January 31, 2012 First-Run Recap & Discussion

So, it's time for my very first first-run recap!

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In the last four episodes, the Bonus Round has been won four times in a row... will this episode be that fifth episode? Well, we have to get through the maingame first!



$1,000 will be given away to whoever can solve a Food & Drink puzzle.



*Yasmine rings in*



Yasmine knows the theme and knows that this puzzle is CHERRY TOMATOES for a grand.

Troy:
Yasmine: $1,000
Meagan:

Missolves: 0



Let's meet the three contestants who can hopefully end January with a big win.

Yasmine Key: She's a private family nurse and middle/high school practitioner from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Meagan Cunningham: Italian restaurant owner from San Francisco, interesting time for a restaurant owner to show up here.
Troy Zalesky: Tech support manager for a large payment processing company & a Chicago sports fan whose father grew up across the street from Wrigley Field from Aurora, Colorado. (originally from Florida)

(these bios are courtesy of Andy)



Person is the $2,000 Toss-Up's category.



*Yasmine pushes the ringer*



It's Yasmine again, but this time, she's wrong with WOMAN OF THE YEAR.



That allows Troy to get the $2,000 by solving ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.

Troy: $2,000
Yasmine: $1,000
Meagan:

Missolves: 1 (Yasmine - WOMAN OF THE YEAR)

Prize on the Wheel: It's a trip to the French Quarter in New Orleans, where the contestant will stay at the Monteleone hotel. Plus, there will be a tour of the finest food places in the French Quarter. This New Orleans vacation is a $5,200 trip!



The LED Jackpot wedge is on the wheel along with the 1/2 Car Tags, Million Dollar Wedge, the light-blue $2,500, everything. Phrase is the first category of the night.



Troy won the second toss-up, so he has the right to start this Jackpot Round and he does with a spin that slides onto $450, where he'll receive two Ts. Then he spins backwards onto the green $600 for another pair, the Ns. Next, Troy buys a pair of vowels, A & I, before repeating the N on the yellow $500. Yasmine takes her first spin of the night and it clings right on to the red $900 for a double L. She buys a package of four Es next before Bankrupting away $1,550. Now it's Meagan's turn, she gets $500 from a B and spends it all on the O & U. Meagan spins again and this time, it's Free Play for a $500 H and then the Jackpot harboring $8,950...



...she calls the V, but she cannot solve it, so she has to spin again. And this spin isn't a good spin, Lose a Turn. Troy has a second chance, but after picking up the Wild Card with S and cashing in $600 more with G, he gets the same fate as Meagan. Back to Yasmine and she's just going to solve...



Yasmine ties things up with I'LL BE YOUR WAITER THIS EVENING for the house minimum of $1,000.

Troy: $2,000 (Wild Card)
Yasmine: $2,000
Meagan:

Bankrupts: 1 (Yasmine - $1,550)
Lose a Turns: 2 (Troy - $2,200 + WC) (Meagan - $1,000)
Duds: 0
Repeat Letters: 1 (Troy - N - $1,600)
Missolves: 0
Top Dollar Hits: 0
Unclaimed Jackpot: $9,550
Jackpot Hits: 1

(NOTE: There may have been an edit on Troy's second spin (from $450 to the green $600) since his spin strength was not that weak.)



The two mystery wedges are being added to the wheel, one holds $10,000 and the other will damage your score. $3,500 is the new top dollar amount and Same Name is the category, with no ampersand.



Yasmine will begin this round and she hits the mystery wedge on the blue $500...



...but she duds with S, so we're going to Meagan. She hits the other mystery wedge on her very first spin and calls the pair of Ns. She's obviously going to take the risk...



...but it doesn't pay off, she found the Bankrupt! Now it's Troy's turn and he finds a D, as well as two As and then one of the 1/2 Kia tags which he picks up via T! After landing on the green $300 twice in a row for two doubles, he purchases a vowel and this one's a dud E. Yasmine spins once for the Hs...



