Comments for the Week of March 3-7

Biggest winner this week: Lisa Mcauley ($55,132) (March 3) 5 out of the 10 Pricing Games played for a car this week were won (Let 'em Roll, Pocket ¢hange, Any Number, One Away and Rat Race). That's the most car games won in a 5-day week so far this season. (It should be noted that 5 out of 8 car games were won in a 4-day week back in November.) Monday was the tenth episode this season where the total winnings exceeded $100,000 (there were 12 $100,000+ days in all of last season). Conversely, Wednesday was the third episode this season where the total winnings was less than $20,000 (combined, there were only 3 sub-$20,000 episodes in Seasons 40 and 41). In all three episodes this season where Let 'em Roll was won, the other Pricing Game played for a car on that same episode was also won (January 16, February 12 and March 3). That's a pretty impressive record, considering there have only been 11 episodes all season where both car games were won. On Wednesday, Step Up was played second for the first time since June 25, 2008. The $6,111 trip to Salt Lake City, offered in Wednesday's playing of Check Game, is the most expensive prize ever offered in this game. It was also the first time Check Game was played for a prize in excess of $6,000. On Thursday, One Away was won for only the second time this season (out of 12 playings). The win also snapped a 7 game losing streak for this game. By being played fourth on Monday and by being played third on Wednesday, Cliff Hangers and Bonkers, respectively, became the tenth and eleventh Pricing Games to be played in all six slots at least once this season. For Bonkers, this is the first season since Season 38 where it has been played in all six slots. There have been some very rare occurences in the Showcase Showdowns this season. First, there was a spin-off in both Showdowns on the January 27 episode, and contestants spun $1.00 in both spin-offs. Now, on Monday's episode, two contestants spun $1.00 in the same spin-off.

Comments for the Week of March 10-14

Biggest winner this week: Jackie Jarvis ($34,899) (March 12) There was a lot of unusual slotting this week: Let 'em Roll was played sixth for the first time since April 16, 2012. Make Your Move was played fifth for the first time since June 11, 2012. Now.. or Then was played second for the first time since January 25, 2012. Pocket ¢hange was played fourth for the first time since December 1, 2011. Monday's Let 'em Roll playing was the first time since January 24, 2012 where a contestant took the money and quit in this game. For the first time this season, the price of the car in Pathfinder did not end on the edge of the board. (Last time that's happened: June 4, 2013). Overall, the price has ended on the inside of the board 6 times since the start of Season 37. Stack the Deck was played for the 100th time in daytime history on Wednesday. Stack the Deck has an overall record of 18-82 in these 100 playings. In the past two seasons, Stack the Deck has been lost 20 times (with only 1 win - the only time a contestant got 3 numbers for free). During this streak, 17 contestants had at least three number numbers wrong in the price of the car. Debra from Wednesday's episode was one of only two contestants to be one number away from winning the car. On Thursday's episode, Christian became the seventh contestant this season that a) was the first spinner in the Showcase Showdown and b) spun again after spinning 65 cents on their first spin. In these 7 occurences, 4 contestants went over and only 1 wound up winning the Showcase Showdown (Ampron on the November 11 episode). No first spinner this season has spun again on an amount higher than 65 cents. Tracy's total in Friday's playing of Pocket ¢hange was a mere 45¢. That ties the March 8, 2013 playing for the lowest amount of change ever accumulated in this game. (This stat only includes playings where the value of all cards were revealed.) Squeeze Play currently has a record of 10 wins and 10 losses. If that holds, this will be the first season since at least Season 29 where Squeeze Play will achieve at least a .500 record. (The current best season during this span is Season 30 - 13 wins, 16 losses.) So far this season, the car games most often played on episodes where both car games were won are Money Game (4 times), Let 'em Roll and Line em Up (3 times) and Any Number, Dice Game, Lucky $even and Rat Race (twice). 7 out of 10 Showcases this week offered a car as one of its prizes, including both Showcases on Monday's, Tuesday's and Friday's episode. Overall, 56.9% of Showcases this season have offered a car.

