Trip to Vegas turns into big 'Let's Make A Deal' profit

News-Times reporter

You don't have to ask Sharon Wyckoff if she's ready to make a deal. She is and she did.

When Wyckoff, of Amherst, traveled to Las Vegas about two weeks ago to visit her son Jason, they decided to attend a taping of CBS's revival of the classic 1970s game show Let's Make A Deal hosted by actor and comedian Wayne Brady.

Wyckoff did not know she was about to share the limelight with Brady on national television.

"We figured since I'm in a wheelchair my chances were pretty close to nil to being on the show, so we thought why get dressed up? Why look like an idiot?" she joked.

The game show -- which airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on WOIO-TV19 -- is taped inside the Tropicana Hotel & Casino.

"Living out there, word had been around it was being taped out there and he had gone to their first taping," Wyckoff said of her son. "He said 'Oh mom, would you like to do this while you're out here?' and I said 'OK, we'll do it, we'll go because it's free'."

Before Wyckoff could enter the studio, the producers of the show asked her to fill out mounds of paperwork. Then she came across an oversized index card with two questions printed on it -- What is your costume about and why do you want to be on the show? Wyckoff wrote a clever, yet truthful response for each.

"I'm dressed like I am at home. I'm a real housewife from Ohio and I'm an old lady in a wheelchair who has never won anything and needs something good to happen," she said. She became, contestant number four.

Wyckoff and her son were escorted to another floor of the casino where the producer conducted a brief interview with each contestant. Then Wyckoff and her son were allowed to find their seats.

"We were in a section where people couldn't or didn't want to participate in the show either because they've been on a game show recently or they were there to just watch and didn't want to be on TV and it just happened to be the handicapped section too," she said.

While Wyckoff is not 100 percent sure, the responses on the card she filled out may have had something to do with Brady picking her to compete for cash and prizes.

Wyckoff -- who is scheduled to make her national television debut on Friday, Oct. 23 -- was presented with a sombrero. Hidden behind six $1 bills wrapped around the top of the Mexican hat was even more money. Brady chose a second contestant who would wear the sombrero lined with cash if Wyckoff traded it for a curtain which covered money, a prize or even the dreaded "zonk."

Relying heavily on her gut instinct, as well as what her son -- who was seated right behind her -- had to say, she opted to keep the hat. Then Brady offered the other contestant $500 in cash to trade whatever was behind the curtain. He took the deal, and was soon regretting it.

"It was an outdoor kitchen with a grill with a granite countertop and refrigerator -- what every Ohioan needs," Wyckoff said.

A couple of minutes later, Brady visited Wyckoff a second time and offered her another curtain in exchange for her cash-wrapped sombrero. Again, she respectfully declined.

Once Brady gave the verbal signal, the curtain opened, revealing two ponies -- a zonk.

While she would not divulge just how much cash she won, Wyckoff told the News-Times it was more than $6.

"When I finally found out how much money I won, the next commercial break I had to turn around to my son and say how much money did I win because I had no idea," she said.

Even though Wyckoff was at the show, she said she does plan to watch it on TV to see how bad her hair looked that day.

"You know the camera adds about 300 pounds to you, so I have just got to see how bad I really look," she joked. "I hope all of my friends are working and counting on me taping the show for them because then they won't see me if I don't want them to."

Wyckoff described her 15 seconds of fame as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If she decides one day to compete on another game show, she will have to wait three years according to her signed contract.

She described Brady as a wonderful person on air who would then disappear backstage during commercial breaks.

"When we were signing our papers after the show, someone had asked for an autograph and we were told that he does not do that," Wyckoff said.

Let's Make A Deal made its first television debut on the CBS Television Network on Monday, Oct. 5.

The show is produced by FemantleMedia North America and Monty Hall -- the original host of the popular game show where people dress up in wacky costumes to compete for cash and prizes -- is the new show's creative consultant.

"I think anybody going to Vegas should do this," Wyckoff said. "It's free and you have a one-in-18 chance of appearing on the show."

Anyone interested in obtaining free tickets for a taping of the game show can log on to CBS.com and then clicking on the "Let's Make A Deal" tab.