone rings!!! The banker says it's time for a break and he thinks Justin should throw to the break!!

Justin does the break link...

Hah Justins great! He did look reallllly nervous...

Talk about camera right up to Justin's face!!

At the first break, we have only one five-figure amount left! Is that a first?

We're back
Last box before the banker...

Noel tells us that Simon's game is going to be the most extraordinary game of 2008 as he will keep the top 3 until the end now...

Adie next and he tells Noel that he feels fruity today

18 - £100 Adie

Banker time

Rachel 'Woodsy' Woods is looking hot again today

Simon tells Noel we need another one now, and Noel turns to his partner and says are you going to tell him... Noel then says a policeman who can't count to 3, how can he say Ello Ello Ello if he can't count to 3

Noel tells Simon that all of the banker's offers are now going to hang in that big gap in the reds, and that will make it really difficult from now on....


Banker offers

£11,000

That is a lot of money says Simon... Adie tells him there are still a lot of boxes up there, and he can get a much bigger offer...

Simon says

NO DEAL

Stats after Round 2
Offer: £11,000
Mean: £31,076.15
Offer (%): 35.40%
Fair Deal: £8,679.29
Volatility: 1.35
Redometer: -15 (↓↑0)

Board
1p
10p

£1
£5
£10
£50

£250

£750
£1,000
£3,000
£5,000





£75,000
£100,000
£250,000

Ohh I'm in love...

Next round

20 - £5,000 Woodsy

21 - £75,000 Martin

This has got to be a blue says Simon

2 - £250,000 Jill

Banker time

God.. Simon has a death wish doesn't he?????

Simon says he can't those blues....


Banker offers

£998

You could not dream of a worse game... A £97,000 drop already...

Stats after Round 3
Offer: £998
Mean: £9,551.46
Offer (%): 10.45%
Fair Deal: £1,746.53
Volatility: 19.74
Redometer: -38 (↓23)

Board
1p
10p

£1
£5
£10
£50

£250

£750
£1,000
£3,000







£100,000

Simon says it carry on being relentless like this, and he has to start finding the blues....


Simon says

NO DEAL

I was thinking 'surely the £11,000 isn't worth taking... is it? Actually it might be... surely not...?'

Apparently it was.

It's almost the antithesis of the game that had all the reds left and few blues at 11 box..

Hindsight. It wasn't worth taking.

Next round

10 - £10 Viv

Simon says that 8 is his lucky number so he is keeping Reg for a while

Bing next, and Noel asks her if she still has her safe full of biscuits!!! She says she had problems getting into the safe and then gives out her safe code Biscuits for everyone says Noel

13 - £3,000 Bing


Noel calls a break, and says we have to come back quick as everyone all over Bristol are rushing to the hotel to nick Bing's biscuits!!!!

I can't remember a board this bad at this point....

Well, true. I was rather joking.

But yeah. Wow. What an ugly game.

1912...1912!

My God 2 reds left at the 2nd break.. Has THAT ever happened before? Does anyone have that stat? It's a little tragic for such a "lovleh lovleh man".

(Imagine living with Bing!! LOL)

Michael in November had only the 100K vs all blues at 8 box - he then wussed out at 1k which was a grave error as he kept the 100k till 2 box and coulda had 30k.

We're back
Last box before the banker

Noel has some biscuits and says the hotel is further away than he thought.

19 - £50 Richie

Banker time

That wasn't the reason it was the grave error. The mere fact it was under 10% (!!!) of the mean was the reason it was a grave error.

This is just like Scottish John's game, but for 100k rather than 75k. But I think.

Actually now it's like Michael's - but there's no way Simon will ever deal for £1,000 on this board!!

I like him, he seems the type wholl be happy (if a word can be used) to win a blue!

Noel tells the banker to not talk with his mouth full, as he is munching on some of Bing's biscuits

Banker offers

£3,500

Stats after Round 4
Offer: £3,500
Mean: £12,750.76
Offer (%): 27.45%
Fair Deal: £2,434.19
Volatility: 49.85
Redometer: -29 (↑9)

Board
1p
10p

£1
£5



£250

£750
£1,000








£100,000

I still wouldn't deal £3,500 - one more all-blure round and then you could get to sum which you would be gutted to lose on a similar generosity!