Comments for the Week of March 17 & 24-28

Biggest winner this week: Tammie Douglass ($51,674) (March 25) On March 17, the least expensive price was right for the first prize in Golden Road (the three digit prize) . That hasn't happened since the January 9, 2008 playing back in Season 36. Since then, the most expensive price had been right 20 times in a row. In the same Golden Road playing, the same number (5) was right for the first two prizes. That's only happened 6 times since the start of Season 36. On Monday, Bargain Game was played third, becoming the twelfth Pricing Game to be played in all six slots at least once this season. Based on the available information, Most Expen$ive was played for the 1,500th time in daytime history on Tuesday's episode. Incidentally, Most Expen$ive premiered 41 days after Double Prices and has now hit 1,500 playings 39 days after Double Prices. On Tuesday, Tammie won Cover Up with just two tries. Previous time Cover Up was won in two tries: May 17, 2012. Last time Cover Up was won on the first try: June 12, 2007. On Wednesday, the last three contestants called to Contestant's Row (the three contestants called after the first Showcase Showdown) all managed to win their way up on stage. Previous time that's happened: November 20, 2012. Overall, it's only happened 3 times in the past 3 seasons. There was only a $140 difference between both bidders in Wednesday's Showcase round ($3,272 and $3,132). That was the closest Showcase result this season, but it's well behind some of the results from last season ($9, $12, $59, $65, $102 and $110 differences). Five trips were offered on Thursday's episode, but none of them were won. That was the most trips offered in an episode this season that were not won. Thursday was also the 10th double overbid of the season. While that's a lot of anticlimatic finishes, it's still well behind last season's mark of 22 Double Overbids. Also on Thursday, Helane, the first spinner in the first Showcase Showdown, was faced with the difficult decision of deciding whether to spin again on 55 cents. So far this season, 17 contestants spinning first landed on 55 cents on their first spin. 3 chose not to spin again, and all 3 failed to win their way to the Showcase. Out of the remaining 14 contestants that chose to spin again, 6 went over and only 3 went on to win the Showcase Showdown. Grand Game was won for the sixth time this season on Thursday. That already ties or exceeds the total number of wins it obtained in Seasons 37, 38, 39 and 41 and is only one win behind the Season 40 mark (7 wins). Grand Game is also currently on a four game winning streak - the longest streak for this game since Season 35. On Friday, Double Prices was won for the first time since December 4 of last year. The win snapped a six game losing streak for this game.

Comments for the Week of March 31-April 4

Biggest winner this week: Pamela Perrigan ($38,111) (March 31) On Tuesday, Sandra won Lucky $even after losing only $3. Last time that's happened: February 27, 2009. Also on Tuesday, the car was won in More or Less for the first time since December 18 of last year. The win snapped a five game losing streak for this game. Tuesday's playing of Do the Math set some new records for this game: Most cash offered ($1,895) and cheapest prize offered (60" LED HDTV - $1,400) The $21,637 trip to Las Vegas, offered in Tuesday's playing of Hi Lo, is the most expensive non-car prize ever offered in this game. Finally, on Tuesday, Secretariat became only the second male (and the first quadruped) to perform the mic handoff (joining Allen from the April 1, 2010 episode). On Wednesday, the price in Range Game was placed $474 from the bottom of the scale - the highest placement since March 4, 2010 ($498 from the bottom). So far this season, Range Game has a record of 8-0 when the price was located on the bottom half of the scale and a record of 0-7 when the price was located on the top half of the scale. The $23,974 Toyota Camry, offered in Wednesday's Range Game, was the most expensive car offered in this game since at least Season 29, but it was not the most expensive prize ever offered - Range Game was played for a $25,274 trailer and camping equipment (and lost) on February 5, 2010. Also on Wednesday, all four prizes and the $3,000 cash bonus was won in Step Up. That was the second complete win in Step Up this season. Surprisingly, this is the first time ever where Step Up has picked up more than one full win in the same season. (Step Up was won once in Seasons 30, 32-34, 38-40 and went winless in Seasons 31, 35-37 and 41). On Thursday, Rodger miraculously won 1/2 Off despite missing all of the small prizes (and having to pick between all 16 boxes). Overall, 1/2 Off has a record of 2-9 when contestants had to pick between all 16 boxes (it was also won on April 16, 2010). Not a bad record when, statistically, the game should only be won once out of 16 playings under these conditions. Combined, the two Showcases offered on Thursday's episode ($42,073) were the cheapest Showcases of the season. For the first time this season (out of 8 playings), the right price of the car in Five Price Tags was not the cheapest or second cheapest price tag. This is not a new trend in Five Price Tags. Since Season 32, one of the two cheapest prices has been right in 68% (65/95) of playings. (Or 87% (27/31) in the past three seasons.) Prizes offered in Coming or Going this season: 12 trips, 4 kitchen appliance sets, 2 game rooms, 2 outdoor furniture packages, 1 pair of motor scooters. Not much variety there.

