"Press Your Luck" - June 8

Tonight, these three players are after big bucks...

Episode 4. The last of the quarterfinals. Two celebrities go home tonight. This is gonna be huge. Tonight's show: Press Your Luck.

It's history class time, and with assorted clips from the entire span of PYL history (apparently starting in 1981, from Rich's copy), they highlighted the run of Michael Larsen. Yes, CBS actually acknowledged that he did what he did. With the Whammy not happy about that (and sprouting a Terminator-like red eye), we split the TV and go to the Big Board.

T-MAC NOTE: For as big a PYL fan as I am, and never having attended a taping of it when it was on (as I was 2 when it premiered), I was AMAZED at the recreation of the set. Almost brought me to tears, not gonna lie.

"These Three Players:"
Leslie Nielsen - Kathy Najimy - Tim Meadows

With a lightning explanation of the rules, we get to the questions!

Question #1: "According to Webster's Dictionary, what part of the body are you having reshaped if you've gone in for rhinoplasty?"
Kathy buzzes in with "Nose." Choices: Nose - Ears - Breasts. Leslie and Tim both agree, and five spins are distributed.

Question #2: "What type of fruit is also the first name of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's first baby?"
Tim buzzes early on this one with "Apple." Choices: Apple - Fig - Berry
Leslie and Kathy agree (although Kathy thought "Fig" would be a cute name), and five more are distributed out.

Question #3: "According to Irish legend, what are tourists asked to do to the Blarney Stone for good luck?"
Tim hits in on this one with "Kiss it." Choices: Kiss - Lick - Kick. All three shudder at the "Lick it" choice. However, Leslie and Kathy are on board, and five more spins go out.

Question #4: "According to TV Guide, who is the greatest cartoon character of all time?"
Leslie gets through with "Mickey Mouse." Choices: Mickey Mouse - Bugs Bunny - Fred Flinstone. Kathy goes against the grain with Bugs, and Tim goes with Leslie. Kathy is the only one to score a spin.

Going into the first board round:
LN - 3 Spins
KJ - 6 Spins
TM - 7 Spins

Before we get to the Board, let's check in with Todd Newton and the GSM Prize Delivery Crew. Our stop: the home of Marie Spese in Plainfield, IL. She picked up the $50,995 Lincoln Navigator that Lance won on last Thursday night's "Let's Make A Deal." She also picks up a Harrah's adventure for two. Congrats, Marie!

$50,000 is on the Big Board for our three players tonight, and Leslie kicks things off with...the Make-Up Whammy. Not to worry, he hits $1250 twice and we go to Kathy.

Right out of the gate, Kathy hits the FLOKATI RUG, valued at $1799! $2000 twice after that, and the surfer Whammy comes to get the rug. No fear, she hits $530 and $470 for a solid $1000.

Tim's up and hits the dynamite Whammy first thing. OK, let's get back on track here, guys. Tim does: $1000+, a trip to Vegas ($2500), $1200, and $530. Three spins left, they go to Leslie. Since Leslie wanted to keep playing after he ran out of spins, this is fitting. However, the spins aren't too fitting. First one: the Tarzan Whammy. Two Whammies, and the warning from Ricki. Leslie presses on and hits BIG BUCKS for $4000+. He takes one more and hits the weightlifter Whammy. Three Whammies against him, and he passes the last one to Tim, who stops at $800.

Tim's got the advantage, and Leslie is on the edge.

Here's our Play-At-Home question for this game: "What did this player hit in this spin?" Whammy, Big Bucks, or Sailboat. Here's a hint: the clip was taken from the famous 1984 Cathy-Lori spin battle!

Here comes the second question round...
Question #5: "According to the World Almanac, what is the traditional gift for a 25th wedding anniversary?"
Leslie gets in with "Silver." Choices: Silver - Gold - Platinum. Kathy and Tim go along, and there go five spins.

Question #6: "Which Brady Bunch character had her nose broken when she was hit by a football?"
Kathy jumps in early with "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." Choices: Marcia - Jan - Cindy. Leslie and Tim agree, five spins come out.

Question #7: "Who is the only guy to be named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive twice?"
Anyone? Nope. Choices: George Clooney - Matt Damon - Brad Pitt
Leslie: Brad Pitt. Kathy: Brad Pitt. Tim: Tim Meadows? Nah, Brad Pitt. Three spins come out.

Question #8: "According to CNN, the most common phobia is arachnophobia; the fear of what 8-legged creatures?"
Tim jumps early with "Spiders." Choices: Spider - Octopus - Centipede.
Leslie and Kathy go along, and five more spins are awarded.

At the end of the question round, all three are tied with 6 spins each. Let's spin the island and get to it.

Leslie looks to be making a comeback with $2500 on his first spin, but goes Bon Voyage on his next with his fourth and final Whammy. Sophie waves from Paige's lap.

Kathy takes a little time to mourn, then hits an Alaskan cruise, valued at $9050. Her total is $10050, and five spins go to Tim.

Back to back $3000's boost Tim into the lead followed by a set of Whirlpool appliances valued at $5745. He then hits Go Back Two to $8000+ and Advance Two to $5000, taking his total to $30795. Seven spins go back to Kathy.

The gauntlet for Kathy starts with a trip to Paris, valued at $4500. She then stops at $3000, $3500, $4000+, and $8000+ taking her to $33050 and taking us to a commercial.

Two spins to go in the gauntlet, and she gets $1500+ and $1750, taking her to $36300. It's not enough, and she takes one of her three earned spins, hitting a $2074 telescope. Her last two spins go back to the Ladies' Man.

Spin Battle, anyone? Tim's spins land him $10000+ and $1500+, taking him to $42295. Two spins back to Kathy. First spin: Move One Space (up/down) to $1750+ or $3000. Kathy takes $3000 and we go to split screen. Kathy needs $922 to win the game and take the final spot in Finalists' Row. Everything rides on this spin, and Sophie is riding in the seat in Finalists' Row. Here comes the spin...STOP on a dinette...valued at...$4893! Kathy advances to the Row with $46,267!

Rich ran through the prize list for us. Here's what Kathy picked up:
Meade LX 90 GPS Telescope, valued at $2074.
Carson's of High Point contemporary dinette set, valued at $4893.
Trip to Paris (6-night luxury stay from Northwest Vacations), valued at $4500.
Alaskan Cruise (Round trip to Juneau from lastminutetravel.com, and a 6-night Pacific Catalyst cruise), valued at $9050.
$25,750 in CASH!

Here's the breakdown for the rest of the tournament:
June 15: Card Sharks - Brande vs. Paige
June 22: Match Game - Lance vs. Kathy
The winners advance to Family Feud on June 29.

Next week, we open up the board and get to the cards.

STATS: 34 Spins earned, 38 Spins taken, 6 Whammies, $46,267
MARATHON TOTAL WINNINGS: $278,706.49