That's possibly where there's a decision to make, but I'd play on. I'd be looking for at least five grand here.

Mind you - he's already won the lottery by being with his other half.. she's beautiful.. So he is already a very lucky man even if he doesn't win big today..

The banker says he wants to see Simon squirm... Nic asks Simon how he feels today, and does he feel lucky, he replies that he was until he started playing today... Nic then tells Simon to remember the time they were walking in the park and saw the swan poo Noel asks how do know when a swan poos as it's swimming in the lake?


Simon says

NO DEAL

Next round

4 - £750 Audrey

14 - £5 Semi

This is amazing says Noel, it's £1,000s against a pittance...

12 - £100,000 Debbie

Banker time

Aaaand goodnight.

How long since the last game where a second-offer OPW was possible?

Also, I think this is the third worst final five of all time...

I'm gutted for him, as he seemed a gambler to me.. the 100k going ruined what could have been a brilliant game

Unlucky

Stats after Round 5
Offer: £95
Mean: £250.22
Offer (%): 37.97%
Fair Deal: £95.45
Volatility: 3.98
Redometer: -31 (↓2)

Board
1p
10p
£1
£250
£1,000

There is one very happy banker says Noel... The banker says that Simon is probably the 14th member of the 1p club


Banker offers

£95

Simon says

NO DEAL

And we'll never know how many risks he'd really have taken...

Next round

6 - £250 Chris

22 - £1,000 Shaz

1 - 10p Rachel

Banker time with 1p and £1 remaining

1p vs £1

Ohhh this just gets worse. I think destiny sets out who deserves to win during your life. Simon is right "Some people win some people lose".

Noel says he doesn't know what to say now... The banker says it's a day of records and January is the unluckiest month for power 5 values coming to the table

Banker offers

8p

Wow... utterly utterly wow

Stats after Round 6
Offer: £0.08
Mean: £0.51
Offer (%): 15.84%
Fair Deal: £0.30
Volatility: 100.00
Redometer: -19 (↑22)

Board
1p
£1

After losing the £1,000, I almost wanted the Igor finish...

Comedy deal to lighten us up hopefully... Oh there won't be one at 8p. Hah.

Simon says

NO DEAL

Noooooooooo take the 8p.... It's better than nothing...

He should of dealt there 8p would of been unique

The banker calls back and says he looked into his stats, and there could be 3 members in the 1p club in 1 month....

Banker offers

SWAP

Simon says

SWAP

8p would have gone towards a holiday in the Caribbean..

..whereas 1p... won't.

1p WIN

..... A swap in a game like this is never good...


8 is always getting players in the 1p club!!!


The poor guy...

Noel opens box 8 and reveals 1p

Box 9 Reg £1

What can I say? That's what you call an ugly game.

Dear me, holiday villa coming soon I reckon the way these 1p winners are stacking up

Actually.. joking aside.. it must be very very tough.. knowing that it is luck whether you even get picked to get on the show.. then wait months to actually go on there.. then wait weeks to be picked.. only to walk away with 1p whilst seeing others walk away with £70k or something..

God that must really hurt so bad..

That's the way the cookie crumbles unfortunately, if you're not prepared for disappointment- even on that scale- then the show isn't for you.

Russ

Part and Parcel though of the experience

Wayhey 14 members!

Jan 2008- Month of the 1p.

I had a feeling at 5 box he would win 1p.

I had a feeling when he said swap he would definatly join the club since so many times this month the 1p has been on the table the odds say it probably isn't now and hes brought it over.

oh dear...

Wow... that must be one of the most unluckiest games for a very long time...

He seemed a decent enough guy, just didnt get the luck.

Well done on the penny!

Good points, both of you. DoND builds up expectations and sometimes destroys them. Simon's got destroyed.

I'm just.. wow upset. Last year Bunney gave a memorable game and now 1p one year later.

I want to have my time machine to go back in time to watch the great January games.

Hello, July 2006.

Bad luck on the 1p, Simon.

This was the game everyone going on DOND dreads having, the poor guy just didn't have a chance.
We really seem to be in a bad run of disappointing games.

How the *beep* is it a good thing?

