Deal or No Deal (USA)/Episode 204

Episode 204
Season 2, Episode 4
Airdate	September 22, 2006
← 2x03 Episode 203	2x05 → Episode 205
Deal or No Deal (USA) — Season Two

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Episode 204 is the fourth episode of the second season of Deal or No Deal, and the forty-third episode overall.

Guest Stars:

Gameplay

• Michelle Falco, returning for the finish of her game, turned down the offer given at the end of the last show and soon had a lucky streak: The amounts on the left side began disappearing, and Michelle had to answer the question for $198,000, $275,000, and then $502,000. This offer was then turned down, and her husband's suggestion of Kasie Head's case 16 brought forth the $10 amount, leaving Michelle with either $750,000 or $1 million.

After the studio calmed down, Howie took the call and delivered the largest offer ever: $880,000. Although this offer is $5,000 over the mean, with $750,000 guaranteed, Michelle turned down the offer and became the first contestant to have a direct chance at $1 million, which was either inside her case (8) or model Alike Boggan's case (20). Loudly proclaiming "EIGHT IS GREAT!", Michelle stuck with her original case.

Statisticians may have done this as well, noticing that $3 million and $6 million were in 17 and 18. As it turned out, Falco's case held $750,000; however, everything else — Howie's expression, Michelle's reaction, audience reaction, etc. — would indicate she had won the $1 million. To date, Falco remains the top winner on the United States' Deal or No Deal.

• Beginning with Lary Meyer, the game returned to standard $1 million play. Lary chose case 1, whom nobody else had ever chosen, and began the game with the loss of the second, third, and fourth prizes in the first three picks. Round 2 ended with the $1 million. Only one more large amount appeared throughout the hour, and the game would continue to the next show, with $200,000 and $300,000 still in the game.

Trivia

The Show

• Serious watchers would have been spoiled if they had watched the leading promotion, as Howie thereas stated "the largest offer EVER", which could only be achieved by taking the 6-case board from the previous episode down to the third and fourth prizes.
• Only three people have had a direct chance to break this record win or record offer:

Summer Andrew's Tandem Deal game (her husband and her playing at the same time, without knowing the final result of his game, and being offered her winnings or his), could have given Summer $1 million if Craig had won it in his game.

If Jay Garrity had removed one more small amount, his offer would almost certainly have broken $880,000.

If Efren Afante had removed the $10 with three cases left, he would have received an offer similar to Michelle's, and if he had tripled his winnings on the Deal Wheel, he would have ended with $888,000.

• Deal has been criticized because of the gimmicks they have implemented into the game (Million Dollar Mission, Tandem Deal, Winner Take All), which would never have happened had more people gone for the top prize. The chance of this kind of board occurring is 0.0308%, and the contestant must then actually win the $1 million (50%). Only one contestant to date has ever risked a 50-50, all-or-nothing gamble for a six-figure amount, which is the only other way to score the $1 million without an elevated top prize or additional gimmicks.

Memorable Moments

• Michelle's win ranked at #6 on DonD's 10 greatest moments.