Deal or No Deal

Is anyone else obsessed with the NBC gameshow Deal or No Deal? It is hosted by Howie Mandel, who I could do without, but the contestants are priceless. Basically, you are shown 26 cases containing money amounts ranging from $.01 to $1,000,000. To start, you choose five cases to see what number is contained in each. As each number is shown, it is eliminated from the game board. Throughout the process, there is a banker who sits up in this booth. He calls Howie every so often to make deals with you. He offers a certain amount of money based on the amounts that have already been selected and the cases that are still left to choose. Get the jist?

Anyway, I just watched a guy settle for $44,000 and a PONY! The show knew that this guy's daughter really wanted a pony, and according to the New Jersey contestant (named Hans), his daughter always gets whatever she wants. So hey, why not bring a pony on stage for her. HE TOOK THE DEAL!! And he had a good chance to walk away with $200,000 in his pocket.

One last thing...you are allowed to bring three people with you to stand on the stage and help you make "deal decisions." He brought his mom and his two best friends (who were stright out of Animal House). Oh, and I almost forgot: he also brought his two goldfish! How in the hell did he get two fish to Hollywood from NJ? My guess is that he just bought them at a pet store on the way to the taping.

Tune in on Mondays or Wednesdays at 8PM. If nothing else, you'll be mildly entertained for an hour.