St. George Woman Wins Big On The Price Is Right

It’s often said that it’s every American’s dream to be a guest on a game show. Jeopardy, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and Wheel of Fortune are just some of the classic American game shows enjoyers of TV would love to be a part of.

Such was the case for St. George businesswoman Keri Thompson when she travelled to California for a chance to be on The Price Is Right, another beloved game show. Thompson said she’s been a fan of the classic game show ever since she was a kid.

Thompson said, “Many people in my home and life have watched for as long I was taking sick days as a kid back in the day, so I was born and raised on it. Bob Barker to Drew Carey to everything in between.”

To even have a chance to be a contestant on The Price Is Right, you have to go their website and receive a standing voucher. After receiving said voucher, you need to arrive hours before they start accepting audience members at the studio in Glendale, California.

150 audience members were chosen from the line, and Thompson and her daughter were cutting close, being selected as 140 and 141.

After Thompson waited for another three hours, the 150 audience members were escorted into the studio. Thompson described the feeling among the audience members as “electric.”

That’s when something unexpected happened, Keri Thompson was chosen to be a contestant on an episode of The Price Is Right.

Thompson said, “I was in shock. I mean, just in shock from the moment they called my name because you can't hear the announcer call your name because the studio is so loud. So, they actually have somebody that goes across to stage with a cardboard, you know, just basically a poster board with your name with big writing so and they walk across the stage and just kind of show it to everyone.”

What was even more surprising was that Thompson performed well as a contestant, like really well. Thompson walked away with $62,000 in prize money, a new grill, two vacations to Belize and St. Martin, and a year’s supply of ice cream.

Thompson said, “I felt like I have never had so much luck, because it's clearly not a skill game, but just so much luck in one small hour to two and a half hours to film just in that short amount of time to be like, ‘I can't lose, I should go buy some lottery ticket.’ Or ‘I should head to Vegas on the way back.’ I felt like I couldn't do any wrong, I could not lose.”

There obviously some caveats to that thanks to the “gift tax” in California that takes a good chunk of the money away from winning contestants. This is why they allow contestants to refuse prizes.

Even though Thompson won big on one of America’s favorite game shows, her favorite part was being a part of the incredibly energetic crowd, and more importantly, spinning the wheel.

Thompson said, “Everybody wants to spin the wheel, everybody. I've just said if they just go and put that wheel out in the parking lot and let people just spin it for $100, I think people would line up for days, just because it’s so iconic.”

It just goes to show the simplest things in life can often be the most enjoyable.