  Deal Or No Deal Canada host Howie Mandel watches firefighter Brian Traynor of Medicine Hat get just a little too intense.
|
Brian Traynor took home $109,000 for less than an hour of work.
We know Alberta is booming, but that's crazy!
Traynor, a firefighter from Medicine Hat, was the first contestant last night on the game show Deal Or No Deal Canada, which debuted on Global after the Super Bowl.
And while $109,000 barely will buy you a walk-in closet in the Calgary real-estate market, it's still an awful lot of money -- and tax-free, too, unlike the money handed out on the American version of Deal Or No Deal. Traynor indicated that he and his fiancee may use the cash as a down-payment on a house.
'GAME OF LUCK'
"This is a game of luck, but really it's a game of timing," host Howie Mandel said, and Trayor found that out first-hand. As he and Mandel instructed the 26 beautiful models to open a series of briefcases (each of which contains a dollar amount), Traynor rejected the banker's offers of $30,000, $42,000, $73,000 and $121,000.
Finally, he settled at $109,000 before things got worse.
Top prize on both the Canadian and American versions of Deal Or No Deal is $1 million. To this point, nobody on either side of the border has won that amount.
Five episodes of Deal Or No Deal Canada have been taped, with the remaining four airing on the next four Thursdays. A second contestant, RCMP officer Theresa Duranciang from Portage La Prairie, Man., began her game at the end of last night's episode but her wheelings and dealings will carry over to episode No. 2.
When Mandel, who is a Canadian, first appeared last night, you could see his eyes get a little watery as he soaked in the applause.
"I'm home," he said. "I'm a little bit emotional, this is amazing."
The Deal Or No Deal Canada set looked spectacular, especially the giant maple leaf floor. Other Canadian touches included a picture of the Toronto skyline behind the models, and "loonie" and "toonie" amounts hidden in the briefcases.
Traynor had brought along a firefighters calendar, with some of his buddies posing with briefcases, to aid him in his choices. But Mandel quickly did the math and pointed out a problem.
'COME TO PLAY'
"Can I just explain something to you?" Mandel said. "There are 12 months in a year and there are 26 briefcases. You have come to play almost half a game."
That wasn't the only prop Traynor had at his disposal, however. One of the people in his supporters' area was his mom, and at one point she brought in "the artillery," as she phrased it.
It was a stuffed duck. A lucky duckie.
"I would hope this is from your childhood and not two years ago," Mandel quipped.
Duranciang was so frantic and excited that it will be interesting to see if she makes it to the next episode without passing out.
"And you're protecting our country?" Mandel asked rhetorically.
The regular U.S. version of Deal Or No Deal will air on CH and NBC tonight (8 p.m.).
DEAL OR NO DEAL CANADA
What: Five episodes of the Canadian version of the popular Americangame show
Where: Taped in Januaryin Toronto
Host: Veteran Canadian comedian Howie Mandel
When: First episode aired last night on Global; subsequent episodes will air on the next four Thursdays
Top prize money available: $1 million
Contestants: Brian Traynor, Medicine Hat, Alta. (game completed last night); Theresa Duranciang, Portage La Prairie, Man. (game in progress last night); Donald Lucas, Grimsby, Ont.; Jenny Monaco, Montreal; Michael George, Brampton; Valerie Kavanagh, Cape Royal, Nfld.; and Jamie Cumberland, Calgary