I'm pretty sure July 2006 saw 3 members introduced into the 1p club as well. (Sally, Connell and Giorgio)

Yeah redrum - I take your point, and I agree totally - but still.. I guess it's just the knowledge that others have the pot luck to open all the blue boxes and be left with power 5's...

I doubt he'd feel much better having won the pound, I think that's got even less prestige than the penny has!

So a whole month of no power 5 amounts coming to the table... sheesh.

Sally Connel and Giorgio I think.

They need a mansion to house em all.

...

Comparing this month to last January really brings it home though - Last yeah we had the £250,000, £110,000 and just a fantastic month all round...
3 1p wins in one month though?
What is it with box 8?!

Wow, this is absoultely horrible. These 1p wins have to stop. It's embarrassing, and it doesn't make the show look very good. I believe that all 1p winners should be brought back for a "Tournament of Losers" where each one of them gets a second chance to win a decent amount of money. For those games, the 1p value is removed so that they won't win it again. Again, these 1p wins are terrible, and they must end ASAP. That's my 2p on the situation.

The problem with that idea Mark is how you class a "loser". If you brought all the 1p winners back for a 2nd chance, then all the other people who wlaked away with a £1 or 50p would be furious. They would class themselves losers too and would also want a 2nd chance.

And, at any rate - they played the game - and all of them BAR NONE - COULD have walked away with a few thousand if they'd dealt earlier. So it's NOT the shows fault that they won 1p.

That's life.

I totally agree, everyone applying to go on the show has got to be aware there's always the chance of walking away with a small blue. To invite people back would not be fair on the thousands of people who can't get on the show.

Personally I'd be happy just to get on the show and win 1p than not get on the show at all. I think one of the elements of this show is that you get just one chance only.

Word up Woodvale. Succinct. To the point. And totally correct.

£110,000 last year

1p this year

What a turnaround

In all honesty after a game like that, I'd have PREFFERED to win 1p than £1! If I had to win a low amount, I'd prefer a game like that - shame about the second offer, I actually thought it worth considering on that board too, but I really couldn't see anyone dealing it.

But he did absolutely nothing wrong, I could only see Michael and a few others getting more than £1 out of that!

So much for a having a good feeling about the game last night, on the year's anniversary of Bunney!

No power 5's on the table at all in the month - how many were there last January? Mariette, Paul, Laura, Nicola, George, Psychic Sarah (yes I count it), Julie, Stella, Daniel, Phil, Leanne and sort of Bunney. TWELVE!!

The Mansion now there's a point.

Sharron can glaze the windows.

Giorgio can cook spaghetti to last them all.

Shaun and Connell will be the security guards

Sally will be making the soap operas

Nick will be jogging around the place

Tony can plumb the bathroom

Katie.... will do the modeling

Adam will be in bed all day

Simon of course will be the bartender

Trevor will still be sitting down shocked since March 2006

PJ Will be the only wealthy one ordering Kebabs

Fadil and Dave E... What can they do?

Be the gardeners

He was one of those guys you think "Oh, give him another go!" He was actually genuine, stuck to his word and had a laugh.

Oh Yeah

The Curse of h2005 strikes yet AGAIN!

I was mouthing "10p" until it was revealed at the end...but seriously that was ever such an unlucky game.

Far too many small wins, and this month will be one we will all want to remember for only a couple of reasons...Mark S and Clive...nothing else.

And Emjay

Notice that this thread didn't draw a single snide comment from Basicalc?

Downright shame, but that's the game....

Maybe hes not here

Simon had terrible luck all the way, a real shame, he was a good contestant who deserved better. Simon looked the sort of bloke who wasnt afraid to gamble and may well have gone all the way no matter what was in his box, typical that it had to be the 1p.

January what an incredibly unlucky month, the power five dont come to the table at all, three new 1p club members, it could have been four. Basicasics usual strategy would have been a disaster virtually all month, that wont last, roll on February.

Simon was a great guy and I really liked him. It was such a shame that the boxes didn't go his way, but at least it was a fun and memorable show because of all the banter throughout. He also took the 1p win with grace - well done for that, Simon.

I had this spooky feeling that he'd win 10p and it was quite shocking that it was the last box in the round to be opened. Well... I suppose because a lot of people H has liked have won 10p!