Yasmine figures out GRAVY AND CHOO-CHOO TRAIN for $1,200 more. Since Troy didn't solve the puzzle with his 1/2 Kia this round, the tag goes away.

Troy: $2,000 (Wild Card)
Yasmine: $3,200
Meagan:

Bankrupts: 1 (Meagan - $0)
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 2 (Troy - E - $1,500 + WC + 1/2 Kia), (Yasmine - S - $0)
Missolves: 0
Top Dollar Hits: 0
Mystery Wedge Placements: $10,000 is under the blue $500, Bankrupt's hiding on the blue $300.
Blue $500 Mystery Wedge Hits: 1
Blue $300 Mystery Wedge Hits: 1



$3,500 remains as the top dollar and now it's the Prize Puzzle Round, Fun & Games is the category for this puzzle.



Meagan will try to get something this round and she starts with two Ns at $600 a piece. Next, she buys the E & I, followed by a $500 spin for one S. Then she sweeps the vowels, buying O, A, and U in one go. No more buying can happen, so she'll have to spin. She lands on Free Play and that's a well timed spin since L is a dud. Since she's on Free Play, she doesn't lose her turn and Meagan spins once more for a quadruple H on the blue $500. One more spin is taken and then she duds with M on $800. Troy immediately Bankrupts away his turn, so we go to Yasmine again and she spins twice to claim a triple T & R...



Yasmine solves HIKING THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST for an additional $2,850, but it is also a Prize Puzzle, so she won a trip as well!

PRIZE PUZZLE TRIP: This vacation is to The Springs Resort & Spa in Costa Rica, travel provided by Hotwire, this trip is a value of $6,700!

So altogether, Yasmine has won $9,550 that round.

Troy: $2,000
Yasmine: $12,750
Meagan:

Bankrupts: 1 (Troy - WC)
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 2 (Meagan (2) - L, M - $450, $2,450)
Missolves: 0
Top Dollar Hits: 0

SPIN ID: AK0576706



This next toss-up is valued at $3,000 and the category is Thing.



*Meagan hits the buzzer*



Meagan's on the board with SECRET RECIPE!

Troy: $2,000
Yasmine: $12,750
Meagan: $3,000

Missolves: 0



That $5,000 silver wedge is out there, it's Round 4 and the category is What Are You Doing?.



Meagan earned the right to start, but she hands her turn over immediately due to a Bankrupt. That allows Troy to hit the red $900 twice for a duo of Ts and an H...



...which clears out the time, so it's time for Pat to give the final spin!



Troy: $2,700
Yasmine:
Meagan:

Final Spin Result:
$800

That's a very nice amount there. All consonants are $1,800 a piece, vowels are free of charge, but also free of any money that could be handed out.



This could decide the game, so check out the Speed-Up table.





Troy solves RAIDING THE REFRIGERATOR for $13,500 and his big comeback gives him the game!

Troy: $15,500
Yasmine: $12,750
Meagan: $3,000

Bankrupts: 1 (Meagan - $0)
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 5 (Troy - C - $13,500), (Yasmine - P - $3,600), (Meagan (3) - L, S, M - all with $0)
Missolves: 0
Top Dollar Hits: 0

Maingame Winnings: $31,250



Troy made a huge comeback for $15,500 which is an all-cash total and now it's time for him to play the Bonus Round for up to $100,000! That all can happen with a spin of this wheel...



Troy grabs the ampersand off of that Bonus Wheel and now he's approached with a Things puzzle.



We always start off with the standard RSTLNE package...



Not a lot of help came from that, maybe the three consonants and a vowel Troy picks could help. It's a mix of the not-so-favored CDMA combo, Troy chooses DMCA.



That C is all he'll get. It doesn't look very good, but he might be able to pull a miracle solve...



Troy doesn't have a guess for this one and he cannot solve COWBOY BOOTS.



That means he can't win the $35,000 in the envelope, but what he did win is $15,500 in cash!