December 11, 2020 Recap

On the episode prior, Brandi Clark had the higher.
She had $14,700 in dough, and from the Bonus Puzzle, I knew the Grinch would go.
She took a HISTORIC FLIGHT (Event, MHDI) to make a splash with $37,000 more in cash.
Let's end part one of the sweeps with a bang, and hopefully no puzzles will contain obscure slang.

Previous Episode

EPISODE #7295: 🎄CONSUMER CELLULAR SECRET SANTA HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY I🎄
AIR DATE: 12/11/20

For some reason, I couldn't find the DVR recording that I have, so I'll have to rely on John Berry for the video.

$1,000 Tossup: Around The House

_ E _ U _ I F _ L
_ R N _ M E _ _ S

Maral, a female, knows that a Christmas tree should be decorated with BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS. One of these Secret Santas are from Arizona...

Maral Ouzounian: Pasadena. Team leader for a dept. store who recently got her bachelor's degree in business. Also studying for a real estate license.
Stephanie Nicolai: Peoria, AZ (recently moved there from San Diego). Licensed psychologist for about 5 yrs. Married to Jake for 4 yrs. w/ a 2-yr.-old son. Her hobby, much to Pat's interest, is napping (she sleeps when the son sleeps).
Xavier Smith: Gardena. Realtor who's married to Loretta for 2.5 yrs. w/ a 20-month-old daughter named Emory (Pat: "Have you ever thought of a nap?"). Also a graduate student at Cal Poly Pomona studying architecture.

$2,000 Tossup: Living Thing

E _ P E R _ O R
_ E N _ U _ N

Stephanie spots an EMPEROR PENGUIN.

Round 1: Food & Drink

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _

Stephanie: ONE MILLION (R)

Xavier: $650 (2 T's), A, $500 near $550 (2 H's), $650 (W), 2 I's, Free PLAY (3 E's), Consumer Cellular (L - $2,450 at risk)

Maral: Consumer Cellular (2 N's), Consumer Cellular (3 D's), O, $800 (3 M's), Solve Attempt ($4,650 + CC + CC)...

H O M E M A D E
_ _ D D I N _
W I T H / N _ T M E _

I've never had HOMEMADE PUDDING WITH NUTMEG, but Maral's claimed the first two cash prizes and waves around her cardboard.

Duds: R (Stephanie), L (Xavier)

Pre-Round 2 Scores:
Maral: $14,150
Stephanie: $2,000
Xavier: Spinning Next

---

Prevagen Mystery Round: Before & After

_ _ . / _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _

Xavier: $650 (R), $700 (2 T's), E, $600 (M), 2 A's, $600 (D), LOSE A TURN! ($2,750 at risk)

Maral: LOSE A TURN!

Stephanie: $500 near $650 (P), MYSTERY near LaT (3 H's and FLIPS...$10,000!), 4 O's (No More Vowels!), Solve Attempt ($250 + $10,000)...

M R . / P O T A T O
H E A D
H O _ _ H O

Stephanie solves MR. POTATO HEAD HONCHO to claim the last cash prize. No Spin ID here for obvious reasons.

Lose a Turns: 2 (Stephanie's opponents)

Pre-Round 2 Scores:
Maral: $14,150
Stephanie: $12,250
Xavier: Wood

Pat tells Stephanie that she looks like Mr. Potato Head...huh?!

---

Prize Puzzle/Express Round: Phrase

_ _ _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _
_ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Maral: EXPRESS (3 S's and HOPS ON - $3,000 currently)

Next Up: R ($3,000 lost)

Stephanie: LOSE A TURN!

Xavier: BANKRUPT! ($3,500)

Maral: $3,500 (L), BANKRUPT! (MDW's left side - $3,500 lost)

No, Pat. Yelling at the wheel won't make matters better.

Stephanie: $900 (2 T's), 3 I's, A, BANKRUPT! (MDW's left side - $1,300 lost)

Xavier: other $500 (H), $900 (N), 3 O's, BANKRUPT! (MDW's right side - $1,150 lost)

Maral: $600 (D)

Stephanie: $900 (2 G's), Solve Attempt ($1,800)...

T H I S / I S / G O I N G
T O / _ _ / _ A _ _ L O _ S

Well, after that fiasco, Stephanie has solved and she'll likely be saying "THIS IS GOING TO BE FABULOUS" when she takes her trip to HAWAII (The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort) worth $8,130 - that's a $9,930 round for her.

Non-Bankrupt Dud: D (Maral)
Lose a Turn: Stephanie
Bankrupts: 5 (twice each from Stephanie's opponents)

Pre-Round 3 Scores:
Maral: $14,150
Stephanie: $22,180 cash & HI
Xavier: Candy Canes

---

Triple Tossup: Things

1.

D A Y _ I _ _ / &
_ I G H _ _ _ _ E

They're opposites, but Stephanie flubs with DAYLIGHT & NIGHTLIFE.

D A Y _ I M _ / &
_ I G H _ _ _ _ E

Maral capitalizes with DAYTIME & NIGHTTIME.

2.

_ I _ I M _ _
& / M A _ I _ _ M

Stephanie's right this time with MINIMUM & MAXIMUM.

3.

S U _ C E _ S
& / _ _ _ _ _ _ E

Xavier goofs saying SAUCES & _______.

S U _ C E _ S
& / _ A _ L U _ E

There's been a lot of SUCCESS & FAILURE on this show and Stephanie's padded her lead.

Round 4: Title

_ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _

SPEEDUP TIME

Final Spin: $1,600

Stephanie: T
Xavier: H
Maral: S
Stephanie: R
Xavier: N
Maral: D
Stephanie: L
Xavier: 3 C's

C _ T C H / _ _
_ _ / _ _ _ / C _ N

Xavier IDs "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" for his only $8,000 of the night.

Duds: S (Maral), R (Stephanie), D (Maral), L (Stephanie)
Unclaimed: $1,600 (Stephanie)

Final Scores:
Maral: $16,150
Stephanie: $26,180 cash & HI
Xavier: $8,000

Xavier Spin ID: MD00647 (Michael D.)
Maral Spin ID: JR6887396 (Joseph R.)

Maingame Total: $50,330
Bankrupt Trash: $8,950

Stephanie's next pick consists of...

• Thing
• Phrase
• What Are You Wearing?
  

$100,000 Bonus Round

After a little nap, Stephanie spins to the &.

RSTLNE:

_ E _ _ N N _ N _
T _ / _ _ _ _ L E

GHPO:

_ E G _ N N _ N G
T O / _ _ _ _ L E

She gets that last word wrong with TINKLE (yes, really) and SPRINKLE, so this was literally BEGINNING TO FIZZLE - another $38,000. End Total: $26,180 cash & HI.

Stephanie Spin ID: AD648002 (Alexandria D.)

Closing Chat: Secret Santa continues next week (reminder is shown in the credits), but the hosts are not allowed to participate.

Personal Rating: 6 (ugly R3)

And so, part one turned out okay, I should absolutely say.
$226,588 was given out, and I do not think that the week was really something to pout.
But no spins were made after round 3. I think that fact does not light me up with glee.
I hope next week will be better and not as ugly as a Christmas sweater.

I won't give a rating for this week - this is a 2-part event.