Maybe he didn't watch becuase he was expecting an early deal.

Oh definitely.

Well, i really don't know what to say. I really liked Simon (not just because ofd W8 position), he seems an awesome guy and i really wanted him to do well. He came across to me as one of those people that you would be really glad to call a friend.

It's just a massive shame that the boxes didn't work out for him. But anyway, i see him being very successful in his career.

4th worst actually (courtesy of Mister Al's stats)

STATS AT 5-BOX

Worst board:
18-9-2006 Emi (mean: £112.30)
19-4-2007 Jeannie (mean: £161.10)
23-8-2007 Vicky (mean: £221.30)
1-2-2006 Geordie (mean: £271.02)
7-9-2007 Pete (mean: £300.22)
(worst possible mean: £1.32)

Given Noel's annoyance as people clapping at the wrong time in the proveout, why didn't he shout at the audience when on a £1K/£250/£1/10p/1p board, the £250 was found. I'd have said "why are you clapping, we need to find the 3 low blues).

Really can't believe that we got our 3rd 1p winner already and it's only January! The fact that not even one of the power 5 have come to table so far this year as well amazes me. When exactly will a power 5 come to the table this year? Hopefully tommorow the start of a new month will bring the big money to the table.

As for Simon he just had no chance. Yes he could of got £11,000 at the second offer but would anyone of honestly dealt there? To get to 11-box and have only a 1 box game too is a rare thing too.

I agree with the other sentiments about Simon, he seemed like a friendly person and all round nice guy. It's a shame luck wasn't on his side for his game today but at least he took it all in good spirits.

Actually quite startling that £250 was higher than the last offer at 5 box!

What a desperately disappointing game. After all the ranting from yesterday I thought here was a guy who would go all the way, win big money, and satisfy those who have been complaining about the lack of contestants who were prepared to gamble. But sadly, just like Shaun last week, the boxes just didn't work out.
The show was really entertaining apart from the result (loved the bit about the swan poo) - Simon is an awesome guy who took his defeat really well.

Absolutely shocking game, no doubt about it. The last time the 2nd offer was the best (as KP asked) was Natasha's game on 12th January, her peak offer was only £9,000 and we know what happened there... The last mega-money OPW was MJ 2 weeks ago (although Mark's £30k was pretty decent), but that's mainly due to the low amounts at the table recently, and actually since Saturday the amounts have decreased at the table (£20k, £10k, £5k, £750 and £1).

Not much he could've done. I'd have won £1 I'm pretty certain, but an offer of £5k at 8 box may well have got me out. It goes without saying, but that was the worst final 3 we have ever seen (and nearly the worst possible), and just about summed up his whole game. Dreadfully unlucky. It's turning into Trainwreck Thursday with 3 blue wins in a row.

The danger now is that players might play the game on the premise that the big money has to be on the table, whereas in reality they have just as much chance of bringing a blue. Will this mean more torturous trainwrecks or provide a perfect platform for the 2nd quarter-millionaire?

We shall see...

Unfortunately that was just about Shaun's downfall (he didn't swap because he thought he had £35,000)...

Sadly this would have been the game he would have told us was "with honor" and in the "spirit of the game".

I'm sorry, he deserved better, but he played the game and walked away with his head held high...

Here's another thought:

How Winning 1p Can Become Profitable
Other 1p winners have been known to do this, and I think it paid off for them. They sold their 1p (or 2p, in Igor's case) checks on eBay, and made a nice bit of money off of them. So I guess you can say that there can be a happy ending to winning 1p after all. Plus, you become "famous" by joining the 1p Club.

Don,t speak too soon we will be back in the land of doom and gloom tomorrow . He could have gone to Mel.haaaaaa

i think Simon took a chance that he would come away with a fair amount but it did,nt pay off,he is a really nice young man and i wish him well for the future.Hope to see you in Brighton.Pat.

The curse of box 8 hits again, since Katie became the 13th member of the 1p club, and we now have 15 members!

Also Stan and Phyllis had Box 8 at the table which contained 1p as well - but it hasn't all been bad, becuase it gave Lynne and Barry their Power 5 box wins!

Well done Simon for taking the disappointment so well.
All the best for your future.