Comments for the Week of April 7-11

Biggest winners this week: Mimy & Tammy Tu ($49,294) (March 10) On Monday, Dice Game was played fourth for the first time since January 30, 2009. On Tuesday, Emily got a score of $1.95 in the first Showcase Showdown. That's by far the highest amount spun this season. (Previous high: $1.80 on February 4) Previous time a contestant spun a total of $1.95 in a Showcase Showdown: December 7 of last season. On Wednesday, Jenell underbid on a chopper by $47 in Spelling Bee. That was the largest miss on a small prize in this game since April 9, 2007 ($89 - a $129 bid on a $40 cereal dispenser). Line em Up was won for the eighth time this season on Wednesday. At 8-4, Line em Up currently has the second best record amongst car games - it trails only Hole in One (5-1). In fact, Hole in One and Line em Up are the only two car games with a record above .500 (have been won more times than they have been lost). The third small prize in Friday's playing in Cliff Hangers was $55. That was the first time since at least Season 32 where one of the small prizes in Cliff Hangers exceeded $50 in value. Friday was the 11th episode this season where at least five Pricing Games were won. That's the most 5/6 and 6/6 days in one season since Season 36 (3 perfect shows, 12 5/6 episodes). By being played sixth on Tuesday, sixth on Thursday and fourth on Friday, Push Over, Flip Flop and Pick-a-Number became the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth Pricing Games, respectively, to be played in all six slots at least once this season. So far this season, the first Showcase has been the most expensive 66 times and the second Showcase has been the most expensive 66 times - exactly a 50-50 split. (Between Seasons 29-41, the second Showcase was more expensive 52% of the time.) Pricing Games played most often on the ceremonial x,000th episodes: Any Number (5 times), Dice Game (4 times), Lucky $even (4 times), Double Prices (3 times)

