A retired military veteran from Virginia made television history Friday, walking away from “The Price is Right” with $240,150 in cash and prizes, the largest amount ever won in a single pricing game during the show’s 54-year run on CBS.
Vanesa, whose last name was not disclosed, earned the record-breaking haul on the Mother’s Day episode of the long-running game show, with her daughter cheering her on from the audience.
The win came from “The Lion’s Share,” a relatively new addition to the show’s rotation of games. Contestants guess the cost of grocery store items, earning one ball for each correct answer, with a maximum of five balls to collect. Each ball then reveals a hidden prize, which could be cash, a trip, a car or a “Lose It All” outcome that wipes out all previous winnings.
The game unfolds in three phases: a pricing challenge that earns balls, a 30-second dash inside a wind chamber to collect those balls, and a final high-stakes reveal where contestants decide, one ball at a time, whether to keep playing or cash out.
Contestants can walk away after any reveal, but Vanesa played all five balls.
The first ball was worth $2,500, and the second ball she revealed carried a $25,000 prize — a number so stunning it sent Vanesa falling to the floor. She composed herself and kept going. Next came $100,000 — then another $100,000 ball. She risked it all on the fifth ball, adding a trip to Morocco to her cash winnings. She accumulated $227,500 in cash and a $12,650 trip to Morocco, bringing her total to $240,150.
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“Winning over $200,000 is life-changing,” she said after her historic win.
The previous record had stood for nearly a decade. In October 2016, a contestant named Christen Freeman took home $210,000 in a game of Cliff Hangers.
“The Lion’s Share” is the first custom-branded game in the show’s history and the first new pricing game added since 2021, introduced through a partnership between BetMGM and Fremantle, the production company behind “The Price is Right.” The game gives contestants the chance to win up to $500,000 in cash, cars, trips and other prizes.
Vanesa’s single-game record isn’t far off from the show’s all-time overall winnings record. In 2019, contestant Michael Stouber left with $262,743 in cash and prizes across multiple games in a single episode, including $202,000 from a game of Plinko.
“The Price is Right,” hosted by Drew Carey, airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
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