February 20, 2002 recap

Airdate: February 20, 2002

From the Las Vegas Hilton, it's America's game! Welcome to Big Money Week!

Dangling in front of you is this Toss-Up:




Melissa solves BEST-SELLING NOVEL.


Today's contestants:
Melissa Dahir: Married, niece likes to watch Wheel for Vanna's beautiful shoes, from Las Vegas!
Debra Armitage: Picked from the audience! Cigarette girl at a local casino, also a full-time college student, from Corpus Christi, TX
Robert Morales: Married, is a dealer and supervisor at a local casino, from Las Vegas!

Go big or go home. More to offer with this Toss-Up:


Go!


Melissa solves A HEART OF GOLD.


While not quite gold, you could still strike riches even in the first round:




Melissa solves JOAN AND MELISSA RIVERS.

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Welcome to the Wheel...a trip to San Antonio (labeled SAN ANTONIO) worth $4,720.

Nervously, the Jackpot wedge is pushing for a landing here:




Robert solves WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL IN ENGLAND.

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We turn up the heat with another prize: a Neiman Marcus gift certificate (labeled N.M.) worth $5,000.

Now you can look for gold, as we place the one-third $10,000 space on the Wheel:



(Pat references the cycle by indicating that at least one wrong letter was called already.)


Melissa solves A FASHION PLATE OF PASTA to keep both prizes!

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For her competition to clean their plates, they need something first. How about the help of another Toss-Up?


Go!


Melissa solves ONE-WEEK VACATION.


And quite naturally, expect her to land on the $5,000 space:



(A bad vowel purchase was edited out before the K call. And yet, an actual "null" was left intact in Round 1. What happened there?)


Robert solves MOVIE MOGULS.

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We do have some time for a fifth round:


DING DING! DING DING!

We're taking chances with the clock though, so Pat will give the Wheel a Final Spin. Consonants are worth $800 + $1,000 for $1,800 a piece. Off to Debra:

Debra: R (DUD!)
Robert: C (x2) ($3,600)
Melissa: T (DUD!)
Debra: S (DUD!)
Robert: B ($5,400)
Melissa: N (DUD!)
Debra: L ($1,800)


Debra solves BLACKJACK to avoid the bust.






BONUS ROUND:

Sure, $25,000 is nice, but don't you think we should raise the bar?

$30,000, $35,000, $40,000, $45,000, and $50,000 are available this week.

We still have other prizes, too!
Jaguar X-Type
PT Cruiser
Honda S2000

And what would Big Money be without $100,000?

Big Money calls for a big spin from Melissa! It will be the 100's digit, and a big challenge comes from this little puzzle:


RSTLNE gives her...


She puts it on GDMA:


She does not solve I GOT A JOB...

...so she won't be able to bring home $25,000 more. Melissa almost has that much in cash and prizes already though, leaving with $24,950.