Comments for the Week of April 14-18

Biggest winner this week: Sandra Fields ($40,193) (April 17) On Monday, Carole failed to find either the first two numbers or the last two numbers in the price of the Money Game car. Previous time that's happened: February 11, 2011. Carole did manage to win $303 in Money Game - the most cash won in this game since May 23, 2005 ($317). Overall, Money Game has a record of 5-13 (27.8%) this season, which is well below its 47% win rate between Seasons 29-41. The worst season during this span was Season 40 (7-20 = 25.9%), so unless Money Game picks up the pace, the game could end up having one its worst seasons in a long time. Also on Monday, Plinko was played for the 30th time this season. Plinko is by far the most frequently played Pricing Game this season (Lucky $even is second with 27 playings, followed by Squeeze Play with 26 playings). Plinko is also on pace to be played 41 times this season, which would be the most playings for a Pricing Game in one season since Season 13. (In fact, since Season 17, no Pricing Game has been played more than 39 times in one season.) On Tuesday, Annette was so unlucky in the Showcase Showdown that she went over by spinning $1.00 after she had spun 5 cents. Previous time that happened: February 12, 2013. On Wednesday, the car was won in Switcheroo for the first time since February 11, 2013. That snapped a 10 game losing streak for this game (based on actual airdates). With the Switcheroo win, there remains 3 Pricing Games that have not been won or partially won this season: Balance Game (0-6), 2 for the Price of 1 (0-4) and Triple Play (0-1). Also on Wednesday, Forrest decided to quit with $8,000 in Gas Money. That ties the record for the largest bailout in this game. Since Gas Money premiered, contestants have had the opportunity to quit with $9,000 only twice: September 22, 2008 (the premiere) and June 12, 2013. (Both contestants decided to risk the money and both went on to win the car.) Grocery Game was won for the first time since November 27, 2013 on Wednesday's episode. That snapped a five game losing streak for this game. Thursday's playing of 1/2 Off was only the fifth time a contestant won this game after having to pick between 8 boxes. The previous time it happened was March 29, 2010. Overall, 1/2 Off has a 5-39 record (11.36%) when contestants have to choose between 8 boxes, which is pretty close to the 12.5% statistical win rate for these circumstances. Based on the available information, Race Game was played for the 900th time in daytime history on Friday's episode. The 9 second win was not a bad way to celebrate the 900th playing! Friday's playing of Pass the Buck was only the fourth time a contestant won the car after having only one pick. The previous time it happened was December 26, 2011. Overall, Pass the Buck has a 4-27 record (12.9%) when contestants only have 1 pick, which is below the 16.7% statistical win rate for these circumstances. Several Pricing Games currently have exactly a .500 record this season: Bargain Game (10-10), Clock Game (3-3), Double Prices (8-8), Flip Flop (11-11), Freeze Frame (7-7), Grand Game (7-7), Most Expen$ive (10-10), Pass the Buck (4-4), Race Game (4-4), Shopping Spree (3-3), Spelling Bee (3-3), Squeeze Play (13-13), Step Up (2-2) and Take Two (4-4). By comparison, 6 Pricing Games finished with exactly a .500 record last season. With a 15-15 record this week, the overall Pricing Game winning percentage for this season has increased to 42.82%. That is slightly ahead of the 42.77% win rate set in Season 41. However, at this point last season the win rate was only 41.5% (a 46% win rate over the final 10 weeks helped push the overall win rate above 42%) - will we see a similar late season surge this year to increase the win rate even higher?

Comments for the Week of April 21-25

Biggest winner this week: Destiny Mills ($37,703) (Apr. 23) On Monday, a contestant failed to win $10,000 in Grand Game for the first time since January 21, 2014. That snapped a five game winning streak for this game. Does Grand Game generate more wins with a low or high target price? So far this season, Grand Game has a record of 2-5 with a $3.00-$4.75 target price, 2-2 with a $5.00-$6.75 target price and 3-1 with a $7.00-$9.50 target price. So it doesn't seem to really make a difference. Also on Monday, card #8 was chosen in Pocket ¢hange for the 8th time this season (out of 11 playings). #8 is the most frequently picked card this season, followed by cards #3, #11 and #18 (5 times each). Cards #2, #6, #9, #14 and #19 have not yet been picked. (How I've numbered the cards) (In those 8 instances, card #8 has been a dime once, a quarter six times and a half dollar once). With the win on Tuesday, Bonus Game has improved to a perfect 8-0 record this season. That ties 1 Right Price for the best starting record for this season (most wins before picking up a first loss). On Wednesday, Hi Lo was played for the first time since January 31, 1997. Hi Lo was also lost with the contestant having two products wrong in the "Hi" row. That's only happened one other time since the start of Season 38 (May 16, 2013). (Contestants only had one product wrong in all of the other 37 losses during this span.) On Wednesday's playing of Any Number, Maria correctly picked four numbers in the price of the car (including the first digit), but did not go on to win the car. That's the first time this season a contestant failed to win the car after getting four numbers right. (In all other losses, the game ended with the contestant only having two or three numbers right.) On Friday's playing of Lucky $even, Robert missed the fourth digit in the price of the car by 7. That was the largest miss of this season. (However, we have not yet matched the two $8 misses from last season.) Also on Friday, Money Game was won for the first time since January 3, 2014. That snapped a five game losing streak for this game. The Wednesday, Thursday and Friday episodes did not offer a product manufactured by Apple. That's somewhat unusual, considering 116 out of the previous 139 episodes this season (83%) featured at least one Apple product. Wednesday's episode also did not offer at least one television - only the third time this season that's happened.

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