Let's Make a Deal

For example: Monty Hall picks a studio audience member at random to become a contestant. He gives him a plastic egg.

Monty: 'You have a plastic egg that may have a thousand dollar bill hidden in it, or it may have a lot less. You can either keep that, or trade it for what's behind the large box on the display floor that Carol Merrill is showing us.'

Now the contestant is forced to make a difficult choice: keep the egg he's been given in the hope that a thousand dollars is contained within, or pick the box and its contents instead. Either may have a prize of value; the egg could contain $1000, or the box might reveal a new kitchen appliance. However, either location may also contain something worthless, called a 'zonk' on the show.

Zonks became as outrageous as the audience; giant shoes, a garbage can for each day of the week, giant stuffed toys, a ton of watermelons. The goal for contestants was to increase their winnings by making the right choices as given by Monty Hall.

The top two winners in each show were eligible to either keep their winnings or give up everything already won for a spot in the Big Deal. If one or both of the top winners declined to give up their winnings, Monty would go down the list of winners (highest to lowest) until he had two traders. In the Big Deal, the two contestants were allowed to make a simple choice between three curtains. The top winner in the Big Deal had first choice. One curtain hid the day's Big Deal, which was often multiple cars, a large cash prize, or multiple trips, and typically valued around $10,000.