This is Deal or No Deal, the only show on television that opens more cases than a law firm.

Last time, one man went too far while another didn’t go far enough. How far will Jade Thomas go? We’ll find out soon enough. She is an ex-Marine, a mother of two and a fifth-grade math and science teacher. Her parents, twin brothers and husband are all in the audience. She wants to enough money to help her family, a goal shared by many Deal contestants.

Jade wants that million, and she’s hoping it’s in case number 9. She chose that number because she was born in September. The case goes on the table, and the game is underway.

Round 1
[13] - $200,000
[18] - $300,000
[21] - $500
[24] - $10
[5] - $25
[16] - $25,000

Not a bad recovery after opening two Power 7 amounts. The first offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$15,000

Jade says NO DEAL.

Howie notices that Jade’s mom is actively playing along with the game, so he invites her up onstage to play alongside her daughter. This is reportedly a Deal USA first. Speaking of firsts, it’s time for the first break.

We’re back to start the second round. Jade’s mother Cheryl has joined her at the Dollar Desk, and from here on in, they’ll be playing as a team. They’ll be taking turns opening the cases in each of the subsequent rounds. When it comes to bank offers, Jade and Cheryl can confer, but only one person makes the final decision.

Round 2
Cheryl is picking the cases in this round.
[6] - $1,000
[15] - $5
[10] - $100
[11] - $10,000
[14] - $300

“Mama knows what she’s doing,” remarks Howie. She certainly does.

The Banker says she liked it better when she was playing against the ex-Marine. The second offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$46,000

Cheryl says NO DEAL.

Round 3
Jade is picking the cases in this round.
[20] - $400
[3] - $750
[22] - $50

Three low amounts in a row. Can Jade complete an all-blue round? Find out after the break.

We’re back to open the last case before the Banker’s third offer.

[23] - $5,000

A solid round there. “The better the round, the better the offer,” says Howie. When the Banker phones, Howie mentions that there’s a touch of nervousness in her voice.

BANKER'S OFFER

$111,000

That’s a huge increase ofer the last offer, but it’s well deserved. Jade has the call, and she says NO DEAL.

Round 4
Cheryl is picking the cases in this round.
[12] - $400,000
[4] - $750,000

A rough start to the round. Howie says mother and daughter can turn things around, and they’ll attempt to do that after the break.

We’re back to complete round 4. Before the break, Cheryl picked case 25.

[25] - $.01

Whew! Had that been another high amount, Cheryl and Jade would have been in trouble.

Before making the offer, the Banker offers Cheryl a chance to prove she can play the drums on a brand-new drum kit hiding behind the Prize Wall. She’ll get to keep it if she can. Sure enough, Cheryl absolutely crushes it. The Banker gives Cheryl a thumbs-up before Howie announces that the offer went down.

BANKER'S OFFER

$87,000

Two cases to open, and two large amounts left in play. Bearing that in mind, Cheryl says NO DEAL.

Round 5
Jade is picking the cases in this round.
[8] - $500,000
[2] - $100,000

The millski is looking very exposed right now. Howie reminds Jade and Cheryl that it is crucial to keep it in in play. Despite losing the safety net, Howie says that the next offer did increase. We’ll find out by how much after the break.

We’re back, and it’s Banker time again. The game is on the razor’s edge at this point, and the new offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$119,000

Jade’s father wants her to counter at $150,000, but Jade says NO DEAL.

Round 6
Cheryl is picking the cases in this round.
[17] - $1

Yes ! The lowest amount on the board goes, and the new offer comes in.

BANKER'S OFFER

$164,000

Jade’s sister says Cheryl should counter at $200,000. Cheryl’s husband says she should counter at $225,000. Another relative says $215,000. Cheryl’s actual counter offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$210,000

The Banker phones back and says that the counter offer is 30 per cent more than what she initially offered. Shen adds that Cheryl’s counter offer, which was partially influenced by Jade, is very aggressive because Marines tend to be aggressive when in combat. But despite that, she says NO DEAL.

Round 7
Jade is picking the cases in this round.
[19] - $75,000

Well, how do you like that? The next offer might be more than Cheryl’s earlier counter offer, and we’ll find out what it is after the break.

We’re back with the seventh offer. The board at this point:

$75
$200
$50,000
$1,000,000

Howie says the new offer is indeed more than $210,000. Specifically, the offer is...

BANKER'S OFFER

$233,000

Jade says she never envisioned the game going this far. Jade admits to being a risk-taker, but she says her she and her family can do a lot with that amount of money. Howie asks the question, and Jade’s response is DEAL.

Nearly a quarter of a million dollars is secure, but was it a good deal? There’s only one way to find out.

Proveout
Round 8
[7] - $50,000

BANKER'S OFFER WOULD'VE BEEN

$315,000

Round 9
[26] - $1,000,000

Stastically, Jade and Cheryl dealt one round too soon, but no one can fault them for doing so. I personally would have done the same thing. Speaking of the deal, it turns out to be a good one, as case 9 had only $200 inside.

With a little bit of luck on their side and some help from Mom, Jade and her family drummed up a total of $236,174 in cash and stuff. Not bad for roughly an hour’s work.

Next time, we kick off 2019 with two new episodes. Maybe Ben will re-assume his post as chief Deal USA recapper in the new year, but that’s wishful thinking . Until next time, good night, good deals and Happy New Year .

For the record, I don't get CNBC at my house, so I can't properly recap until the episode is posted on Youtube.

Glad they got a great result out of that game
I thought for sure they pushed it too far countering the $164,000, but it ended up working out for them.

I wonder if the Banker will ever decline a counter offer and then offer it after the contestant finds a low amount? That would be a great mind game.

I don’t get CNBC at home either. I watch a live stream of it on 123TV, which can be seen here: http://123tv.live/watch/cnbc/

Where did the other $3,174 come from?

That was the value of the new drum kit, which Cheryl won for completing the Banker’s challenge.